Original scientific paper
PREKODRAVLJE-REPAŠ Development of the Settlement and Population
Ivan CRKVENČIĆ
Mladen CRKVENČIĆ
Abstract
Prekodravlje is an area in Croatia between the Drava River and
its left tributary, the Ždalica River. This is a markedly lowland area
of the Drava alluvial plain, with a total surface of 88.78 km2. It
has six settlements with a total population of 3,286 according to
the 2001 census. Prekodravlje is an area that has a long history
of human habitation, but the current settlements are relatively
young – as most of them emerged as the result of development
in the early nineteenth century. An analysis of population trends,
natural growth and the migration balance has shown that Prekodravlje
had the features of an immigration region only until the
end of the nineteenth century, when intense growth in the
number of inhabitants was conditioned by the high number of
immigrants in relation to emigrants and high natural growth. In
the entire subsequent one-hundred year period, i.e. already after
1910, Prekodravlje became a region marked by depopulation,
and since 1971 its population has began dying off. Due to its
position on a national border and its earlier relative transit isolation,
this area saw little investment, so jobs outside of agriculture
were not created here. A portion of the labor force therefore
moved away. The consequence has been a decline in the
population and aging of that same population. In recent years,
the character of its position on the border has changed, and the
transport and communications infrastructure has improved. The
latter may even be reinforced with the introduction of telecommunications
links (Internet, mobile phone networks, etc.). The
conditions have been created for the accelerated development of
the secondary and tertiary sectors, which are technologically
more complex and thus require a qualified labor force. So a
higher general level of education and the corresponding school
structure have become prerequisites for faster economic
development and the halting of negative demographic trends.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
19495
URI
Publication date:
31.8.2003.
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