Municipal Population Research Articles

О СОЦИАЛЬНОЙ ПРОНИЦАЕМОСТИ ГРАНИЦ МУНИЦИПАЛЬНЫХ ОБРАЗОВАНИЙ

The article investigates the intensity of social interaction between the population of different municipalities in Russian Federation. This interaction is estimated using user profile data from online social networks: a data source that grows more and more popular in population geography studies. We build a qualitative indicator of social interaction using data on the number of interregional friendship links for «VKontakte» social network users that live in different municipalities and have an open social network profile. We show that the intensity of social interaction is higher on the average for municipalities that share a common border. Social interaction intensity data is then used to characterize the permeability of municipality borders. We choose the least permeable borders among all border segments of municipalities in Russian Federation: those with the smallest transborder interaction intensity values and describe the social barriers that are revealed this way. We describe various configurations of these barriers and suggest hypotheses for the reasons why such barriers appear or do not appear. We also analyze several groups of socially insular groups of municipalities in the Khanty- Mansi Autonomous Okrug and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and suggest possible reasons for their insularity.

The shadow of cities: size, location and the spatial distribution of population

Using a large dataset on the population of Spanish municipalities between 1877 and 2001, this paper analyses how their initial size and the presence of neighbouring urban locations influence subsequent population growth and how these links have evolved over time. Our results show that initial size is negatively related to population growth, except in the 1960s and 1970s when this relationship becomes positive. Likewise, the presence of neighbouring urban locations limited local population growth in the late nineteenth century, a negative effect that persisted, but at a diminishing rate, until the second half of the twentieth century. The influence of nearby cities became increasingly positive from then onwards, and especially so during the 1970s.

Трудовая миграция из Республики Алтай в преддверии переписи населения 2021 г.

The all-Russian population census, scheduled for 2020, has been officially postponed to 2021. The article, in connection with the upcoming census, examines the situation with labor migration of the population from the Altai Republic. The subject of research is labor migration from the Altai Republic. It should be especially noted that the spatial mobility of the region's population is becoming characteristic, first of all, of the rural population. The Altai Republic is the only region in Siberia with a predominantly rural population. The purpose of the article is to pose a problem in connection with the upcoming population census, the results of which, among other things, will form the budget of the social sphere. Education and health problems, amid the well-known restrictions caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic COVID-19, affect every Russian family. These acute problems today may worsen in the next inter-censal period (2021-2030) due to the expected low population of municipalities in the Altai Republic.

Gibrat's Law for Cities: Evidence from World War I Casualties

According to Gibrat’s law for cities, population shocks have permanent effects on city size. I examine this implication by analysing the persistence of observed population shocks: German military casualties in WWI by municipality of birth. I find a strong negative effect of military casualties on the male population of municipalities just after WWI. This effect persists to 1933 and, outside of the most agricultural municipalities, beyond. The effect on female population and the number of households is similar to the effect on male population by 1950, when women in the generation that fought WWI started reaching their life expectancy.

Učestalost različitih indikacija za endodontsko lečenje zuba u delu populacije stanovnika grada Pančeva

