Highly qualified social strata in urban areas of Hungarian regional centres from 1980 to 2011

Abstract

This study investigates the spatial concentration of highly qualified strata using statistical indicators and Representation of highly qualified social strata means the spatial concentration of groups with higher social status education level, foreign language professional skills, and employment level) in not coincide with mainstream definitions of interaction and networks between social groups). According the most basic assumptions of the complex city concept, settlements with urban status are much more complex in economic, social, and technical structure and their network relations and interactions than settlements that have not been declared as cities. Simultaneously, the difference in social composition between cities and other settlements cannot be disputed because the concentration of economic resources and activities and the potential of employment and the fact that higher income attracts skilled workers to the cities and their catchment areas; all of these resulting in a higher proportion of highly qualified social strata. To meet the increasing needs of the global society and results of the transition to a market economy and globalization processes, a wider range of services are emerging, so the workforce is also significant differentiation, causing changes in the characteristics and composition of society. This paper attempts to study these processes exploring the dynamic trends of change in the spatial distribution of the examined groups. The author is looking for answers to questions such as how this aspect measured? Is there a difference in the structure of the society of urban centres and their catchment areas been a change in the spatial-social characterristics of urban areas over the decades?