PROBLEMS OF TRANSFORMING MILITARY TRAINING AREAS IN A POST-COMMUNIST SPACE: LOCAL COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS AND POLICY IMPLICATIONS

Abstract The integration of socio-economically marginalized areas into regional systems in the context of post-communist transformation has been an important subject of social science research in general. The military training areas (MTA), as specifi c type of peripheries, have been so far little explored. Based on the results of an extensive questionnaire survey (N = 1,362), the authors of this study analyze local community perceptions of MTA in the Czech Republic, assess positive and negative impacts of MTA on the quality of life, and discuss possible future development scenarios of the areas. The results show that local communities in the hinterland of MTA perceive similar problems as those living in other peripheral and/ or rural areas, particularly unemployment, limited options of obtaining own housing, maintenance of road infrastructure, limited options of leisure activities, etc. Ensuring a harmony between local development and MTA activities is considered a specifi c issue. Problems are perceived more likely by older and highly educated people, and those living in smaller municipalities with higher unemployment and municipalities located closer to MTA. On the other hand, young and less educated people living in larger municipalities with higher unemployment rates, which are located at a greater distance from county seats, perceive more likely positive impacts of MTA.


Introduction
Military training areas (hereina er MTA) represent a specifi c type of peripheries with signifi cant potential, usable for future sustainable development (Kustrová, 2013;Seidl and Chromý, 2010a;Zug, 2015). While the integration of spatially or socio-economically marginalized areas into the regional system in the context of post-communist transformation has been an important subject of social science research in general, the MTA have been so far neglected -partly due to social and political conditions, including the lack of information or a limited ability to obtain information about the areas, and partly due to a general irrelevance of the problem requiring an immediate solution (Seidl and Chromý, 2010b). Only in recent years, the issue of optimizing military capabilities has been raised as a result of gradual reduction of the army units, services and number of soldiers.
In the Czech Republic, the MTA still occupy a signifi cantly higher share of land (about 1.7%) than in the neighboring countries (approximately 0.5%) (Kazatel, 2012). Given the real needs of the Czech Army training troops, the current number and size of military capabilities have been re-considered, but an equally important reason for the optimization is the restoration of civil rights of inhabitants of military se lements who, in the absence of a municipality status in the territory of a military area, were not able to vote or be elected to municipal councils, nor they were able to own or trade property.
To perform the optimization process a new Act (no. 15/2015 Coll.) on ' e abolition of the Brdy military training area, the establishment of the boundaries of the military training areas, the change of the borders of the regions and the amendment of the related laws' has been approved. In the designated territories, the creation of new municipalities or the affi liation of the territory to the adjacent municipalities is now possible.  e Ministry of Defense of the Czech Republic (MOD, 2015) throughout the process of border optimization of the military se lements sought to involve as much as possible the aff ected inhabitants and mayors of concerned municipalities in all negotiations on their future and the submi ed proposals.
 e aim of the research presented in this paper was to evaluate how actual local development and related problematic aspects of the transformation of municipalities that have had or still have a common border with MTA are perceived by social actors (inhabitants) and what are the local communities' perceptions about the future development scenarios of these areas.  e article presents selected results of an extensive questionnaire survey conducted in 2016 with inhabitants of municipalities located in the hinterland of MTA, concerning the perceptions of current problems of the quality of life and positive and negative impacts associated with changes in the public administration and the activities of MTA.  e basic research question to answer in this paper is how does the location of municipalities (in the sense of proximity to MTA) aff ect the local quality of life and the degree of perceived problems in the municipality.

