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Two Views on the Same City: Comparison of Methodological Approaches of Urban Sociology and Social Geography
Huráňová, Eliška ; Vinopal, Jiří (advisor) ; Illner, Michal (referee)
This thesis deals with the comparison of methodological approaches of Czech urban sociology and social geography. The aim of the thesis is to ascertain whether sociologists have maintained their specific view on urban issues different from that of other disciplines. Currently, it is rather difficult to distinguish between purely sociological and socio- geographic research activities. Therefore, the research part of this thesis is focused on the analysis of diploma and dissertation theses. In the case of students, it is clear which discipline their theses represent. The comparison of theses is based on observation of their topics, theoretical assumptions, methods, techniques and the nature of conclusions. The concluding part of the thesis summarizes the results of the research, supplementing them with the comment on the current state of urban sociology in the Czech Republic. Key words: urban sociology, social geography, city, methodology
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Urban Gardening: Motives and the Possibility of Transformation of the Public Space in the City
Papoušková, Kristina ; Illner, Michal (advisor) ; Grygar, Jakub (referee)
This diploma thesis pursues the phenomenon of urban gardening. It especially focuses on urban gardening in the form of community gardens, whose number has multiplied in Prague in the recent years. This trend has also caused an interest of the media and thus its is natural to research the motivation of the people, who participate in this activity, whether it is deeper or if it is just a fad. As a theroretical footing the ideas of Manuel Castells about urban social movements as well as the ideas of Henri Lefebvre about the right to the city were used. These authors believed that in the city the human scale is the most important and not financial value of the urban space. In the next part of the theoretical work the problem of public space and its interpretation in social sciences is presented. The analysis is dedicated to urban gardening in Prague. It aims to find whether it is just a temporary fashion or if the gardens could become permanent part of the public space in Prague. The function of community gardens is analysed with the use of a case study of one such garden. The work also tries to find out if the gardens in public space only bring positives or if they can also cause conficts.
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Where is the community? Case study of neighborhoods in Žiar nad Hronom
Kirschnerová, Hana ; Illner, Michal (advisor) ; Kuchař, Pavel (referee)
Community and its ties to locality have been bothering sociologists and researchers since society has abandoned its traditional organization. Many of them considered positive and negative aspects of industrial and later modern society's influence on community sense and human relationships. This thesis will walk the reader through the influential writings on the topic of community, meaning of space and human relationships. Starting with the appreciation of traditional community, through worries about its disappearance, diminishing importance of local ties and ending with complete anonymity and individualization. The empirical part of this thesis brings up results of the research conducted in neighborhoods of Žiar nad Hronom, town in central Slovakia. Findings from the interviews were confronted with ideas of New Urbanism, basically confirming role of architecture design in neighbors' relationships. Intensity, frequency and quality of interaction among neighbors are thus influenced by factors of spatial design, length of residence and busyness of residents. Nature of the relationships among neighbors is far from ideal (as in traditional community) but people look for communities in wider sense, creating networks with people from other social circles than those bounded to a place.
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The Perception of Urban Space on Daily Trips
Křivohlávek, Michal ; Uherek, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Pospíšilová, Jana (referee) ; Illner, Michal (referee)
Today the world population has reached its historical maximum and continues to rise. Billions of people travel in everyday life either to work and school or for community services. The daily practice of commuting substantially contributes to the perception of space of everyday life and to the image of city landscape. Nevertheless the means of everyday transit was not so far investigated as ways how to perceive the environment and method to create life-space. How is the city landscape specifically seen by commuters in different means of transport? What specific places and surroundings people encounter on the different ways of their everyday trips? This paper starts by presentation of different methods of investigation of space in ethnology and anthropology. On the example of Prague presents a broader overview to cultural context of daily space mobility. The third part of paper gives a result of concrete field study, how differently people commuting by diverse means of transportation describe the space and place around them.
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Coexistence of old and new coming residents. Case study research of a village in the Prague suburban zone
Bezpalcová, Tereza ; Illner, Michal (advisor) ; Kandert, Josef (referee)
The thesis responds to recent changes in the hinterland of our bigger cities arising from the process of residential suburbanization. Townships in the immediate vicinity of Prague, which often suffered from a population decline and overall stagnation under socialism, have seen a rapid increase in the number of people coming from the city. The aim of this case study is to examine the nature of social relationships between old- time residents and newcomers in Nučice, a village in the Prague West district. The study combines a questionnaire survey with semi-structured interviews and on-site observation. I have looked at the socio-demographic differences between the two groups, differences in their social status and integration and community activities based on Chapin's behavioural typology on site. I have found out that on average, new residents are younger, better educated and with a higher income than the original population. At the same time, they bring a different lifestyle to the countryside, with different attitudes and opinions. The differences between the natives and the newly-arrived population make their integration more difficult and their social relationships remain largely undeveloped.
