Sociologický ústav AV ČR, v.v.i.

The recent studies about the spatial differenciation of the population in the Czech Republic stresses mainly its regional dimensions. The urban-rural gradient is therefore neglected or studied marginally with the use of inappropriate methodological tools. The paper will focus on the analysis of urban-rural differences in the social and demographic characteristics of the population in the Czech Republic. Further, it will identify whether the differences in the urban-rural dimension are more important than the regional differences and if the rural space itself is homogenous. This main research topic is foregone by the definition of rural-urban areas in the Czech Republic. The typology discriminates three major types of space: rural, suburban and urban on the basis of the intensity of work commuting to the major urban centers of the country. This methodological approach has been inspired by the French typology of urban and rural area delimitation (ZAUER). The analysis covers primarily the whole area of the Czech Republic. Therefore, the data used are aggregated ones from Census 2001 and other official statistical resources. This first approach will help to answer the question whether the Czech society is divided in some regard also (or still) by the type of area its members live in. If such disparities exist, in the second phase, they will be studied further, with the aim to found out the source and the future perspectives of their development in the transforming society.