 eoretical departures
 e emergence of the fi rst permanent modern MTA can be dated to the mid-19th century in the UK (Evans, 2006); in the US and other countries MTA appeared just a few decades later (Johnson, 2001). A er the WWI, new and renovated military sites that could no longer keep pace with the upcoming era of modern times have been constructed, and there was a tendency to exchange the quantity for the quality (Shoebridge, 2011). An unprecedented military division of the world into the Western and the Eastern bloc began to take place in the late 1940s.  is also involved the building of new military se lements and bases, technological upgrading and capacity building of troops, as a part of the strategy of the so-called Cold War (Lachowski, 2007;Kramer, 2010). At present, MTA cover an area of 2 to 2.5 million km 2 , which represents more than 2% of the global surface area (approximately the area of Algeria), and they occur in all major ecosystems in the world (Zentelis et al., 2017a(Zentelis et al., , 2017b. Over the last two decades, the academic literature dealing with MTA has focused on two major aspects. Apart from studies on the history and development of MTA, their spatial and political organization (e.g., Evans, 2006;Lachowski, 2007;Kramer, 2010;etc.), the main research directions included (i) ecosystems, natural conditions, biodiversity specifi cities in the areas ( MTA are typical by their location, which -in the vast majority of cases -can be described as peripheral, which in general entails a number of economic, social or administrative problems, as well as interesting research aspects in the given areas. Diff erent peripheral areas are located all over the world, yet the defi nition of the term itself may diff er depending on the region or country where the periphery is located.  ere are several approaches to defi ning peripheries. Leimgruber (1994) poses four types of peripheries, including (i) geometric (the area is geometrically distant from the center), (ii) ecological (areas face excessive resource exploitation), (iii) economic (areas face low economic activity), and (iii) social (inhabitants of areas are socially excluded, o en members of a language, racial, or religious minority).
 e economic approach is one of the most frequently used (in this case unemployment and low number of job opportunities), nevertheless, the remaining three will also be considered for the purposes of this paper.  ese are the geometric approach -distinguishing inland and border peripheries, the social approach -social exclusion, ethnic minorities, internal migration, population aging etc., and the ecological approach -possible environmental pollution by military technology. Ruane and Todd (2001) outline core-periphery relations in Britain, France and Spain.  ey presume that globalization, cultural diff erences and also badly adjusted political systems of the individual countries are the causes of peripheral area creation. Davies and Michie (2011) discuss if (and to what extent) peripheral areas are a problem for the countries of Western and Northern Europe. In their study, they propose alternative approaches to resolving problematic areas, such as providing public services in the excluded areas, training for the socially excluded, etc. Bürcher, Habersetzer and Mayer (2015) indicate the entrepreneurial potential of peripheral areas and advise that if local entrepreneurs are able to negotiate and establish partnerships, the areas might serve as a suitable place for selected business ventures. Baudelle and Guy (2004) discuss the impact of the regional policies of the EU on peripheral areas in selected countries.
Notable diff erences caused by the Cold War and the division of Europe into 'East' and 'West' can be observed in the literature. Only in the 1990s, with the fall of the Iron Curtain and subsequent transformations of economic management structures, did authors from the former Eastern Bloc manage to develop their theoretical consensus into practical applications.  e Russian Federation has the most signifi cant issues with peripheral areas. Massive internal migration of inhabitants younger than 30 years has been recorded. Kashnitsky and Mkrtchyan (2008) state that the depopulation of peripheries causes a dramatic aging of the population and consequently economic stagnation of entire regions. Similar problems have been recorded in Poland (Markuszewska, 2015) and Slovakia (Mikuš, Máliková and Lauko, 2016;Novotný and Pregi, 2016).
As Seidl and Chromý (2010b) state, areas which are typically peripheral were chosen to become military training areas in the Czech Republic, respectively in all post-communist countries. Macešková, Ouředníček and Temelová (2009) state that municipalities in their hinterland o en face regional development stagnation. Sustainable regeneration of former military sites (or military brownfi elds) have recently become one of the greatest challenges for municipal planners and developers.  e transition from military to civilian life for these complex, contaminated, isolated, heritage laden and o en contested sites in locations ranging from urban to remote is not an easy process, and there is li le systematic analysis of what follows base closures, leaving communities, governments, developers, and planners to experiment with untested land use confi gurations, partnership structures, and fi nancing strategies (cf. Bagaeen and Clark, 2016). Ashley and Touchton (2016) analyzed case studies of military base redevelopments in the US and they conclude that the redevelopment of military sites is specifi c, particularly by the presence of federal funding, contamination of redevelopment parcels, and economic output in the surrounding counties. Based on the experiences from the US, Bailey et al. (2006) summarized the key tasks of public administration and local leaders for successful post-military redevelopment projects: (i) local leaders should begin planning for redevelopment early, and plan with respect to long-term benefi ts instead of short-term gains, (ii) they should listen to the community's desires, needs, and ideas and keep the public involved throughout the redevelopment process, (iii) they should consider how best to balance the area's need for jobs, homes, and public amenities, (iv) they should use the base's location, infrastructure, historic buildings, and environmentally sensitive lands to the best advantage.
