IMPACT AREA OF GYŐR AND THE SUB-CENTRES OF ITS SURROUNDINGS

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to identify the impact area of the Győr by theoretic and empirical researches. In the first part of the paper we define the gravity zones of 31 centers of the Northern-Transdanubian, including Győr, by using a gravity model. When identifying the impact field, we based our research on Reilly’s gravitation model; however, we used a modified version in our calculations, i. e. we used a calculated (complex) indicator as weight. While Reilly’s model delineates the zone of gravity between two points (cities), in our model we determined zones of gravity for 31 settlements in the Northern-Transdanubia. The extension of the spaces of gravity illustrates the magnitude of the cities, so there are no surprises at the first sight: Győr has the largest zone of gravity, followed by Székesfehérvár, Szombathely and Veszprém but it is fact, that Győr’s gravity zone is open to south-west reaching the Lake Balaton however, from South-East direction, Veszprém and Székesfehérvár set limits. The 31 cities can be classified into four groups based on the extension of their zones of gravity.

 In the second part of the study we analyze the data of questionnaires to define functional connections between settlements based on the direction and number of space-paths. The results point to different functional impact areas of Győr and designate the subcentres of the research area. In the end we compare theoretical and empirical results for analyzing the differences and the similarities.