Introduction: Different types of irreversible pulp diseases are the most commonly stated reasons for conducting root canal treatment. Data obtained from epidemiological studies are of great importance for a better understanding of endodontic pathology and for evaluating the need for this kind of treatment. Aim: The aim of this epidemiological study was to evaluate the structure of endodontic pathology among selected adult population of municipality of Pancevo, Serbia, indicated for endodontic treatment. Material and methods: Investigations were conducted on a sample of patients who referred for dental examination and treatment, at the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry in Pancevo, during 2018. The study included 229 male and female subjects, aged over 18, who had at least one tooth indicated for endodontic treatment. Subjects were clinically examined by a standardized procedure, using visual and tactile inspection, percussion and palpation tests, periodontal evaluation and pulp vitality tests. Panoramic and retroalveolar radiographs were also analyzed. Data were statistically analyzed using Chi-Square test. Results: Endodontic treatment was indicated on 322 teeth from total number of 4911 (6.6%). Largest frequency of teeth indicated for treatment was recorded among subjects aged over 60 years (7.5%) and on frontal teeth (36.6%). The most commonly registered indications were asymptomatic irreversible pulpitis (32.3%) and symptomatic irreversible pulpitis (19.9%). Irreversible pulpitis was the most common indication for endodontic treatment between all age groups of subjects, between both genders and between all three teeth functional groups (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Percentage of teeth indicated for endodontic treatment was higher than presented in other studies. Irreversible pulpitis was the most common indication for endodontic treatment. After conducting the study, it is clear that dental care and caries preventive programs should be strengthened and expanded, especially among people with less education and awareness regarding dental health.

Size matters: Development and cooperation of municipalities in the Brno metropolitan area (Czech Republic)

The Czech Republic is typical for its fragmented settlement structure with a high number of small self-governing municipalities. Such a distinction causes many problems, including a non-effective way of their management. Even though various integration methods have already been applied in Europe for several decades, the Czech Republic, due to its historical development influenced by the period of communism, is still looking for intermunicipal cooperation opportunities at a higher (metropolitan) level. The presented text aims to evaluate a municipalities’ willingness to cooperate on particular activities and participate in selected topics on strategic and spatial planning at a metropolitan level. Their willingness is analysed according to the population size category of municipalities so that diverse approaches towards the willingness to cooperate could be identified for municipalities in different categories. The results are demonstrated by the example of the Brno Metropolitan Area, which is regarded to be a leader in the development of inter-municipal cooperation at a metropolitan level in the Czech Republic. The results were obtained from a questionnaire survey carried out with the mayors of the Brno metropolitan area in 2020. From a total of 184 municipalities, 175 municipalities took part in the questionnaire survey. Thus, the return was 95%. The results show that the assumption of the importance of the municipality population size is significant when making decisions about future development and cooperation within a metropolitan area. Although most municipalities in all size categories consider it useful to engage in cooperation and solve selected topics together at a metropolitan level, the municipalities in the smallest size categories of up to 1,000 inhabitants had a significantly lower proportion of very positive responses (definitely yes) than municipalities in the other categories. This fact may be attributed to the specific development of the Czech settlement system and the so-called historical memory of the residents from small municipalities during the directive merger in the 1970s and 1980s.

Solvency of the Institute of City Management in Estimates of the Population of the South of Russia: History and Perspectives

This article interprets the results of a mass sociological survey conducted among the population of municipalities of the Rostov region and the Republic of Adygea, in order to determine the social viability of the Institute of city management. Social competence is defined as the achievement of the main goals set for the Institute of city management, primarily, the involvement of professional managers to improve the indicators of socio-economic development of territories. Four aspects are defined as criteria for evaluation: confidence in the reform, goals of the reform, satisfaction with the reform, and expectation of the consequences of the reform. The authors came to the conclusion that a significant mass of the population does not trust the reform, sees in it other goals than the legislator declares, is not satisfied with the results, and fears the onset of negative consequences from its implementation. At the same time, there are other results from the introduction of city management, since there are stable groups of respondents who expressed a positive attitude to it, which is consistently shown in all aspects of the assessment, including the rejection of the significance of the institution of elected mayors.