Also in Europe, the revitalization of military sites has become more common during the last decade since vacant developable land is less available, more expensive and more protected in densely populated areas and as a result of emerging policies, economic instruments, and management tools supporting the regeneration processes (Zagroba,  Recently an ambitious project has been supported by the European Union within the URBACT programme (the European Territorial Cooperation programme aiming to foster sustainable integrated urban development in cities across Europe), which is called 'Military Assets as Public Spaces (MAPS 1 )'.  e aim of this project, which involves partners from nine European countries, is to redefi ne the function, social role and accessibility of former military heritage. Following the approach of social architecture, dismissed military areas can be deemed the new symbols of a more conscious and participatory urban planning, oriented to the promotion of cohesion and inclusiveness.
In this paper, we explore and analyze local community perceptions of MTA in the Czech Republic, assess positive and negative impacts of MTA on the local quality of life, and discuss possible future development scenarios of these areas with implications for public administration and local governments.

Areas under study
Four MTA are currently located in the Czech Republic -Boletice, Březina, Hradiště, Libavá and an already disestablished one, Brdy.  e location of the MTA is presented on Figure 1 and the basic characteristics are in Table 1. Until December 31, 2015, the residents who permanently lived within the territory of military areas were not able to organize their own local government. A territorial reduction (hereina er TR) was implemented on January 1, 2016, when all permanently populated sites within military areas were removed from them and were assigned to existing municipalities or new municipalities were established.  e reason for this territorial reduction was the eff ort to save the funds spent by the Ministry of Defense on the operation of buildings and facilities. Within this territorial reduction the area of the MTA Boletice was reduced by about 13%, the area of MTA Březina was reduced by about 5%, the area of MTA Hradiště was reduced by about 15%, and the area of MTA Libavá was reduced by about 31%.
Currently MTA Boletice has an area of 165.5 km 2 and is located in the South Bohemian Region. An area of about 85 km 2 is a part of the NATURA 2000 network and part of the protected landscape area Šumava. Both the area and the unique fauna living there are protected. A er the TR, when one municipality was excluded from the MTA, 13 municipalities (12.3 thousand people) bordered directly on the area. MTA Hradiště, located in the west part of the country, has an area of 280.8 km 2 , which makes it the largest one in the country. Due to its size, it is also considered one of the largest in Central Europe and is widely used not only by the Army, but also the Police and the Emergency Service of the Czech Republic. A er the TR, when two new municipalities were excluded, 20 municipalities (with 42.5 thousand inhabitants) border on the area directly. MTA Březina has an area of 149.6 km 2 and is located in the South Moravian and Olomouc Regions. Although this area has the most intensive training, it is partially made available to the public, owing to several historic landmarks and bicycle paths located within it.  e presence of a large number of man-made reservoirs is an important aspect of this area.  ey aff ect the local microclimate, increase the retention ability of the territory, act as a passive fi re protection measure and serve for military and fi re-fi ghting training. A er the TR, with no new villages being created, 26 municipalities (with 35.8 thousand inhabitants) border on the area directly. MTA Libavá is located in the Olomouc and Moravian-Sileasian Regions. It has an area of 235.7 km 2 . Entry to the area is highly restricted by the Ministry of Defense due to the intensity of training. A er the TR, when three new villages were excluded, 23 municipalities (with 50.5 thousand inhabitants) border on the area directly.  e last area that is subject to research is the former MTA Brdy. Prior to its disestablishment in 2015, it had an area of 260 km 2 , more than 95% of which has been assigned to 27 already existing municipalities nearby.  erefore, only 6 km 2 of military space remained.  e area was disestablished mostly for economic reasons and also because only a minimum of it was being actively used for military purposes, which rendered its maintenance cost-ineff ective. Although the area has been formally disestablished, entry is still restricted and its bicycle paths are not marked at all.  is can be interpreted as proof that the relevant institutions were unprepared for the situation.  ere are 57 thousand inhabitants living in the municipalities bordering the former MTA.

