Wachstumsschwerpunkte und Disparitätenausgleich in Sachsen: aktuelle räumlich-strukturelle Veränderungen

Abstract

The mean population of Saxony dropped from approximately 5 million in the year 1989 to 4,556 million in 1996. This is a result of the unfavourable age structure of the population, the low birth ra te (surplus mortality) as well as migration losses. At the same time, the number of people in work in Saxony dropped by roughly one third - 85% of those losses were in the secondary sector. The regionally different processes were examined in this article in the areas which are divided into local government districts and/or regional categories within Saxony. The criteria used were the changes in the population, regional disparities in employment and reorientation in the workforce commuting. The population losses were greatest in Saxony between 1989 and 1992 - almost all local government districts were affected. This was followed by a more regionally differentiated population development. The areas of high population density lost considerable numbers of inhabitants, which was purely a result of the respective super-centres. The regional categories with the largest losses in population were the regions with approaches to high population density and the medium-sized centres in the rural regions. All other rural areas had better values than the state average. In the overall 1989/96 balance, only the borders of the areas of high population density and the heath regions within the rural districts gained in population. Between 1989 and 1994, the far-reaching cutbacks in jobs lead to new basic regional proportions in the employment market. The employment in the two areas of Leipzig and Dresden, characterized by a high population density, was far greater than the average for all of Saxony. To a certain extent, this was also true along the infrastructural axes to the borders of the areas of high population density. Employment in the rural districts was considerably lower, the situation was only slightly more favourable in the medium-sized centres in 1994. In comparison to the start of nineties, there were first signs of improvement in the employment situation in the rural districts between 1994 and 1996 - with the exception of the areas with approaches to a high population density.The different, sometimes contradictory development tendencies in the regional distribution of accommodation and work had effects on the commuting. The three largest commuter centres of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz increased further in their importance. At the same time, further commuter centres localised around them in a belt. In the rural districts, the numbers of cities and local government districts with a commuter surplus > 1000 persons dropped considerably.