Transport relations among settlement centres in the eastern part of the Czech Republic as a potential for polycentricity

Abstract

Transport is one of the important factors influencing the arrangement of spatial relations and creating of spatial interactions in society. This proposition can also be applied to the forming of links within an urban system. In connection with this it is possible to point out that, to a large extent, the arrangement of transport relations also predetermines monocentric or polycentric organization of urban systems. The paper deals with an analysis of these connections, both in theory and in practice. The example of the eastern part of the Czech Republic, based on public transport supply, serves to identify transport interactions between 51 centers that make daily interactions between them possible. Apart from the typology of spatial pattern of the found transport interactions the paper also quantifies the benefits for the population of the centers, brought about by potential polycentricity (eg. a greater plurality of choices regarding the place of daily activities). The benefits are analyzed by means of the calculation of the daily economic potential expressed as the total number of accessible jobs