Impacto do Programa Academia da Saúde sobre gastos com internações hospitalares por doenças cerebrovasculares

O objetivo deste artigo é avaliar o impacto do Programa Academia da Saúde (PAS) sobre os gastos com internações hospitalares por doenças cerebrovasculares no estado de Pernambuco. Trata-se de uma avaliação de impacto de políticas públicas, desenvolvida através de uma abordagem quase-experimental que consiste na aplicação do método do pareamento por escore de propensão, tomando como referência os anos de 2010 e 2018. Para tanto, utilizou-se dados socioeconômicos, demográficos e epidemiológicos de 89 municípios que implantaram o programa (tratados) e de outros 52 que não implantaram (controles). Os dados foram obtidos no Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística e outras bases. O total de internações por doenças cerebrovasculares em 2010 foi de 6.091 e 10.595 em 2018. Os municípios que implantaram o PAS gastaram em média R$ 1.258,61 a menos com internações por doenças cerebrovasculares (p < 0,05) para cada grupo de 10 mil habitantes. O modelo econométrico proposto mostrou-se adequado para explicar o impacto do PAS sobre os gastos com internações hospitalares por doenças cerebrovasculares. A relação entre a implantação PAS e a diminuição do gasto nos permite inferir que essa intervenção tem cumprido com a sua diretriz de constituir-se como programa de referência para a promoção da saúde, prevenção e controle de doenças crônicas, e alcançado o seu objetivo específico de aumentar o nível de atividade física da população dos municípios beneficiários.

Los procesos de renovación urbana como mitigadores de situaciones de desfavorecimiento y vulnerabilidad: análisis en la ciudad de Sevilla

Los procesos de renovación urbana implican cambios materiales e inmateriales que transforman la concepción de la ciudad y sus condiciones de habitabilidad, al tiempo que suponen una mejora en barrios desfavorecidos donde buena parte de la población, por su situación social y condiciones de habitabilidad, es vulnerable. Así, dichos procesos de renovación deben entenderse a un tiempo como mitigadores de situaciones de vulnerabilidad social y desventaja socio-habitacional, no tanto porque mejoren las características sociodemográficas de sus residentes sino porque al mejorar las condiciones de habitabilidad también lo hacen la dignidad y el sentimiento de autoestima individual y de barrio. Este estudio se basa en el análisis de datos de distintas fuentes: planeamiento urbano, catastro, censo de población y viviendas, padrón municipal de habitantes y renta familiar en tres sectores urbanos de Sevilla identificados como de elevada vulnerabilidad socio-habitacional. La investigación permite conocer y valorar las implicaciones sociales y habitacionales de los procesos de renovación urbana llevados a cabo en los mismos. Los resultados apuntan a que las actuaciones de renovación y gestión urbanas han mitigado situaciones de desventaja habitacional, aunque han tenido menor efectividad desde el punto de vista social, para lo cual hubieran sido necesarios proyectos de esta naturaleza y de carácter micro-sectorial y social.

Evidence of the psychological effects of pseudoscientific information about COVID-19 on rural and urban populations

This research aims to analyze the effects of pseudoscientific information (PI) about COVID-19 on the mental well-being of the general population. A total of 782 participants were classified according to the type of municipality in which they lived (rural municipalities and urban municipalities). The participants answered psychometric questionnaires that assessed psychological well-being, pseudoscientific beliefs and the ability to discriminate between scientific and pseudoscientific information about COVID-19. The results indicated the following: the greater the ability to discriminate between false information and true information, the greater the levels of psychological well-being perceived by the participant. The ability to discriminate predicts up to 32% of psychological well-being only for subjects living in rural municipalities. Residents in urban municipalities showed lower levels of well-being than residents in rural municipalities. It is concluded that new social resources are needed to help the general population of urban municipalities discriminate between pseudoscientific and scientific information.

Regression Models for Determining Dependencies on Various Factors on the Railway Line Zohor – Záhorská Ves

