Place Attachment and Migration Intentions of the Population: An Example of Eight Cities in Serbia

Main Article Content

Mina Petrović
Vera Backović
Irena Petrović

Abstract

Following the need to combine macro structural and micro actors’ perspective, this paper conceptually starts from endogenous city development paradigm within which place attachment and intentions to migrate are given specific importance since human resources are perceived of pivotal significance. Such paradigm is related to diversified factors that makes city more or less attractive for local population, thus enhancing their place attachment and involvement or migrational intentions. Focused connection between the place attachment and migration intentions are discussed as neglected in studies of migration, and conceptually supported by the notion of territorial identity and specific reinterpretation of Bourdieu’s ideas of sense of comfort in place, and by employing his concept of habitus to the city. Empirically, the connection of people’s place attachment and intentions to migrate is analyzed for eight cities in Serbia. The selected cities: Kragujevac, Sabac, Užice, Novi Pazar, Sombor, Zrenjanin, Leskovac, and Zaječar are chosen as middle sized cities for which the issues to develop attractiveness and attach their population becomes particularly complex in times of (post-socialist) transformation and economic crisis.


Empirical analysis is aimed to illustrate the researched cities potential to keep their population by investigating their place attachment (emotional and functional) and the way they perceive their city, in relation to their intention to migrate. Data are collected through questionnaire survey, in the 2013-2015 period. Such an explorative aim intended to demonstrate the importance to research local population perspective in order to understand the cities as lived spaces and their acting potential, as such important information are left out of scope by regular statistics. Research findings confirm the basic assumption that cities with higher migration inclinations are also the cities with lower place attachment. That supports the employed perspective which reveals that place attachment and provincial habitus’ characteristics emerge irrespective to their development category. Thus, Zrenjanin and Zajecar appeared with weaker while Novi Pazar with stronger capacities than expected. Besides that, the correlation between migration inclinations and place attachment is more consistent and stronger than between migration inclinations and any other socio-demographic characteristic of respondents, in all cities. Such finding confirms the need that place attachment should be given more attention in researching city development potentials, for which migrations are sifnificant indication. More work should be dedicated to further conceptualization of connection between place attachment and migrational intentions both from demographic and sociological perspective. Also, the fact that respondents’ education correlates more to place attachment than to migrational intentions, while correlations among the last two variables are more consistent, indicates to possible complex interferences and need to further explore the observed connections.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Petrović, M., Backović, V., & Petrović, I. (2017). Place Attachment and Migration Intentions of the Population: An Example of Eight Cities in Serbia. Stanovnistvo, 55(2), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.2298/STNV1702001P
Section
Articles

References

AMIN, A. (ed.) (1994). Post-Fordism, A Reader. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. DOI: 10.1002/9780470712726

AUCLAIR, E. (2015). Ordinary heritage, participation and social cohesion: the suburbs of Paris. In E. Auclair, G. Fairclough (eds.), Theory and Practice in Heritage and Sustainability (pp. 25‒39). New York & London: Routledge.

BACKOVIĆ, V., & SPASIĆ, I. (2014). Vezanost za mesto i lokalni identiteti: studije slučaja četiri grada u Srbiji. Teme 38(1): 177−192. http://teme2.junis.ni.ac.rs/public/journals/1/previousissues/teme1-2014/teme%201-2014-09.pdf

BARCA, F. (2009). An Agenda for a Reformed Cohesion Policy: A Place – based approach to meeting European Union challenges and expectations. Brussels: European Commission (Independent Report). http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/regi/dv/barca_report_/barca_report_en.pdf

BENSON, M. (2014). Trajectories of middle class belonging: The dynamics of place attachment and class identities. Urban Studies 51(14): 3097‒3112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042098013516522

BENSON, M., & JACKSON, E. (2012). Place-making and Place Maintenance: Performativity, Place and Belonging among the Middle Classes. Sociology 47(4): 793‒809. DOI: 10.1177/0038038512454350

