Border Regions as Disturbed Functional Areas: Analyses on Cross-border Interrelations and Quality of Life along the German–Polish Border

ABSTRACT

Border regions are commonly perceived as disadvantaged areas marked by peripheral location. Most of them are indeed suffering from the distance to political decision centers and economic core regions. The main reason for this drawback can be found in barrier effects caused by the presence of state borders, leading to a truncation of potential catchment areas. This paper attempts to bring together two different approaches: a spatially oriented approach focusing on cross-border flows and a sociological survey on the perceptions of the border region’s inhabitants. Based on a research project on quality of life and on cross-border interrelations in the southern part of the German–Polish border region, the paper provides a first set of data in order to verify whether cross-border flows increase during the process of gradual opening of state borders. It gives an overview of cross-border interrelations in the fields of demography, employment, economy, education, and tourism. Moreover, it includes the inhabitants’ perception of border effects and their motivations for border crossings, differentiating between the response patterns of German and Polish interviewees. The paper closes with policy options for regional development policy in the investigated border region.

Notes

1 Data in this section were taken from the Statistical Office of the Free State of Saxony and from the Cross-border Friendship Database.

2 Sources of the following data were the Statistical Office of the Free State of Saxony [Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen] and the Genesis regional database, particularly the central registry of foreigners [Ausländerzentralregister] and data from the periodic update of population statistics [Fortschreibung des Bevölkerungsstandes].

3 There are no aggregated data on Germans residing in the district of Zgorzelec. The given numbers and percentages are based on information from Polish municipalities in September and October 2013 and corresponding data from the Cross-border Friendship Database.

4 Data in this section were taken from the local data base [Bank Danych Lokalnych] of the Polish Main Office of Statistics [Główny Urząd Statystyczny] and trade statistics of the Statistical Office of the Free State of Saxony.

5 These results should be used with reservations: the survey was conducted 10–12 November 2011, comprising Friday, 11 November, a Polish national holiday, which may have been seized by Poles as an occasion to visit Saxony for sightseeing and/or shopping. This fact may have distorted the results, so it would be helpful to carry out a comparable enquiry on a normal Friday.