Spatial issues in the context of the slow city movement

The Slow City movement or Cittaslow began with an association of four Italian cities in 1999, and is developing very rapidly in Europe and beyond. In Poland at the moment it associates 20 cities. This movement aims at the development of small towns based on criteria designed to respect the quality of life in the spirit of the ideology of „slow life”. Its program contains a prototype system for quantifying factors that determine granting a city the title of Slow City. Such town are to become ideal places for a more hygienic and harmonious way of life, in line with our biological clock. The author made an attempt in this article to look at the philosophy of the movement from the perspective of spatial issues. The text presents selected solutions in the area of spatial planning and urban design in line with the ideological demands of the association.Ruch Slow City lub Cittaslow rozpoczął się od stowarzyszenia czterech włoskich miast w 1999 roku. Od tej pory rozwija się niezwykle prężnie w Europie i poza jej granicami. W Polsce w chwili obecnej stowarzysza on 20 miast. Ruch ten zmierza do rozwoju małych miasteczek w oparciu o kryteria mające na celu poszanowanie jakości życia w duchu ideologii „slow life”. W swoim programie zawiera prototypowy system kwantyfikacji czynników, które decydują o nadaniu miastu tytułu Slow City. W odniesieniu do zagadnień przestrzennych przedmiotowe miasteczka mają stać się miejscami idealnymi dla prowadzenia niepowtarzalnego – zgodnego z naszym zegarem biologicznym, bardziej higienicznego i harmonijnego sposobu życia. Autor w swoim artykule podjął próbę spojrzenia na filozofię ruchu z punktu widzenia zagadnień przestrzennych. Tekst jest przykładem przedstawienia wybranych rozwiązań przestrzennych i urbanistycznych w odniesieniu do postulatów ideowych stowarzyszenia

The city ‒ a political (non) idea and a politicides structure

This article strives to give a polemical response to the theses occurring in contemporary Polish publications on the theory of urbanism. The presented text emerged from the clash between the visions, theses and opinions presented in the aforementioned publications and the vision of the city that has been absorbed and assimilated by the author from his distinguished professors of the Institute of City and Regional Planning of the Faculty of Architecture at Cracow University of Technology. The author focuses on addressing the thesis that “the city is a political idea”. On the basis of some examples the author demonstrates in the text that the city is not a political idea, but a structure within which politics is made

Living Environment Quality Determinants, Including PM2.5 and PM10 Dust Pollution in the Context of Spatial Issues—The Case of Radzionków

This article discusses living environment determinants in Central and Eastern Europe. It is based on a case study of the city of Radzionków, which has 16 thousand inhabitants and is located in the Silesian agglomeration in southern Poland. Hard coal has been mined in this area for almost two hundred years, and it is the main fuel used for central heating. A total of 360 buildings, divided into groups of 60 buildings each, were investigated in the selected city. Three distinct areas were distinguished in terms of living environment quality, depending on building technical condition, heating method and location. These qualities were found to be largely determined by site-specific spatial and geophysical conditions. A significant portion of the literature was found to ignore the spatial factors mentioned in this paper, instead focusing primarily on statistical data concerning pollution. This study examines site-specific variables and presents differences in air pollution levels as examined in relation to the morphological structure of development, the degree of building modernisation and heating system types

Teaching Spatial Planning Using Elements of Design Thinking as an Example of Heuristic in Urban Planning

In modern urban analysis, line–nodal connections are often used as a model, diagram or matrix for describing space and its accompanying phenomena. In practice, the search for relationships in space is often nothing but the designation of lines reflecting their physical and nonphysical association by their geometry. Recording the spatial issues of a city constituting a very complex structure on the surface of paper, or on a computer monitor, is an extremely difficult conceptual task. At the heart of Design Thinking is a deep understanding of the relationship between different elements. It can therefore be concluded that heuristics are the basis for understanding the Design Thinking method. An attempt was made to check whether the Design Thinking method can restore the optimal balance between modern tools used to develop course projects, and the need to search for the best solution constituting the idea of the project. The article presents the results of two-year research on the use of the Design Thinking method in academic teaching of subjects related to the subject of spatial planning. Thanks to the use of the Design Thinking method in teaching spatial planning, it is often possible to discover design possibilities and proposals that surprise students

Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete as a Durable and Enhanced Material for Structural and Architectural Elements in Smart City—A Review