Survey design and its methodological limitations
During the summer and autumn of 2016, we carried out a standardised questionnaire survey of inhabitants of municipalities located in the hinterland of MTA.  estionnaires were distributed through pupils and students of elementary and high schools to their parents and grandparents, which is a suitable alternative to polling in the streets in larger studies (Punch, 2005). A er discarding unfi lled or incorrectly completed ones, 1,362 questionnaires from respondents living in municipalities bordering MTA aged 18 and more were assessed (Boletice -160, Březina -173, Hradiště -433, Libavá -134, Brdy -462). Basic characteristics of the sample are in Table 2.
 e questionnaire consisted of two parts: (i) a generally oriented part, focused on exploring and assessing the common problems of municipalities and (ii) a specifi cally oriented part, where respondents assessed the positive and negative impacts of MTA on their quality of life. It was composed of closed ended questions, in which respondents rated specifi c issues on a scale of 1-5, and open ended questions, in which they expressed their personal a itudes to the ma er at hand.
Age and educational structure of respondents refl ects the selected sample (parents, or grandparents of pupils and students of cooperating schools).  at is why two-fi hs of respondents are in the age segment '20-39' and half in the age segment '40-49'.  e gender disparity (nearly two-thirds of respondents are females) can be explained by females being more involved in questionnaire surveys because of their greater empathy  (Smith, 2008). Another possible explanation is that since the questionnaires were distributed to schools, the students, asked to 'give them to their parents' handed the questionnaires to their mothers, who are more involved in school activities, parent-teacher meetings etc. A high proportion of working-age respondents and a low proportion of elderly respondents might also partly be a result of the distribution method. In addition, a considerable number of municipalities are located in the inner or border peripheries, which are both characterized by a high ratio of people over 15 years without school leaving exam, and the lowest number of people employed in the tertiary economy sector (according to Musil and Müller, 2008).  is is also indirectly refl ected on the degree of education that local inhabitants need in order to fi nd employment.  e educational structure of the local population was also refl ected in the respondents' economic activity. More than two thirds said they were employees, while only about 10% were self-employed, about 4% were unemployed and nearly 4% were retired people.  erefore, the research, aff ected to a greater extent by the respondents of a certain age and social group (with children in elementary and secondary schools), is likely to be distorted because of unrepresentativeness of the sample and the results cannot be a ributed to the entire target without particular caution. On the other hand, this sample of the population would be for the most part representing residents who have a closer relationship with their municipalities and an interest in local development and prosperity.
Length of life spent in the municipality might have a signifi cant impact on the response structure -but none of the categories deviated signifi cantly in our research. Although the MTAs close to country borders are located in the former Sudetenland (Boletice, Hradiště, Libavá) and were repopulated a er the expulsion of its original German population a er World War II, this fact is losing its importance nowadays (Chromý et al., 2011). Local residents without historical ties to the area have already built a relationship to it or have moved elsewhere. Yet, because of the aforementioned deviations from national trends, it would be appropriate to consider these facts and also the social, economic, and demographic structures of the local population when creating possible future development scenarios for the MTAs.

 ality of life and public administration problems
First, as an introduction to the ma er at hand, the research will focus on general aspects of life in municipalities across the MTAs. Simply said, the main problems of municipality life on the borders of military training areas (see Table 3) are not fundamentally diff erent from long-term problems of Czech villages in general, especially of those located in inland or border peripheral area (e.g., Frantál and Vaishar, 2008;Chromý and Janů, 2003). Low unemployment support, lack of new employment creation, possibility of obtaining their own housing, maintenance and development of road infrastructure, leisure activity possibilities and dangers of criminal activity are perceived as the most acute. A specifi c issue that needs to be addressed in these municipalities is ensuring a harmony of municipal development and MTA activities. In this respect, a considerable part of the population (especially those living close to MTAs) perceives a rather negative impact of the MTAs -a restriction of their free movement and leisure activities.

Source: Authors' survey
For the purposes of statistical analysis of perceptions in diff erent categories of municipalities and population groups, a summation index was calculated.  is index (the sum of the assessments of 17 specifi c aspects) can hypothetically reach a maximum of 85 points.  e average in our sample is 44 points, whereas the median (middle value) is 43 points.
 e diff erences in the problem perception of individual areas are relatively small, yet statistically signifi cant.  e clearly highest rate of problem perception (index = 45.7) is in the municipalities bordering MTA Hradiště, then MTA Boletice (43.9) and MTA Brdy (43.1).  e problem perception index in municipalities around MTA Březina (42.3) and Libavá (41.6) is statistically signifi cantly lower (Eta = 0.135; F = 4.688; p < 0.01). It can be stated that the results refl ect regional socio-economic diff erences within the Czech Republic, or the long-term problems of structurally disabled regions and economically disadvantaged peripheral (border) areas (Chromý and Jančák, 2005;Burda, 2016).