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Aspects of globalization in cities, on the example of cities: Prague and Brno
Valášková, Hana ; Illner, Michal (advisor) ; Kandert, Josef (referee)
This thesis "Aspects of globalization in cities, on the example of cities: Prague and Brno" provides a reflection of how globalization influences cities. One definition of globalization is following: it is a complex process which contains changes in society. These changes lie in global conectivity, higher mobility of people and establishment of transnational corporations and to fast transaction of information, ideas, goods and services over national boundaries. Development of cities is influenced by many factors, one of them is globalization. The structure of cities is changing. This thesis provides a description of globalization's processes in two the biggest cities in the Czech republic Prague and Brno. An author has mentioned a concept of global cities. For analysis how globalization affects cities is globalization is divided into few interconnected dimensions. These dimensions are economy, culture, migration and mobility, social-spacial dimension and communication and transport. Within these dimensions are analyzed specific indicators.
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Municipality strategic plan for development as a dead document?
Kudrna, Libor ; Illner, Michal (advisor) ; Ochrana, František (referee)
This thesis is devoted to strategic planning of municipalities. To render the life cycle of the strategic document the diploma work uses process models of public policy and is dedicated to the problem of not implemented strategic plans of some cities in the Usti region. Study constructs and analyzes it as a publicly-political problem. This thesis identifies the views on the strategic plans in the cities where it exists, but is not systematically used to managing of the city.
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Spatial aspects of everyday life
Pospíšilová, Lucie ; Ouředníček, Martin (advisor) ; Ira, Vladimír (referee) ; Illner, Michal (referee)
The study of everyday life has become a new challenge in contemporary society. Over the last few decades there have been significant changes of temporal and spatial relationships, which now come in many different forms, some of which are relatively new phenomena (e.g. virtual relationships). The society differentiates also socially and culturally. People with different attitudes and values, habits and behaviours, people of different lifestyles meet at one place and encounter everyday lives of others. These facts demonstrate the importance of everyday life research. Everyday life is routine and self-evident for a man or group of people in a given space and time but otherwise it is variable and differentiated phenomenon. New issues arise in the context of contemporary changes that encourage the questioning the definitions of everyday life and also finding new methods of research. The thesis searches for the position of geography in the research of everyday life and thus contributes to the formation of a subdiscipline of geography that is not yet fully developed. Responding to approaches influenced by Time geography, which tend to reduce the daily lives of people on a path through time-space and create models of human behaviour, the thesis tries to "humanize" the path using concepts that reflect the...
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Prefabricated houding estates today - Jižní město (Southern Town) through the eyes of two generations of its first inhabitants
Barvíková, Jana ; Illner, Michal (advisor) ; Temelová, Jana (referee) ; Maier, Karel (referee)
Prefabricated housing estates today - Jižní Město (Southern Town) through the eyes of two generations of its first inhabitants The current state and possible development of prefabricated housing estates is a very serious issue and there are many blank spaces on the present knowledge map that have not been investigated yet, as well as questions that have not been answered yet. At the same time, prefabricated housing estates in the Czech Republic represent an issue on which most of the general as well as professional public (across the impacted fields) has a clear opinion, which is frequently quite firm, even though they may have no -- or only minimal -- personal or professional experience with the environment. The fact that the real situation at the housing estates may be quite different from the image of housing estates perceived from the outside -- as presented by the media and viewed by "outsiders" that do not live in housing estates and do not actually know that much about them, except how the housing estates come across physically and what feelings and notions they evoke in them -- is the basic hypothesis that is tested in this thesis. This hypothesis is based on findings from domestic research as well as research from abroad that in contrast to the problematic reputation -- respectively image -- that...
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Quality of Life and its Regional Differentiation in the Czech Republic and in Prague / (Case Study of QOL of Praguers)
Heřmanová, Eva ; Drbohlav, Dušan (advisor) ; Illner, Michal (referee) ; Daněk, Petr (referee)
This dissertation deals with the theoretical basis of both the concept of quality of life, its development and different dimensions of meaning, as well as with the possibilities of its operationalization and quantification (of quality of life) using sets of indicators. On the basis of comparison and compilation of existing scientific geographical, sociological and socio-economic literature, then presents the major findings in this area. The methodological and practical part of the dissertation outlines the regional differentiation of the objective quality of life in the Czech Republic at the regional level. Particular attention is paid to a case study of Prague and its subjective quality of life, through the use of sociological data obtained by field survey carried out between 2004- 2006. Based on these data, the work then focuses on evaluating potential correlations between subjectively perceived quality of life of Prague citizens, their preferences and other characteristics. Conclusion of the dissertation represents a synthesis of findings based on theoretical, methodological and practical part of the work and rating of significance of each set of input hypotheses.
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