City systems in the Baltic states: the Soviet legacy and current paths of change

This paper analyses the development of city systems in the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). These countries have experienced a shift from the relatively isolated realm of the Soviet Union to the European Union, one of the most liberal economies in the world. The aim of this paper is to analyse how the transition from a centrally...

Population Decline in Lithuania: Who Lives in Declining Regions and Who Leaves?

Since the 1990s, Lithuania lost almost a quarter of its population, and some regions within the country lost more than 50% of their residents. Such a sharp population decline poses major challenges to politicians, policy makers and planners. This study aims to get more insight into the recent processes of socio-spatial change and the role of...

Shrinking regions in a shrinking country: The geography of population decline in Lithuania 2001-2011

Shrinking populations have been gaining increasing attention, especially in post-socialist East and Central European countries. While most studies focus on specific cities and regions, much less is known about the spatial dimension of population decline on the national level, and the local factors determining spatially uneven population change....

Spatial transformation of the economy in the post-communist period: The case of the Vilnius urban region

Economic transformation has been gaining ground in the former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe since the change of system. This descriptive paper explores the locational patterns of enterprise in the Vilnius urban region during the post-communist transition of Lithuania. Cartographical techniques are used to map the changes that...

Shrinking regions in a shrinking country: The geography of population decline in Lithuania 2001-2011 (discussion paper)

Shrinking populations have been gaining increasing attention, especially in post-socialist East and Central European countries. While most studies focus on the population decline of capital cities and their regions, much less is known about the spatial dimension of population decline on the national level. Lithuania is one of the countries which...