Geoparticipation in the Czech Municipalities
Index Based Quantitative Approach
INTRO
Participation is becoming not only a theoretical framework of EU and UN documents, but also a practical approach that many municipalities explore in order to build resilient, sustainable and smart cities. This story map presents a weighted Index of Geoparticipation for all municipalities in the Czech Republic (n = 6258). The index is an indicator-based value divided into three dimensions (communication, participation, transparency) that helps to evaluate the state of geoparticipation among Czech municipalities. The size of the municipality (measured by population) and the significance of the municipality are both highly related to the values of the Index of Geoparticipation. Regional capitals, major cities, and big towns that are part of the Healthy Cities Network all have higher values for the Index of Geoparticipation.
This research was published in Journal of Maps, for more details see the original article:
Burian, Jaroslav, Radek Barvíř, Daniel Pavlačka, Jiří Pánek, Jiří Chovaneček, and Vít Pászto. 2023. “ Geoparticipation in the Czech Municipalities: Index Based Quantitative Approach .” Journal of Maps 19 (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2023.2231006.
GEOPARTICIPATION index
Using crowdsourcing, we collected 55 attributes for 6,258 municipalities in Czechia. Based on the literature review and discussion with local officials, 12 significant indicators were identified and divided into three dimensions of the Index of Geopar-ticipation (Participation, Communication, and Transparency). Only binary values of 0/1 were used, even for data where higher detail was known. The Index of Geoparticipation was calculated using a weighted sum. Weights were determined using the Saaty method. Six experts were involved in the process of weight setting. The map reveals higher values of the Index of Geoparticipation commonly in large cities, where geoparticipation principles are more popular than in the countryside. However, there are also progressive small municipalities with high level of the index, e.g. the hot spot surrounding the town of Litovel in Centra Moravia and the region around the town of Trutnov in north Bohemia.
DIMENSIONS - Communication
DIMENSIONS - Participation
DIMENSIONS - Transparency
TYTOPOLOGY
The typology of municipalities was created based on the binarised values of three individual dimensions of the Geoparticipation Index: Communication, Participation and Transparency. Municipalities were assigned to positive or negative category in each dimension, and combining them formed four main types: (1) fully positive (+++), (2) positive (++ -, +-+, -++), (3) negative (+--, -+-, --+) and (4) full negative (---).
HOT SPOTS - Getis-Ord Gi*
High values cluster in five areas, namely in a belt in the east of Czechia (on the border of the Zlín and Moravian-Silesian regions), south of Brno, in the northern part of the Hradec Králové Region, in the west of Czechia (Karlovy Vary Region) and a northwestern belt from Prague towards borders with Germany. Significant clusters of low values occur in four main areas, at the inner peripheries between the cities of Olomouc, Zlín and Brno; western from Hradec Králové and then in two very distinct belts of municipalities stretching from southwest to the central part of Czechia and then heading to the north. Especially the south– north part of the belt in the central part of the country corresponds with the most rural areas following the border between Moravia and Bohemia (two major national parts of Czechia).
HOT SPOTS - Moran's I
At the same time, it is very important to note that there are a few outliers within these significant clusters of high and low values. These outliers are spread very evenly across the whole area. The relatively uniform distribution of outliers with no apparent spatial pattern indicates the continued presence of heterogeneity within otherwise (statistically) homogeneous clusters. The disruption of the spatial pattern homogeneity of the index is attributed to the presence of municipalities that, relative to their surroundings (considering a 30-kilometre neighbourhood), exhibit higher values. Almost invariably, these are municipalities with extended power (municipalities with a black outline), which are subregional administrative centres and have a higher population, or HCCZ member municipalities where higher activity in the field of (geo)participation is anticipated.
