Social activity as an element of formation of territorial identity – rural areas of Wielkopolskie Voivodeship case study

Abstract

Territorial identity is a phenomenon that can be considered on many levels. It is assumed that, geographically, it is treated as the occurrence of interpersonal or social contacts that are assigned to specific spaces. Identity is therefore measured by the degree of participation of the local community in the social and cultural life of the area. The aim of this study is to characterise the social activity of the inhabitants of rural areas of Wielkopolskie Voivodeship in the field of culture as a factor in building territorial identity. A set of formal characteristics defining social networks in rural areas was selected from the data available in the LDB and analysed spatially. In addition, an indicator method based on Perkal’s model was used.

As a result of the study, no direct relationship was found between the functional type of the rural municipality and participation in culture, although the values of the synthetic indicator make it possible to note that in areas with typically agricultural functions the cultural activity of the inhabitants is relatively high. Higher values of the cultural participation indicator are also recorded in proximity to cities, in municipalities with a residential function. In spatial terms, it can be concluded that the highest level of territorial identity is characteristic for inhabitants of municipalities located in peripheral zones of Wielkopolskie Voivodeship and rural municipalities with dominant extensive agriculture located in the east of the voivodeship.