BOBIĆ, M. (2007). Demografija i sociologija – veza ili sinteza. Beograd: Službeni glasnik. http://www.slglasnik.com/biblioteka-drustvena-misao/edicija-udzbenici-i-prirucnici/demografija-i-sociologija

BOBIĆ, M., & BABOVIĆ, M. (2013). Međunarodne migracije u Srbiji: stanje i politike. Sociologija 55(2): 209‒228. https://doi.org/10.2298/SOC1302209B

BOBIĆ, M., & JANKOVIĆ, S. (eds.) (2017). Towards Understanding of Contemporary Migration. Causes, Consequences, Policies and Reflections. Belgrade: ISI, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. http://147.91.75.9/manage/shares/ISI/isi_2017_MirjanaBobic_StefanJankovic.pdf

BOBIĆ, M., & VESKOVIĆ-ANĐELKOVIĆ, M. (2016). Migration potential of citizens of the Jablanicki and Pcinjski districts. In V. Jovic & A. Petrovic (ed.), 150th anniversary of Jovan Cvijic's birth, (pp. 399‒420). Belgrade: Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts. https://www.sanu.ac.rs/Izdanja/ElIzdanja/2016Zbornik_JCvijic.pdf

BOBIĆ, M., VESKOVIĆ-ANĐELKOVIĆ, M., & KOKOTOVIĆ-KANAZIR, V. (2016). Study on External and Internal Migration of Serbia’s Citizens with Particular Focus on Youth. Belgrade: International organization for migrati-on − Mission to Serbia. http://serbia.iom.int/node/128

BOLČIĆ, S. (2002). Iseljavanje radne snage i odliv mozgova iz Srbije tokom 90-ih. U S. Bolčić & A. Milić (ur.), Srbija krajem milenijuma ‒ razaranje društva, promene i svakodnevni život (159‒166). Beograd: Filozofski fakultet ‒ Institut za sociološka istraživanja.

D’COSTA, A. P. (2008). International Mobility of Technical Talent: Trends and Develpment Implications. In A. Solimano (ed.), The International Mobility of Talent. Types, Causes and Development Impact (pp. 44‒83). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

DESSEIN, J., BATTAGLINI, E., & HORLINGS, L. (eds.) (2016). Cultural Sustainability and Regional Development: Theories and practices of Territorialisation. New York-London: Routledge.

DOMANSKI, B. (2011). Post-socialism and transition. In A. Pike, A. Rodriguez-Pose & J. Tomaney (eds.), Handbook of Local and Regional Development (pp. 172‒181). New York & London: Routledge.

EC (2008). Poverty and Social Exclusion in Rural Areas. Brussels: European Commission (EC) (Final Study Report). http://ec.europa.eu/social/

FLORIDA, R. (2005). Cities and the Creative Class. In J. Lin & C. Mele (eds.), The Urban Sociology Reader (pp. 290‒302). New York-London: Routledge.

GERBER, J. (1997). Beyond dualism ‒ the social construction of nature and the natural and social construction of human beings. Progress in Human Geography 21(1): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1191/030913297671906269

GREČIĆ, V. (2010). Srpska naučna dijaspora. Beograd: Institut za međunarodnu politiku i privredu.

HALL, T., & HUBBARD, B. (1998). The Enterpreneurial City: Geographies of Politics, Regime and Representation. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

HARVEY, D. (1993). From Space to Place and Back Again: Reflections on Conditions of Postmodernity. In J. Bird, B. Curtis, T. Putnam, G. Robertson & L. Tickner (eds.), Mapping the Futures: Local Cultures, Global Change (pp. 2‒29). New York & London: Routledge.

HRISTOVA, S., DRAGIĆEVIĆ-ŠEŠIĆ, M., & DUXBURY, N. (2015). Introduction. In S. Hristova, M. Dragićević-Šešić & N. Duxbury (eds.), Culture and Sustainability in European Cities. Imagining Europolis (pp. 1‒13). New York-London: Routledge.

