Pavel Chromý (Charles University Prague, Czech Republic)

Contact details:

Department of Social Geography and Regional Development, Faculty of Science, Na Slupi 14
128 01 PRAGUE 2, CZECH REPUBLI C

Tel: +420221953311

E-mail: chromy@natur.cuni.cz

Career:

I graduated in 1996 at Charles University Prague, Faculty of Science and Faculty of Art as MSc. in geography and history. In 1996 I’ve started my PhD studies, specialization Regional and political geography (historical geography) at Department of Social Geography and Regional Development, Faculty of Science, Charles University Prague. The theme of my dissertation is Regional historical geography south-west part of Moravia (boundary and development of regional identity) in the period of the last 150 years. I am going to finish my dissertation work next year. As for my jobs: since 1998 – member of editorial board and executive editor of journal Geografické rozhledy, 2000 became an employee as scientific and pedagogical fellow of the Department of Social Geography and Regional Development of the Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague. Specialized in historical and cultural geography and economic and environmental history of Czechia.

Selected Publications:

M. Marada, P. Chromý: Contribution to studies on peripheric regions of Czechia. Acta FRN Universitatis Commeniae – sborník příspěvků ze Slovensko-česko-polského seminária v Bratislavě, 1999.

P. Chromý: New Trends in The Czech adn Word Historical Geography. Acta FRN Universitatis Commeniae – sborník příspěvků ze Slovensko-česko-polského seminária v Bratislavě, 1999.

L. Jeleček,, P. Chromý, L. Kupková, L. Šefrna, V. Štěpánek, ‘Comparison of Land Use Changes in and outside Biosphere Reserves - Case Study Czechia’ ,International Conference ad Ecological Interactions in Biosphere reserves, Luhačovice 1999.

Pavel Chromý: Current Research

I am a member of LUCC (Land-Use Land Cover) changes research team in Czech republic. There are 8 members from the Department of Social geography and Regional Development and from Institute for Environmental Studies, Faculty of Science, Charles University Prague, several students and collaborators from different universities and institutes in our country.

Since the 1970s the research team has been formulating basic ideas on data sources, methodology, and various methodical approaches to land-use analyses in the Czech Republic. Thanks to the existence of detailed land-use data collected by official survey organizations over many years, time analysis in land-use research can be well carried out.

The project’s database is based on data containing some 13,000 cadastral units covering total territory of Czechia. The average area of each cadastral unit is 609 hectares. For each unit information on the following 8 land use categories is available: arable land, permanent cultures, meadows, pastures, forest areas, water areas, built-up areas, and other areas in 1845, 1948 and 1990. This structure has been grouped into three more general categories (agricultural land, permanent grassland, and remaining areas).

For the sake of comparison in space and time (some cadastral units have changed their area and new ones have been created), some 10,000 of comparable basic territorial units (BTU) covering the whole territory of Czechia, must have been created. The average area of BTU is 790 hectares.

Special sets of ca 40 GIS tables, charts, and cartogramms have been elaborated for all 76 Czech districts, as well as for Prague and former 7 provinces. It is important to note that we can investigate the LU changes under the condition of capitalism (market) economy and so-called planned economy during Communist period and then during its transformation in market economy and capitalism after 1989. The historical experience allows us to solve current problems much more correctly.

The main layers we use for our research are polygon layers of cadasters, basic territorial units, districts and regions. This is the base for our Historic Boundaries GIS project in Czech Republic.

Personal Research:

My personal research deals with historic geographical aspects of development of specific regions – near-border, peripheral, marginal and cultural (ethnographic) regions – in general, in the development of interaction of the society and nature in the 19th and the 20th centuries. Co-author of the projects „Perspectives of peripheral regions of the Czech Republic" (1998-2000) and „LUCC: Development, connections, perspectives". Co-ordinator of historic geographical section of grant projects on the research on near-border and marginal regions, backed by the Grant Agency of the Charles University and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.


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