The article highlights that glass fiber reinforced concretes (GFRC) can meet the requirements of Smart City better than ordinary concretes. The comprehensive discussion on GFRC composition is presented together with the review of glass fibers’ influence on various concrete properties. First of all, because of their bridging abilities, they can limit the width, length, and total area of cracks. Additionally, GFRC are characterized by enhanced tensile, flexural, and splitting strength; impact, abrasion, spalling, fire, and freeze-thaw resistance as well as ductility, toughness, and permeability. All of this positively influences the mechanical behavior, durability, and corrosion resistance of concrete elements. Moreover, decreased thermal conductivity allows for better energy performance from the building’s point of view. This results in cheaper structures both in manufacturing and maintaining even though GFRC are more expensive materials. However, mechanical properties enhance as long as sufficient workability and uniform fiber distribution are assured. From the environmental point of view, GFRC are eco-friendlier materials than ordinary concretes since their application can decrease the emission of CO2 by 17%. The article also describes the GFRC application fields and emphasizes the possibility of the creation of not only structural elements mainly intended for load transferring but also elements accompanying the building process, as well as elements of small architecture that make public spaces more attractive, durable, and safer. Owing to greater design and shaping freedom, GFRC can also better fulfill the needs of habitants of Smart City

The use of glass fiber reinforced concrete to create structural elements and architectural forms

W artykule opisano obszary zastosowań fibrobetonów z włóknami szklanymi oraz podkreślono możliwość tworzenia nie tylko elementów konstrukcyjnych przeznaczonych głównie do przenoszenia obciążeń, ale także struktur towarzyszących procesom budowlanym oraz form małej architektury, które uatrakcyjniają i urozmaicają przestrzenie publiczne. Dzięki ulepszonym właściwościom mechanicznym, zmniejszonym ciężarze i większej swobodzie projektowej elementów z włóknami szklanymi możliwe jest tworzenie wytrzymalszych, bezpieczniejszych, trwalszych oraz nowocześniejszych konstrukcji.The article describes the areas of application of glass fiber reinforced concrete and emphasizes the possibility of creating not only structural elements intended mainly for carrying loads but also structures accompanying construction processes and forms of small architecture that make public spaces more attractive and diversified. Thanks to improved mechanical properties, reduced weight, and greater design freedom of elements with glass fibers, it is possible to create stronger, safer, more durable, and modern structures

Spatial Distribution and Land Development Parameters of Shopping Centers Based on GIS Analysis: A Case Study on Kraków, Poland

The progressive development of shopping centers in the world affects the urban structure of cities. These facilities are constantly evolving, which also entails changes in the way their vicinity is shaped. In this context, this article deals with the trend in the way of locating and developing shopping center areas, showing the changes taking place over the years. The subject of investigations are the areas of Kraków’s shopping centers—their spatial distribution and the way the land is developed. The aim of the research was to characterize and assess the spatial development of the analyzed shopping centers, to determine the trends in the location and characteristic urban indicators. This made it possible to verify whether possible changes in the way new investments of this type are shaped should be sought in order to improve the quality of the urban environment. To assess the spatial distribution of shopping centers, standard deviation ellipse analysis was used, as well as the nearest neighbor method. In order to determine the parameters of development of shopping centers, basic urban indicators were used, i.e., building plot ratio (BPR), floor area ratio (FAR), and green plot ratio (GPR). Spatial analysis was performed using QGIS software. Studies have shown that brownfield investments are scattered along the north–south axis of the city, while greenfield investments are located at a greater distance from its central area. Over the years, there has been a gradual concentration of shopping centers, but they are still characterized by dispersion. The results of analyses of changes in the land development of their areas indicate that over the years there has been an imperceptible trend of creating objects occupying an increasing part of the investment plot. In turn, the share of total leaf area of greenery is slightly reduced. With the increase in distance from the city center, indicators regarding the floor area and gross floor area of shopping centers are clearly decreasing. On the other hand, the share of greenery increases mildly, although this index remains at a level not exceeding 20%. These results indicate the need to take action to enforce a greater share of greenery within the areas of shopping centers and the need to care for the quality of their surroundings in order to ensure sustainable spatial development of the city

Way of the land development of the areas of Cracow's shopping centers compared to selected planning documents