Abstract Public passenger transport is presented as an opportunity to achieve future goals for establishing sustainable transportation systems. These systems are demanded from every member country of the EU for securing an ecologically friendly, fast, and reliable way of traveling in regions. Railway passenger transport is proven as a reliable and capable way of connecting regions. In many EÚ countries, railway transport has a certain gap, that could be improved without significant investments. In this study, we are focusing on negative consequences emerging from the cancelling operation of passenger transport on the chosen railway track. Most of the cancelations are affected by external influences. Individual car transport presents significant reasons with a noticeable impact on the potential of railway passenger transport in every region. On the railway line addressed in this article, passenger transport was cancelled in December 2019. This step was implemented for the constantly declining number of passengers. The object of the research is statistical dependence, characterized by the fact that the dependent variable is affected not only by independent variables but also by other unspecified variables and random effects. They are often called model faults or errors. This fact must be captured in a mathematical expression in a regression model. Based on this decision, it is necessary to seek answers to this situation using regression models that show the relationships between the number of passengers carried and the factors influencing their development. The main hypothesis is that the canceled of passenger transport was caused by low use by passengers. For example, with an increase/decrease in population, the number of passengers should increase/decrease the article verifies the dependences of the use of railway transport on the population of individual municipalities and on the development of fuel prices. Various dependencies (linear, polynomial, etc.) are used to test hypotheses. Testing of these dependencies will be performed using Fisher–Snedecor distribution. In the final part, the article also deals with the possibilities of using this line, as freight railway transport is no longer operated on this line. The research was carried out by a case study.

Geographical proximity to refugee reception centres and voting

A number of studies examine the effect of the presence of migrants or refugees on voting behaviour in the same location, overlooking potential interactions between geographical areas. Exploiting unique data on refugee reception centre locations, we provide novel empirical evidence on the geographical spillover effect of refugee premises on voting outcomes in neighbouring municipalities. Our analysis of the 2016 referendum and the 2013 and 2018 general elections demonstrates that proximity to refugee reception centres increases voter turnout and the share of votes for populist parties in Italy, while reducing support for the centre-left. Importantly, the effect varies by municipality population size, per capita taxable income level, former political orientation, and access to broadband internet. Consistent with the hypothesis that opposition parties might have exploited anti-immigration sentiments to influence both referendum and general election ballots, we find that geographical proximity to refugee centres partly contributes to the recent success of populist parties in Italy.

An Integrated Methodology Using Extended Swara and Dea for the Performance Analysis of Wastewater Treatment Plants: Turkey Case.

Public and private companies make significant water infrastructure investments to meet increasing water demand. In this context, investments in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which play an important role in recycling of used water, are also increasing. This study investigates determination of the efficiency scores of WWTPs considering each metropolitan municipality as a decision-making unit (DMU). In this study, a two-step methodology is established to determine efficiency scores of WWTPs. In the first step, the input and output parameters are searched by a literature review for the performance evaluation, and candidate parameters are determined. Then, to determine the most appropriate and related parameters, the importance weights of all candidate inputs and outputs are computed using the extended stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method. Next, the inputs and outputs are chosen according to their importance weights. In the second step, efficiency scores of WWTPs are calculated using output-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) models. Based on the expert opinions, the parameters used as input variables are as follows: Daily Wastewater Amount per Person Discharged in Municipalities, WWTP Capacity, and Number of WWTPs; and the parameters used as output variables are as follows; Amount of Wastewater Treated in WWTPs and Municipal Population Served by WWTPs. The results are presented and discussed by sensitivity analysis. Results show that 14 metropolitan municipalities have total efficiency, 19 metropolitan municipalities have technical efficiency, and 21 metropolitan municipalities have scale efficiency.