INSCH, A. (2011). Branding the City as an Attractive Place to Live. In K. Dinnie (ed.), City Branding. Theory and Cases (pp. 8-14). New York-London: Macmillan. DOI: 10.1057/9780230294790_2

JAŠŠO, M., & FINKA, M. (2010). Selected Aspects of Territorial Cohesion in Slovakia under the Recent Crisis. Spatium 23: 17–21. DOI: 10.2298/SPAT1023017J

KISS, E. (2011). The impacts of the economic crisis on the spatial organization of Hungarian industry. European Urban and Regional Studies 19(1): 62–76. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969776411428652

KOVACS, Z. (2014). Recent performance of post-socialist cities. Paper presented at the conference „Social and economic conflicts of transition towards democracy and market economy – Central and Eastern Europe 25 years after“, Metropolitan Research Institute, Budapest, November 2-4, 2014.

KRIEGER, H. (2004). Migration trends in an enlarged Europe. Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Condi-tions. http://edz.bib.uni-mannheim.de/daten/edz-k/gde/04/EF03109EN.pdf

KUPISZEWSKI, M., KUPISZEWSKA, D., & NIKITOVIĆ, V. (2012). The Impact of Demographic and Migration Flows on Serbia. Belgrade: Inter-national organization for migration – Mission to Serbia.

http://www.kirs.gov.rs/docs/migracije/The_Impact_of_Demographic_and_Migration_Flows_on_Serbia.pdf

MASSEY, D. S., ARANGO, J., HUGO, G., KOUAOUCI, A., PELLEGRINO, A., & TAYLOR, J. E. (1998). Worlds in Motion. Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millennium. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

MOJIĆ, D., & PETROVIĆ, I. (2013). Mladi i legitimnost društvenog poretka u Srbiji: razmišljanja i delanja u pravcu emigracije. Sociologija 55(2): 229-244. https://doi.org/10.2298/SOC1302229M

MOLNAR, D. (2013). Činjenice o regionalnim razlikama u Srbiji. u M. Arsić (ur.), Bilten Kvartalni monitor ekonomskih trendova i politika u Srbiji br. 32 (str. 66‒73). Beograd: Fondacija za razvoj ekonomske nauke (FREN). https://www.fren.org.rs/sites/default/files/qm/O3.pdf

NIKITOVIĆ, V. (2013). Migraciona tranzicija u Srbiji: demografska perspektiva. Sociologija 55(2): 187‒208. https://doi.org/10.2298/SOC1302187N

PAVLOV, T. (2009). Migracioni potencijal Srbije. Beograd: Grupa 484. https://grupa484.org.rs/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Migracioni-potencijal-Srbije-2009.pdf

PAVLOV, T., KOZMA, R., & VELEV, B. (2012). Dijaspora kao resurs lokalnog razvoja. Beograd: USAID, Srbija; Grupa 484 (izveštaj). https://grupa484.org.rs/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Dijaspora-kao-resurs-lokalnog-razvoja-2013.pdf

PAVLOV, T., PREDOJEVIĆ-DESPIĆ, J., & MILUTINOVIĆ, S. (2013). Transnacionalno preduzetništvo: iskustva migranata-povratnika u Srbiju. Sociologija 55(2): 261–282. https://doi.org/10.2298/SOC1302261P

PENEV, G., & PREDOJEVIĆ-DESPIĆ (2012). Prostorni aspekti emigracije iz Srbije. Tri „vruće“ emigracione zone. Stanovništvo 50(2): 35‒64. https://doi.org/10.2298/STNV1202035P

PETROVIĆ, M. (2009). Transformacija gradova: ka depolitizaciji urbanog pitanja. Beograd: Institut za sociološka istraživanja Filozofskog fakulteta Univerziteta u Beogradu.

PETROVIĆ, M. (2014a). Teritorijalni identitet: između lokalnog i globalnog. Sociologija 56(1): 23‒40. https://doi.org/10.2298/SOC1401023P

PETROVIĆ, M. (2014b). Društvo i gradovi – između lokalnog i globalnog. Beograd: Čigoja štampa i Filozofski fakultet Univerziteta u Beogradu.

