Abstract

Population deconcentration is the main feature of the Czech settlement system during the last two decades. It has been studied mainly as suburbanization or metropolization. The experiences from western countries and preliminary analysis of migration data suggest that the population deconcentration occurs also in rural areas. We can talk about counter-urbanization. The aim of the article is to discuss various conceptualizations of counter-urbanization phenomena, from its origin to contemporary plurality of its meanings as it is reflected in academic discourses. The specific attention is devoted to so called post-socialist counter-urbanization. Various ways towards the definition of counter-urbanization will be discussed especially in relation to urbanization processes. We argue that our research efforts should focus on local dimension of counterurbanization in order to understand the impact of population de-concentration on everyday life in localities.