Avaliação das preferências dos consumidores de pescado no município de Piancó-PB

RESUMO: Objetivou-se avaliar as preferências dos consumidores de pescado no município de Piancó, Paraíba. Realizou-se 108 entrevistas entre os meses de agosto a novembro 2019, em estabelecimentos urbanos e rurais, na qual o perfil do entrevistado foi avaliado por meio de questionário semiestruturado estilo “Survey” sobre o perfil, hábitos de consumos e fatores que afetam a decisão de consumo. Dos entrevistados 51% foram do sexo feminino e 49% do sexo masculino, com renda mensal menor que um salário mínimo (74%) e idade variando entre dezesseis e mais de sessenta anos e ensino médio completo. Apenas 2,78% dos entrevistados apresentaram preferência a carne de pescado, buscando adquirir o peixe inteiro, sendo ele congelado (35,93%) ou fresco (21,30%). O preço foi considerado o principal fator que influencia a compra do pescado (58,33%). A frequência do consumo apresentou maior representatividade para a categoria “raramente” com 45% do total dos entrevistados. Os principais locais de compra pelos entrevistados são feiras livres (31%) e mercados (29%), com uma maior busca pela tilápia (67%). Em relação aos principais motivos que leva ao consumidor optar pela compra do pescado, 41% afirmaram que é para variar o cardápio, 31% afirmam que a compra se dá porque o peixe é um alimento nutritivo e faz bem à saúde. A falta de informações da população do município de Piancó - PB sobre os benefícios que o pescado proporciona a saúde do consumidor, agregada a baixa renda, fazem com que o consumo destes produtos de origem animal seja limitado.
 PALAVRAS-CHAVE: consumo, hábito alimentar, tilápia.

Initial Value Dependence of Urban Population's Growth-Rate Distribution and the Long-Term Growth

This paper uses the census information of the municipal population data of the United States, Italy, and Spain to analyze the statistical properties of their 10-year growth (short-term properties). We confirmed that the smaller the initial urban population is, the greater the probability that the urban population will decrease and that the probability that the urban population will increase does not depend on the initial urban population. We also observed the statistical properties of the long-term growth of urban populations in each country over 100 years and specifically identified the following properties by observing the geometric mean of logarithmically equal-sized bins of the oldest urban population in the data used in the analysis. 1) The average urban population is increasing or decreasing exponentially with time. 2) The smaller the initial average urban population is, the smaller the exponent, which can be negative in Italy and Spain. 3) When the average urban population is large, exponential growth may stop. We showed that these long-term properties are derived from a short-term property by random sampling simulations from real data.

An exploration of land use and poverty as an integrative model for mitigating Chagas disease in El Salvador

Chagas disease is a neglected tropical parasitic disease that is caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi and that is transmitted by several insect vectors in the subfamily Triatominae. Research studies suggest that the vector ecology of Chagas disease may be impacted by anthropogenic changes to natural habitats. The objective of this study was to characterize linkages between poverty levels and diverse land use practices throughout El Salvador. Working at the municipal level, we used geographic information systems (GIS) to intersect map-layers containing land use types and poverty index values. The resulting intersect map was used to characterize the alpha-diversity of different agricultural, natural, and mixed land use types. We found that the richness, diversity, and evenness of municipal land use types changed with municipal poverty-level, size, population density, and population sex ratio. We also detected that changes in green space, natural landscapes, and agricultural landscapes correlated with municipal sociodemographic considerations. Given the broad exploratory connections between the vector ecology of Triatominae and the socio-demographics of land use practices, we propose that a multidisciplinary approach will be more effective in mitigating Chagas disease in El Salvador.

Urban nature in a time of crisis: recreational use of green space increases during the COVID-19 outbreak in Oslo, Norway

The global response to the COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it significant changes to human mobility patterns and working environments. We aimed to explore how social distancing measures affected recreational use of urban green space during the partial lockdown in Oslo, Norway. Mobile tracking data from thousands of recreationists were used to analyze high resolution spatio-temporal changes in activity. We estimated that outdoor recreational activity increased by 291% during lockdown relative to a 3 yr average for the same days. This increase was significantly greater than expected after adjusting for the prevailing weather and time of year and equates to approx. 86 000 extra activities per day over the municipality (population of 690 000). Both pedestrians (walking, running, hiking) and cyclists appeared to intensify activity on trails with higher greenviews and tree canopy cover, but with differences in response modulated by trail accessibility and social distancing preferences. The magnitude of increase was positively associated with trail remoteness, suggesting that green spaces facilitated social distancing and indirectly mitigated the spread of COVID-19. Finally, pedestrian activity increased in city parks, peri-urban forest, as well as protected areas, highlighting the importance of access to green open spaces that are interwoven within the built-up matrix. These findings shed new light on the value of urban nature as resilience infrastructure during a time of crisis. The current pandemic also reveals some important dilemmas we might face regarding green justice on the path towards urban planning for future sustainable cities.

