Geographia Polonica (2017) vol. 90, iss. 2

Does suburbanisation contribute to the rejuvenation of a metropolitan area? Changes in the age structure of the Kraków metropolitan area in Poland in the light of recent suburbanisation

Sławomir Kurek, Mirosław Wójtowicz, Jadwiga Gałka

Geographia Polonica (2017) vol. 90, iss. 2, pp. 59-70 | Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.0085

Abstract

The process of residential suburbanisation may cause changes in the age structure of the population as the age composition of in-migrants is younger than long-term residents. However, the demographic change associated with the second demographic transition as well as the co-existence of suburbanisation and reurbanisation of inner city areas may have ambiguous impacts on the age composition. The aim of this paper is to show changes in the age structure of the population in a post-socialist city in the light of suburbanisation using the example of the Kraków Metropolitan Area. In particular, we sought to show whether the intensive development of this process results in the inhibition of population ageing due to the influx of people in suburban areas along with the outward diffusion of the behaviours associated with the second demographic transition.

Keywords: suburbanisation, age composition, population ageing, post-socialist city, Kraków, Poland

Sławomir Kurek [sgkurek@up.krakow.pl], Institute of Geography Pedagogical University of Kraków Podchorążych 2, 30‑084 Kraków: Poland
Mirosław Wójtowicz [miroslaw.wojtowicz@up.krakow.pl], Institute of Geography Pedagogical University of Kraków Podchorążych 2, 30‑084 Kraków: Poland
Jadwiga Gałka, Institute of Geography and Spatial Management Jagiellonian University Gronostajowa 7, 30-387 Kraków: Poland