Understanding Geographies of Polarization and Peripheralization Perspectives from Central and Eastern Europe and Beyond

Spatial disparities in Central and Eastern Europe have been intensifying for more than two decades, yet little is known about the socio-spatial developments leading to these geographical changes. By putting the concepts of polarization and peripheralization at its centre, this book presents a multifaceted perspective on regional development and the ways we register, survey and conceptualize spatial phenomena, such as the emergence, persistence and transformation of spatial disparities and socio-spatial inequalities.
Understanding Geographies of Polarization and Peripheralization discusses both theoretical and empirical approaches, presenting several compelling case studies from Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. This book provides relevant insights for readers from all parts of the world and is of particular interest for researchers and practitioners, as well as graduate and postdoctoral students, in the fields of Regional Development, Geography, Spatial Planning, European and Area Studies.

Thilo Lang is Head of Department at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig, Germany. He completed his doctorate in Human Geography at University of Potsdam, Germany and at Durham University, UK. His research interests include peripheralization as a multi-level process, innovation outside of conurbations, regional change, transnational comparative urban and regional studies, and shrinking cities and urban regeneration.
 
Sebastian Henn is Professor for Economic Geography at Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Germany. Prior to that he worked as researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography in Leipzig, Germany. He earned his doctorate and a Habilitation degree at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany. His research interests include development of local economics and urban neighbourhood development, knowledge-based urban and regional development and global corporate networks.
 
Wladimir Sgibnev is Research Fellow at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig, Germany. He holds a doctorate in Central Asian Studies from the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, and his research focuses on urban processes in post-soviet countries.
 
Kornelia Ehrlich is Research Fellow at the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig, Germany. She completed her doctorate at the Department of European Ethnology at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. Her research addresses urban, regional and spatial development and the social economy.

1. Understanding New Geographies Of Central And Eastern Europe; Poscopp: Research Group Production Of Space In The Context Of Polarisation And Peripheralisation
PART I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUNDS, METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
2. Uneven Development, Socio-Spatial Polarization And Political Responses; Ray Hudson
3. Narrating The Diverse Regional Economies Of Post-Socialist Apparel; John Pickles And Adrian Smith
4. Lost In Complexity? Researching The Role Of Socio-Spatial Ascriptions In The Process Of Peripheralization; Judith Miggelbrink And Frank Meyer
5. As Long As The Capital Is Far Away: Multi-Scalar Peripheralization In Central Asia; Wladimir Sgibnev And Aksana Ismailbekova
6. Peripheralization Through Planning: The Case Of A Golf Resort Proposal In Northern Ireland; Helen Carter
PART II.ROLE OF DIVERSE SOCIO-POLITICAL AGENTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF PERIPHERIES
7. Rural Peripheralization - Urban Polarization? The Significance Of Gendered Mobility In Central Germany; Tim Leibert, Giulia Montanari And Karin Wiest
8. The Everyday Practices Of The Reproduction Of Peripherality And Marginality In Hungary; Erika Nagy, Judit Timár, Gábor Nagy And Gábor Velkey
9. Socio-Spatial Polarization And Peripheralization In A Rapidly Changing Region - Building Europe's Balkan Edge: Tourism Development In Coastal Bulgaria; Max Holleran
10. Paths Of Sociospatial Change In Post-Socialist Cities - Insights From Five City Regions In Central And Eastern Europe; Carola Neugebauer And Zoltán Kovács
PART III. FRAGMENTED AND RELATIONAL CONSTRUCTION OF PERIPHERALITIES
11. Cohesion As A Multi-Scalar Challenge: The Eu-Wide Perspective; Tobias Chilla And Markus Neufeld
12. Paths Of Convergence And Polarization In The Visegrád Countries; József Benedek, György Kocziszky
13. Measuring Territorial Cohesion: A Macro Regional Approach; Tomas Hanell
14. Challenges Of The Post-Soviet Development Of Ukraine: Economic Transformations, Demographic Changes And Socio-Spatial Polarization; Kostyantyn Mezentsev, Grygorii Pidgrushnyi, Nataliia Mezentseva
15. Uneven Urban Resilience: The Economic Adjustment And Polarization Of Russia's Cities; Oleg Golubchikov, Anna Badyina, Isolde Brade And Alla Makhrova
PART IV. DIFFERENT MODALITIES AND RELATIONS BETWEEN CORES AND PERIPHERIES
16. Territorial Governance And Core-Periphery-Relations: The Implications Of European Policy Concepts To Central And Eastern Europe; Garri Raagmaa
17. Concept Of Soft Polycentric Governance For Fuzzy Soft Spaces As A Challenge For Central European Peripheral Spaces; Maroš Finka, Tatiana Kluvánková-Oravská And Vladimir Ondrejicka
18. Rural Regions, Globalization And Regional Responses: The Case Of Oberlausitz Region; Joachim Burdack, Robert Nadler And Michael Woods