PETROVIĆ, M., & TOKOVIĆ, M. (2016). Neoendogeni razvoj gradova i ekološki paradoks: studija slučaja šest gradova u Srbiji. Sociologija 58(suppl. 1): 181‒209. https://doi.org/10.2298/SOC16S1181P

PREDOJEVIĆ-DESPIĆ, J. (2010). Ka razumevanju determinanti međunarodnih migracija danas – teorijska perspektiva. Stanovništvo 48(1): 25‒48. https://doi.org/10.2298/STNV1001025P

RAS (2017). Razvijenosti regiona i jedinica lokalne samouprave (elektronski izvor). Beograd: Razvojna agencija Srbije (RAS). http://www.regionalnirazvoj.gov.rs/Lat/ShowNARRFolder.aspx?mi=4

RZS (2014). Uporedni pregled broja stanovnika 1948, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 2002. i 2011. Podaci po naseljima. Knjiga 20. Beograd: Republički zavod za statistiku Srbije. http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga20.pdf

REDEI, M. (2014). Demographic behaviour before and after. Paper presented at the conference „Social and economic conflicts of transition towards democra-cy and market economy – Central and Eastern Europe 25 years after“, Metro-politan Research Institute, Budapest, Hungary, November, 2‒4, 2014.

RIČARDS, G., & PALMER, R. (2013). Uzbudljivi gradovi. Beograd: Clio.

SAVAGE, M., BAGNALL, G., & LONGHURST, B. (2005). Globalization and Belonging. London: Sage Publications.

STANILOV, K. (ed.) (2007). The Post-Socialist City. Urban Form and Space Transformations in Central and Eastern Europe after Socialism. Dordrecht: Springer. http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9781402060526

STOJKOVIĆ, B. (2009). Grad kao okvir zavičajnog identiteta. Kultura 122-123: 41‒53.

STORPER, M. (2011). Why do regions develop and change? The challenge for geography and economics. Journal of Economic Geography 11(2): 333–346. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeg/lbq033

ŠEĆEROV, V., & NEVENIĆ, M. (2009). Model funkcionalnih urbanih područja u Srbiji danas. U M. Vujošević & J. Perić (ur.), Regionalni razvoj, prostorno planiranje i strateško upravljanje (str. 75‒100). Beograd: Institut za arhitek-turu i urbanizam Srbije.

TEUNE, H. (1992). Multiple group loyalities and the security of political communities. In Z. Mlinar (ed.), Globalization and territorial identities (pp. 105‒114). Aldershot: Avebury.

TSENKOVA, S., & NEDOVIĆ-BUDIĆ, Z. (eds.) (2006). The Urban Mosaic of Post-Socialist Europe. Space, Institutions and Policy. Springer ‒ Physica Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-7908-1727-9

VESKOVIĆ-ANĐELKOVIĆ, M. (2014). Karakteristike i stavovi potencijalnih prekograničnih migranata iz Centralne Srbije. U M. Petrović (ur.), Strukturni i delatni potencijal lokalnog razvoja (str. 335‒352). Beograd: Institut za sociološka istraživanja Filozofskog fakulteta Univerziteta u Beogradu; Čigoja štampa.

VESKOVIĆ-ANĐELKOVIĆ, M., & BOBIĆ, M. (2015). Stavovi građana centralnog dela Srbije prema uticaju doseljenika na tradiciju i kulturu njihove lokalne zajednice. Migracijske i etničke teme 31(2): 221-246. DOI: 10.11567/met.31.2.2

VUJOŠEVIĆ, M., ZEKOVIĆ, S., & MARIČIĆ, T. (2010). Postsocijalistička tranzicija u Srbiji i teritorijalni kapital Srbije. Stanje, neki budući izgledi i predvidivi scenariji. Beograd: Institut za arhitekturu i urbanizam Srbije.

WERTHEIMER-BALETIĆ, A. (1999). Stanovništvo i razvoj. Zagreb: MATE.