Residential Mobility, Gentrification and Neighborhood Change in Spanish Cities: A Post-Crisis Perspective

Urban neighborhoods in Barcelona and Madrid are currently experiencing intense social transformations, with exclusive (and excluding) areas expanding (more or less rapidly) in resurgent central spaces. Recent literature suggests that, in parallel with urban expansion and latent re-urbanization, the most vulnerable population segments are being displaced and concentrated in suburban areas with worse access to all types of services. By proposing a comprehensive analysis of annual data on migration and residential mobility based on municipal population registers, the present study outlines the role of an increasing participation of highly qualified individuals in migratory and residential flows to explain changes in social composition at the intra-urban spatial scale. For the first time in Spain, we have been able to consider the impact of an individual variable assessing ‘education level’ on migration and residential mobility patterns, allowing a better characterization of interconnected processes of population substitution, polarization and segregation.

Eficiência dos municípios de Mato Grosso do Sul: uma abordagem baseada em fronteira determinística

O presente artigo objetivou investigar a eficiência nos gastos públicos dos municípios do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul − Brasil, compreendendo o período entre 2005 e 2016. Para a realização das análises, foram consideradas as variáveis: gastos com administração, saúde, educação, Produto Interno Bruto per capita (PIBpc), a população municipal e o Índice Firjan de Desenvolvimento Municipal. O método de cálculo da eficiência utilizado foi a Análise Envoltória de Dados (DEA). Os resultados empíricos mostraram eficiências variadas entre os municípios, dentro do período proposto, e foram apontadas no mapa as eficiências médias municipais, que mostraram sete municípios na faixa I; 15 municípios na faixa II; 17 municípios na faixa III; e 16 municípios na faixa IV. A partir desses resultados, não podemos afirmar que um nível maior de eficiência pode levar a um aumento ou diminuição do Índice Firjan de Desenvolvimento, concluindo que há, em média, ineficiência na gestão dos recursos públicos, e esses não garantem resultados na melhoria da renda, longevidade e educação dos sul-mato-grossenses.

Three decades of land-use and land-cover change in mountain regions of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Mountain regions are key hotspots for biodiversity conservation and for provisioning ecosystem services. Containing fragile ecosystems and home to millions of inhabitants, mountains are also places of great value for tourism, cultural practices and endemic species. In this paper, we developed the first multitemporal land-use and land-cover assessment of mountain regions within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (BAF), the most endangered Brazilian tropical biome. The study used spatial thematic mapping for 1985, 2001, and 2018 to understand changes in landscape composition, patterns of change in patch metrics of natural vegetation cover, and correlations between human population and natural vegetation. Change detection techniques, landscape metrics and statistical tests (e.g., Kruskal-Wallis) were applied. We found that landscape composition did not change at significant levels over the 34 years (1985–2018), but that intense exchange between natural vegetation and agriculture creates a shifting mosaic steady-state. Additionally, natural vegetation loss was 13-fold lower within mountains than in other areas of the BAF biome, which indicates lower human-induced change in mountain regions. Urban and rural population (number of inhabitants) showed positive correlation with natural vegetation at municipality level indicating higher presence of population in municipalities with large extents of natural vegetation. Analysis demonstrated that the study region was under lower population pressure and urban growth compared to other areas and had kept large extents of natural vegetation within large patches, different to what is observed at biome level. However, telecoupling processes may result in indirect land changes in mountain regions of the BAF biome. Our results indicate that mountains play a key role in conserving the remnants of the BAF.