Original scientific paper
SPACIAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC ASPECTS OF THE REVITALIZATION OF RURAL SETTLEMENTS IN CROATIA
Stjepan Šterc
; Faculty of Science, Zagreb
Abstract
By examining the rural area in the urban Sava river valley shadow between Zagreb
and Sisak, in which almost all demographic indicators displaya negative trend, an
attempt was made to demonstrate the current demographic situation and warn about
the very difficult problems waiting to be dealt with. Emigration throughout the years
and an ever more intensive natural decrease in population, in virtually the whole rural
area, have disturbed demographic relations to such an extent that revitalization has
become extremely uncertain. The uncertainty of the revitalization of such areas in
which there was no war destruction and which are situated amongst or in the near
vicinity of the powerful regional and industrial centers Zagreb and Sisak, even
deepens our doubt in the possibility of revitalizing those mostly rural settlements in
the Croatian Republic which have suffered from war destruction. If one is aware that
in areas within the Republic of Croatia which are still under occupation there
prevailed a negative trend even before the war, that these are mostly highland and
lowland settlements poorly connected, that the non-Serbian population has been
expelled from them, that Croatia finds itself in great economic difficulties and that
the pre-war demographic picture cannot in fact be restored, then it is clear that the
demographic collapse in these settlements shall continue. There are solutions to the
problems, but they are neither simple nor short-term, and in addition to that they must
be selective. Necessary preconditions of any revitalization are changes in global
politics in favour of the country and agriculture, objective evaluation of work in the
country, and giving the rural population the position it deserves with regard to its
importance in the global social reproduction, economy and working results.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
32586
URI
Publication date:
1.9.1992.
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