A correlation analysis revealed further signifi cant diff erences in the degree of problem perception depending of municipality size, its location and the job market (see Table 4). Problems are being more perceived in smaller municipalities with higher unemployment, which are located closer to military training areas. However, the detected correlations are very low. Our sample of municipalities also shows that the rate of unemployment is generally related to municipality size (higher unemployment in larger villages) and correlates weakly with its distance from the county seat and the border of the military training area (the closer to MTA, the lower the unemployment rate). In this sense, the MTA may have a positive infl uence in terms of job opportunities for the close communities.  e problem perception index also grows statistically signifi cantly with age and the degree of education.  e problems are more perceived by entrepreneurs and self-employed people (index = 45.3) and also the unemployed (45.0), less by employees (43.8), the retired (43.4), women on maternity leave (43.2), and the least by students (39.9).

Positive and negative impacts of MTA on local communities
Regarding the perception of specifi c positive and negative impacts of military training areas on the life of the population, it can be said that the negatives prevail (they are highlighted by italics in Table 5). Although almost half the respondents agree that the MTA have contributed to the conservation of nature (especially in Brdy and Boletice), almost half the respondents perceive the restrictions on their free movement and leisure activities negatively. Almost a third of the respondents are disturbed by the noise of military equipment, shooting ranges, etc.
 e greatest consensus among respondents across MTAs and municipalities is that the MTA had almost no eff ect regarding be er housing availability, variety of retail and services and availability of fuel and material. Only every tenth person perceives a positive impact of the areas in this regard.  e greatest variance in the responses appears in the case of perceiving noise, feeling stress and also the restrictions on movement and leisure activities. Perception of these negative aspects signifi cantly correlates with the distance of the municipality from the MTA border. Note: Negative impacts are in italics.

Source: Authors' survey
 e positive aspects are more o en perceived in the cases of MTA Brdy and MTA Boletice (particularly regarding the positive impact on conserving the untouched nature and creating job opportunities).  e negative aspects are more o en perceived around MTA Březina and MTA Libavá (especially in terms of movement and activity restrictions, restrictions on municipality development and negative eff ects on the environment).
Young and less educated people living in larger municipalities with higher unemployment rates, which are located at a greater distance from the county seat, perceive the positive impacts of MTA more o en. However, the distance from the MTA border does not infl uence signifi cantly the perception of the positive aspects. It is quite clearly visible also in the map with municipalities being categorized according to the perception of positive impacts of MTA (see Figure 2). areas. An extensive survey of the inhabitants of the bordering municipalities showed that they are most burdened by low support of employment and creation of job opportunities, possibilities of obtaining their own housing, maintenance and development of road infrastructure, the danger of crime and the possibilities of leisure activities. A specifi c issue that needs to be addressed in these municipalities is ensuring a harmony of municipal development and MTA activities.
 e diff erences in the problem perception in individual areas are relatively small, yet statistically signifi cant.  e highest problem perception rate is in the municipalities nearby MTA Hradiště, MTA Boletice and MTA Brdy.  e problem perception index in municipalities around MTA Březina and MTA Libavá is statistically signifi -cantly lower.  e results refl ect regional socio-economic diff erences within the Czech Republic, or the long-term problems of structurally disabled regions and economically disadvantaged peripheral borderland areas (see e.g., Bański et al., 2018;Malý, 2016;Malý and Mulíček, 2016;Kebza, 2018;Vaishar et al., 2013).
A correlation analysis revealed further signifi cant diff erences in the degree of problem perception depending on municipality size, its location and the job market (see Table 4). In general, problems are perceived more likely in smaller municipalities with higher unemployment rates, which are located closer to military training areas. However, the detected correlations are very low.  e results also indicate that the rate of unemployment is generally related to municipality size (higher unemployment in larger municipalities) and correlates positively with the distance from the county seat and the distance from the military training area (the closer to the MTA, the lower the unemployment rate). In this sense, the MTA may still have a positive infl uence in terms of job opportunities for the close communities.
