Contemporary foundations of the theory of urban development – case study smart, slow and compact city theory

The issue of the concept of development and urban planning in an optimal manner is as old as cities. It has not yet been established which human activities are to be considered as conscious and planned space development. It is assumed that the beginnings of rational, thoughtful urban planning should be sought at a time when cities began to be treated as a single organism, which should function smoothly, guarantee the safety of its inhabitants through defence functions and provide a higher standard of living. The effect of these assumptions was the logical placement of buildings, transportation systems and infrastructure, as well as recreational areas so that life in the city was something more than just miserable existence. This article overlooks former planning theories such as the theories of location by J.H. von Thunen or A. Weber, as well as the projects of a garden city by E. Howard and Functional Warsaw by J. Chmielewski and S. Syrkus. Instead, it focuses on what is currently, at the beginning of the 21st century, up to date and combines contemporary concepts of sustainability and new technologies, and treats the city as a resource of limited space, buildings, infrastructure and people representing both purchasing power and the labour force. The article, apart from theoretical considerations, focused on realizations of ideas in practice, quoting both sectoral solutions related to the organization of transportation in the city, as well as to projects of entire cities

Cell-specific response of NSIP- and IPF-derived fibroblasts to the modification of the elasticity, biological properties, and 3D architecture of the substrate

The fibrotic fibroblasts derived from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) are surrounded by specific environments, characterized by increased stiffness, aberrant extracellular matrix (ECM) composition, and altered lung architecture. The presented research was aimed at investigating the effect of biological, physical, and topographical modification of the substrate on the properties of IPF- and NSIP-derived fibroblasts, and searching for the parameters enabling their identification. Soft and stiff polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was chosen for the basic substrates, the properties of which were subsequently tuned. To obtain the biological modification of the substrates, they were covered with ECM proteins, laminin, fibronectin, and collagen. The substrates that mimicked the 3D structure of the lungs were prepared using two approaches, resulting in porous structures that resemble natural lung architecture and honeycomb patterns, typical of IPF tissue. The growth of cells on soft and stiff PDMS covered with proteins, traced using fluorescence microscopy, confirmed an altered behavior of healthy and IPF- and NSIP-derived fibroblasts in response to the modified substrate properties, enabling their identification. In turn, differences in the mechanical properties of healthy and fibrotic fibroblasts, determined using atomic force microscopy working in force spectroscopy mode, as well as their growth on 3D-patterned substrates were not sufficient to discriminate between cell lines

Structures in multicomponent polymer films : their formation, observation, applications in electronics and biotechnology

Several strategies to form multicomponent films of functional polymers, with micron, submicron and nanometer structures, intended for plastic electronics and biotechnology are presented. These approaches are based on film deposition from polymer solution onto a rotating substrate (spin-casting), a method implemented already on manufacturing lines. Film structures are determined with compositional (nanometer) depth profiling and (submicron) imaging modes of dynamic secondary ion mass spectrometry, near-field scanning optical microscopy (with submicron resolution) and scanning probe microscopy (revealing nanometer features). Self-organization of spin-cast polymer mixtures is discussed in detail, since it offers a one-step process to deposit and align simultaneously domains, rich in different polymers, forming various device elements: (i) Surface segregation drives self-stratification of nanometer lamellae for solar cells and anisotropic conductors. (ii) Cohesion energy density controls morphological transition from lamellar (optimal for encapsulated transistors) to lateral structures (suggested for light emitting diodes with variable color). (iii) Selective adhesion to substrate microtemplates, patterned chemically, orders lateral structures for plastic circuitries. (iv) Submicron imprints of water droplets (breath figures) decorate selectively micron-sized domains, and can be used in devices with hierarchic structure. In addition, selective protein adsorption to regular polymer micropatterns, formed with soft lithography after spin-casting, suggests applications in protein chip technology. An approach to reduce lateral blend film structures to submicron scale is also presented, based on (annealed) films of multicomponent nanoparticles

Contemporary foundations of the theory of urban development – case study smart, slow and compact city theory

The issue of the concept of development and urban planning in an optimal manner is as old as cities. It has not yet been established which human activities are to be considered as conscious and planned space development. It is assumed that the beginnings of rational, thoughtful urban planning should be sought at a time when cities began to be treated as a single organism, which should function smoothly, guarantee the safety of its inhabitants through defence functions and provide a higher standard of living. The effect of these assumptions was the logical placement of buildings, transportation systems and infrastructure, as well as recreational areas so that life in the city was something more than just miserable existence. This article overlooks former planning theories such as the theories of location by J.H. von Thunen or A. Weber, as well as the projects of a garden city by E. Howard and Functional Warsaw by J. Chmielewski and S. Syrkus. Instead, it focuses on what is currently, at the beginning of the 21st century, up to date and combines contemporary concepts of sustainability and new technologies, and treats the city as a resource of limited space, buildings, infrastructure and people representing both purchasing power and the labour force. The article, apart from theoretical considerations, focused on realizations of ideas in practice, quoting both sectoral solutions related to the organization of transportation in the city, as well as to projects of entire cities

The industrial city and its structural changes in local plans on the example of Ruda Śląska, Poland

In the modern world, the subject of spatial planning is being increasingly raised by residents of municipalities - mainly because of the lack of a direct influence on the process of local development and aesthetics of the surroundings. Today, the primary objective of spatial planning is not only to form a proper connection between function and space but also to balance public and private interests. Constantly developed geographic spatial information systems allow not only for easy navigation around the city, but more importantly for more advanced analyses, such as the recognition of the current trends in estate development, communication systems, changes in agricultural and forest areas. The main objective of the research is to define functional-spatial links determined by social-economic needs reflected in local plans and to verify the similarities between local plans, that were drawn up in three different periods (PRL, the transition period, and in accordance with nowadays applicable laws), how the changing economic, social goals and current needs of the city affected the continuation of the adopted solutions. The study shows that despite changes in the law and abandoning the idea of industrial city, in which the landscape is dominated by blast furnaces and mine shafts, the basic trend has been maintained and local plans prepared in subsequent years form a continuum, and despite the different scales of development are closely linked. At the same time it has been shown that modern GIS tools enable verification of the continuity of spatial policy of the municipality

Device and the method for producing polymeric layers with the set spatial structure

NOVELTY - The device has a linear stage (1), a cylinder (3) that spreads polymer solution layer, platform (8) for a substrate, and cylinder height adjustment system (9). The control system is tilt in relation to the substrate, and a controllable voltage source. The metallic electrode is fixed onto the cylinder, and the substrate onto which the polymer film is deposited is conductive for electric current. The electric voltage from the controllable voltage source is applied between the metallic electrode and the substrate during deposition of the polymer films onto the substrate