Identifying rural, non-rural or urban areas in Slovakia, Central Europe, is a complex task for extensive transformation of countryside during the last decades. The processes of suburbanization, which started in Slovakia in the 1990s after the change of the political regime, also contributed to this complexity. Therefore, the identification of rural / urban regions is even more difficult. Our research focuses on the application of a multidimensional approach to delimitation of rural and non-rural areas where the aim is to establish a rurality index that presents a more comprehensive definition of the rurality. We used the Factor Analysis of socio-economic data to show rural and non-rural transitional character of municipalities. The resulting data were assigned to spatial polygons of municipalities of the Slovak Republic and visualized as choropleth maps categorizing the spatial units based on the strength of the rurality. In this way, the spatial aspects of rural vs. non-rural character in Slovakia can be perceived and compared with other sources of spatial information.

Small towns, compared to larger cities, are specific group of municipalities with weaker performance in many spheres of socio-economic development. The aim of the paper is to comprehensively evaluate development of twelve small towns in the region of East Slovakia over the centuries up to present. The paper deals with question how their demographic and economic developments have been reciprocally influenced under particular historical circumstances. Using various sources of statistical data and employing traditional historical, mathematical-statistical and cartographical methods, regularities and patterns were identified that enabled us to categorize small towns and evaluate their development trajectories and current roles in the settlement system. In the most cases, they are still valid nodes for their hinterlands even though their past situation has been unfavourable.

Park-people relationships are crucial for the effective operation of national parks (NPs). According to this new paradigm, protected areas are increasingly considered as instruments for regional development, particularly in marginal regions. However, park-people relationships often comprise conflicts. We tried to understand park-people relationships through the views and attitudes of local people living in or around the area of the Slovak Karst NP, which is found in a marginal, less developed region within Slovakia. We carried out a questionnaire survey and applied multidimensional statistical methods for the results. We identified four attitude dimensions and six local people clusters. Clusters were compared in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, views on NP tasks, attitudes towards the NP, tourism and nature, as well as migration intentions. We found that 45% of the sampled population had positive attitudes towards the NP and nature, 29.5% were neutral and 25.5% had somewhat negative feelings. Results showed that the personal economic situation, the relationship with tourism, age, education level and profession all influence the attitude of local people towards the NP. As for the socio-economic development of the region, we found that till now, the Slovak Karst NP had only a limited role. Nonetheless, understanding the views and attitudes of local people may help to refine the NP strategy. Results suggest that NP management should strengthen the interaction with local communities and improve resource efficiency through a participatory approach to preserve natural values, improve the quality of life and stop outward migration from the region.

The study identifies the Roma population’s demographic specifics in Slovakia and graphically depicts the current situation and ongoing developments. The research methodology consisted of sociological surveys and data from secondary sources, including “The Statistical Office” and previous research on this issue. Demographic analysis from 1996 to 2018 was performed on the Roma study sample, and population changes were examined separately based on the degree of concentration in Slovak municipalities. The particular emphasis here is placed on those with a Roma population proportion of at least 80%. The new millennium indicates changes in the Roma population’s reproductive behavior, with a decline in birth rate, fertility, and population growth. Moreover, the increased average life expectancy signals an improved mortality rate, especially during childhood. While these changes do not indicate a reduction or stabilization of the growth of the Roma population in Slovakia, population growth is slightly declining due to changes in the reproductive behavior of Roma women, which is a positive indicator of social emancipation. The work provides valuable insight into the main demographic features of behavior and changes in the behavior and population development of the Roma ethnic group in Slovakia.

Karst areas, which are less involved in productive activities are often declared protected areas that can have a positive impact on the lives of the local communities. To verify this hypothesis, we examine karst areas, where national parks have been established to preserve mostly geological but also biological values. According to the threefold system of objectives in national parks, not only protection and conservation, but also the presentation of the natural values to the outside world is important. Thus, tourism and related services are essential and often exclusive economic activities in these protected areas. Our questions are how national parks appear in the daily lives of the local communities and how much locals perceive the beneficial effects of national parks. The selected area of our study is the Gömör-Torna / Gemer-Turňa Karst on the Hungarian-Slovak border, where national parks have been established on both side of the border (Aggtelek National Park in Hungary and Slovak Karst National Park in Slovakia) to preserve karst landforms and caves. We conducted structured interviews with leaders of settlements in and around the national park. Interviews reveal the ambivalent system of everyday relationships. Local communities are experiencing multiple conflicts with national parks. The conflicts stem from the contrast that usually occurs within the threefold system of objectives of national parks (the tension between the practice of protection/preservation and presentation). Locals are negatively affected by the presence of national park as an authority, which limits to some extent their economic activities. They perceive national parks as barriers that prevents them from building a more diversified economy, so the existence of the national park is seen by the majority as a disadvantage rather than an advantage. Some people even question the need to protect nature, which can be seen as a legacy of the former socialist regime. Thus, we conclude that there is a need to change the attitudes of local communities more positive towards nature conservation.

National parks (NPs) are the flagships of protected areas, which primarily serve the protection of nature, but are also important sites for tourism. While karst areas are generally disadvantageous in terms of traditional farming, tourism can provide new livelihoods for those who live there. Therefore, it does matter how the local people relate to the NP and tourism, and the opinion of tourists is also an important factor. In this article, we present the results of a questionnaire survey conducted in the Aggtelek National Park (ANP) and the Slovak Karst National Park (SKNP). Our results show that for locals, the forest is the most important natural resource often visited by them, while for tourists, caves are the first choice. Conflicts between locals and tourists are negligible, and all actors agree to further increase tourism. In both ANP and SKNP, the majority of tourists and locals alike have a rather positive view of the NP. However, there is still a significant group of local residents who have a negative opinion about the NP. One reason for this may be that the locals feel they have only a marginal influence on NP decisions. The ANP plays a more important role in the lives of locals than in SKNP, because ANP has a larger organisational background and more human resources for a smaller population. Although geotourism is still largely missing from the vocabulary of local residents and park management alike, there is a small but significant part of visitors who consider themselves sensu lato geotourists. As for the motivation of tourists, the keyword is “cave”, while the content of the term “karst” is much less known for visitors (especially on the Hungarian side). In Hungary, the tourism to Baradla Cave is largely due to school education. We found that the internet, although one of the most important sources of information for visitors, was not the first port of call, and was not outstanding compared to other factors.