engleski

Urbanization and changes in the socio-demographic structure of Croatian cities

After a constant and stable demographic growth throughout the most of the 20th century Croatian cities entered the phase of stagnation and decline at the end of it. During the transition period (1990s and early 2000s) urbanization in Croatia was significantly modified by wider social and economic factors along with already unfavorable demographic processes and structures (e.g. natural decrease, migration, age structure). Many cities, especially the largest, are losing population and in some cases it has been a marked decline. Depopulation of old urban cores is also becoming an important issue, due to the relocation of numerous services (particularly retailing) in suburban zones, higher costs of living, problems with accessibility and touristification in coastal cities. At the same time, in general, the number of population is still increasing in urban regions and surrounding rural areas. In the paper we analyze size, dynamics and intensity of the urbanization and changes of socio-demographic structures in cities during the last two decades. The focus is also on the regional differences within the urban system. In the final part the importance of four largest urban regions and their periurban zones in present urban development in Croatia is stressed out. Results are compared with general trends observed in other post-socialist countries.

urbanization; socio-demographic structure; Croatian cities

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