Deurbanisation and Mobility

Abstract

This article is considering impacts of urban spread on built-up area and mobility. It describes urban and social changes of spread of urbanized areas, while the number of residents does not grow, since in Slovakia, similarly in neighbouring countries, the number of inhabitants slightly diminishes during the recent decades. It is therefore natural that many, especially rural and small urban settlements are disappearing. On the other hand, the traffic volume increases and generates various difficulties relating to effective serviceability of urbanized zone.Extensive expansion of urbanized areas provokes deurbanisation processes. It transforms traditional towns/villages and jeopardizes their sustainability. Traffic organisation and mobility modify themselves, because of decreasing of population density and extension of within walking distances. Modifications reflected: in the increasing demands on traffic volume capacity (in inner town, as well as between the satellite towns and their maternal core town), in the higher requirements for parking places and in an inefficient public transport. In this article we focus on situation in two selected Slovak towns: Senica and Liptovsky Mikulas, and analysing them as a case studies. The mentioned towns plan their great urban extension, so we focused on the changes of urban structure and organisation of transport. Case studies have been assessed from these aspects:1.Analysis of the existing Land-use plan enables to visualise the planned expansion of the town. The types of planned extending zones have been properly classified.2.Obtained results have been confronted with statistic data, concerning demographic evolution for at least 10 recent years. Changes of population density have been calculated from the obtained data.3.The presented analysis deals with current traffic situation, using also the measured data of traffic intensity from recent years.Emerging urban structures bite from arable soil or pastures, and they have neither features of urban nor rural type. The hybrid forms of settlement occur, characterized by monotonous structures, lacking the basic public facilities and spatial hierarchy. A separate chapter is the lack of social contacts. These urban structures dispose a high degree of anonymity, lack of interest to the living environment and they have a problem to adopt. Mentioned types of urban structure are the most similar with suburban habitations but without facilities and public transport. The population density of the mentioned structures is very low. Impact on the traffic system is reflected by increasing of individual automobile transport which allows the optimal personal mobility. Usually there are inappropriate opportunities for bikes and other non-motor ways of transport.