In the field of morphological research, the relationship systems between small settlements, especially the situation of villages along borders, remain a grey area to this day. This is despite the location and nature of borders between countries having a profound impact on the fate of the settlements along them. This research seeks to answer the question of how the physical network connections and population indicators of a given, typically small settlement area have changed, with particular regard to the border situation. The sample area for the research is the Őrség region, located on the western border of Hungary and the eastern border of Slovenia. The research uses space syntax analysis to explore the network interrelationships of the settlements concerned. The study proposes a new classification-based method for interpreting the space syntax model at the regional level. With this tool, the spatial roles of settlements in the examined region were analyzed across three time periods, and the main hubs were identified, as well as the strength of their roles, and their temporal and spatial development. The results were compared with the population characteristics of the region, thereby identifying the most disadvantaged settlements. With its rural theme and regional approach, the research represents an innovation in space syntax analysis at an international level.
Bertyák et al. (Thu,) studied this question.