Influence of Voluntary Associations of Municipalities on the Territory Development

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze current state of the Register of municipalities in the Czech Republic with the focus on its influence on the territory development. Voluntary associations of municipalities represent one of the ways of interregional cooperation; the purpose of all associations of municipalities is to provide public services to their members. The first voluntary associations in the Czech Republic were founded in the early 1990s. Association of municipalities is a public corporation, which can be voluntarily created by municipalities for the purpose of cooperation, protection and promotion of their common interests. Association of municipalities is mainly responsible for the fulfilment of public administration tasks in the areas of education, social care, healthcare, culture, fire protection, public order, environmental protection, tourism, communal waste and sewage, technical infrastructure, local roads and public transport. Since voluntary associations provide a wide range of services to their members, it is possible to identify the fields to which the investments needed for the sustainable development of the area could be directed. With the exception of the facilities for drinking water supply, drainage and wastewater treatment as well as building a common sewer system where the associations have already set up their own organizations to ensure these needs, the field of investment cooperation could be particularly designated as the area of environmental protection, common facilities providing pre-school childcare, social services focused on the elderly as well as social housing. This paper maps association of municipalities established in individual regions with a detailed analysis of the situation in the South Moravian Region.