Regarding the perception of the specifi c positive and negative impacts on life in the municipalities, we can say that the negatives prevail, although many of the responses have negative as well as positive meaning for the population (typically: restrictions of free movement vs. preservation of nature, tourism vs. the fear of a surge of tourists). More than two fi  hs of the negative answers concern the restrictions of the free movement and leisure activities of the inhabitants, a third is concerned by the noise from military exercises, shooting ranges and movement of military equipment, and roughly a fi  h concern environment pollution and general municipality development, including the deterioration of transportation options and municipality accessibility.  e inhabitants near MTA Hradiště and MTA Libavá strongly feel the deforestation and loss of green spaces, while the fear of increased criminality and confl icts with the Roma ethnic people are typical near MTA Hradiště and Brdy. Concerns about a surge of tourists a er opening the area for civilian purposes are specifi c to the former MTA Brdy.
On the other hand, conservation of nature due to a number of restrictions is positively perceived (almost half of positive responses) as well as the creation of job opportunities (a fi  h of responses). A er opening parts of MTA Boletice, MTA Hradiště and MTA Libavá, greater possibilities of tourism, entry into the area (e.g., to collect forest berries) and shortening of driving distances (not only) between the bordering municipalities are expected.  e good condition of the sewage network and treatment plants, awareness of the citizens about events in the municipality or the development of inter-municipality cooperation can be classifi ed among the positive aspects. Greater activity in business and services is associated with the expected development of tourism in the former MTA Brdy.  e administrative division of the territory of MTA Brdy is already done, with the area being divided among 27 municipalities located in its immediate hinterland. However, we would advise that the former barracks be offered to a private investor through a public procurement to be renovated and off ered to other buyers, as was the case with military training areas in Germany (Cooper, Götz and Paskaleva-Shapira, 2013) or Poland (Korczak, 2014).
Using the results of the survey and the available information and data about the land use changes and socioeconomic indicators (Jaňurová, 2017;Skokanová et al., 2017), it would be possible to propose and discuss potential future socio-economic activities or future development 'scenarios' of the areas.  ese are summarized in Table 6. In the context of the proposed development scenarios, the authors are aware of the subjectivity of a itudes and opinions of respondents and their questionability, which constitute the most signifi cant limits of the presented research results. It is necessary to realize that such a signifi cant transformation of large areas will bring various pitfalls in terms of creating a suitable fi nancial framework, the administrative division of the territory and ensuring that the selected strategies are correct and meet their objectives.  Bailey et al. (2006) suggested that one of the key tasks of public administration and local leaders for successful transformation and redevelopment of military areas is to listen to the local communities' desires, needs, and ideas and keep the public involved throughout the redevelopment process. In many cases, even good conditions for the eff ectiveness and prosperity of a locality (and for redevelopment projects) may not be utilized if there are subjective problems and barriers, such as a weak local political involvement, a defi cit of information, poor communication and cooperation, i.e., if the key actors are not able or do not want to exploit the potential of the locality. On the contrary, 'so factors' such as political leadership, 'good governance' approach  and cooperation of stakeholders can turn even insuffi cient conditions and low potential into positive results.  ere are many examples of so-called best or smart practices reporting how human factors as initiators of regeneration of underused sites (e.g., making a good project proposal, gaining a local community sup-port, acquiring of grant titles, etc.) have overcome locational handicaps or have modifi ed the characteristics of suitability of an area or a concrete brownfi eld site according to specifi c project purposes , Navrátil et al., 2018.
In this respect, it is very important to study the specifi c local political, cultural and social structures and contexts of urban and rural regeneration processes, the roles of specifi c actors, etc.  at is a broad area for future interdisciplinary research. At the same time, it is very important to analyze and promote good practices as examples of the successful regeneration projects in various geographical and land-use contexts. We can assume that other signifi cant territorial reductions and demilitarization will not occur in the next few years, but will be rather long-term concepts. In the future, it will be necessary to communicate with the representatives of both local authorities and military institutions (Ministry of Defence, Military Forest and Land authority -state-owned forestry company), and the Government of the Czech Republic.  e membership of the country in NATO and the related obligations will also need to be considered, political decisions and legislative measures on a national level will therefore be one of the most essential.
 rough this paper, we have tried to present aspects of life in the municipalities bordering MTA and contribute to the limited academic discussion on the topic, which was our goal. Virtually all European countries face and will face similar issues. Despite the aforementioned pitfalls, to a certain extent, it will be possible to synthesize and generalize individual results to the level of other Central European countries. We believe that the opinion platform of the local population which we have presented does have and will have a considerable infl uence on further anticipated territorial reductions and demilitarization of military areas.