Centra handlowe stanowią stosunkowo nowy element przestrzeni polskich miast, który wpływa na kształtowanie tkanki urbanistycznej. Problemem badawczym niniejszego artykułu jest ustalenie, w jaki sposób są zagospodarowywane tereny krakowskich centrów handlowych i jakie przyjmuje się w dokumentach planistycznych wartości podstawowych wskaźników urbanistycznych dla tych terenów. Przedmiot badań stanowią obszary wszystkich centrów handlowych zlokalizowanych w Krakowie. Celem jest określenie tendencji w sposobie ich zagospodarowania na tle obowiązujących dokumentów planistycznych. W pierwszej kolejności w oparciu o analizy GIS obliczono wartości 3 parametrów: wskaźnika powierzchni zabudowy, wskaźnika intensywności zabudowy i wskaźnika terenu biologicznie czynnego. Następnie zestawiono je z wartościami przyjmowanymi w miejscowych planach zagospodarowania przestrzennego. Z przeprowadzonych badań wynika, że budynki centrów handlowych w Krakowie zajmują średnio mniej niż 50% powierzchni terenu inwestycji. Tylko niewielka część działki jest zagospodarowana w formie zieleni (średnio 14,92%). W dokumentach planistycznych wartości wskaźnika intensywności zabudowy często dopuszczają powstanie inwestycji o bardzo zróżnicowanej kubaturze.Shopping centers are a relatively new element of the urban space of Polish cities, which affects the shaping of the urban tissue. The research problem of this article is to establish, how the areas of Cracow's shopping centers are developed and what values of basic urban indicators for these areas are adopted in planning documents. The subject of the research are the areas of all shopping centers located in Cracow. The aim is to determine the trends in the way these areas are developed against the background of the planning documents that are in force. In the first instance, based on GIS analyses, the values of selected 3 parameters were calculated: the building plot ratio, the floor area ratio and the green plot ratio. Then, they were compared with the values adopted in selected local development plans. The research shows that shopping centre buildings in Cracow occupy on average less than 50% of the investment area. Only a small part of the plot is developed in the form of greenery (on average 14.92%). In planning documents, the floor area ratio often allows the creation of investments of very different intensity

Spatial Distribution and Land Development Parameters of Shopping Centers Based on GIS Analysis: A Case Study on Kraków, Poland

The progressive development of shopping centers in the world affects the urban structure of cities. These facilities are constantly evolving, which also entails changes in the way their vicinity is shaped. In this context, this article deals with the trend in the way of locating and developing shopping center areas, showing the changes taking place over the years. The subject of investigations are the areas of Kraków’s shopping centers—their spatial distribution and the way the land is developed. The aim of the research was to characterize and assess the spatial development of the analyzed shopping centers, to determine the trends in the location and characteristic urban indicators. This made it possible to verify whether possible changes in the way new investments of this type are shaped should be sought in order to improve the quality of the urban environment. To assess the spatial distribution of shopping centers, standard deviation ellipse analysis was used, as well as the nearest neighbor method. In order to determine the parameters of development of shopping centers, basic urban indicators were used, i.e., building plot ratio (BPR), floor area ratio (FAR), and green plot ratio (GPR). Spatial analysis was performed using QGIS software. Studies have shown that brownfield investments are scattered along the north–south axis of the city, while greenfield investments are located at a greater distance from its central area. Over the years, there has been a gradual concentration of shopping centers, but they are still characterized by dispersion. The results of analyses of changes in the land development of their areas indicate that over the years there has been an imperceptible trend of creating objects occupying an increasing part of the investment plot. In turn, the share of total leaf area of greenery is slightly reduced. With the increase in distance from the city center, indicators regarding the floor area and gross floor area of shopping centers are clearly decreasing. On the other hand, the share of greenery increases mildly, although this index remains at a level not exceeding 20%. These results indicate the need to take action to enforce a greater share of greenery within the areas of shopping centers and the need to care for the quality of their surroundings in order to ensure sustainable spatial development of the city

Green Infrastructure—Countering Ecosystem Fragmentation: Case Study of a Municipality in the Carpathian Foothills

This paper discusses green infrastructure, which can be considered a useful tool in the process of ensuring the sustainable development of rural structures in the polish Carpathian region. It allows for achieving a better quality of the environment of human life and healthy wildlife linkages. The element that supports defining information about the existing state of green infrastructure and its resources is the green infrastructure fragmentation coefficient based on edge effect calculations, which is the relation between the edge of the patch (circumference) to its surface area. With the use of model analysis of green infrastructure, it is possible to implement the provisions of the Carpathian Convention and coordinate planning documents that facilitate the sustainable development of spatial structures. Our study on the state of green infrastructure in rural areas of the Polish Carpathian Mountains is a source of knowledge about the quality of this area, its natural environment and fragmentation. Determining the territory’s green infrastructure fragmentation coefficient provides an opportunity for higher-precision studies and the detection of threats and integration of GI fragments and addressing proper solutions in conflict areas