The primary study objective is to verify the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for greenhouse gas emissions in Poland at the disaggregated Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS)-3 level, accounting for spatial dependencies. The analysis employs a balanced panel of 73 subregions (2005 to 2022) based on the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research and Statistics Poland data. Spatial dependencies were determined using Moran’s and Lagrange multiplier tests, justifying the application of a spatial autoregressive panel model with individual fixed effects. The results offer robust evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and emissions. The estimated turning point is about 73,035 PLN (16,592 USD) at the NUTS-3 level in 2022 prices. Urbanisation exerts a positive, statistically significant influence on per capita emissions, whereas household energy consumption indicates a positive, weakly significant influence (p < 0.10). Robustness checks performed at NUTS-2 confirmed the findings, yielding a turning point of 59,704 PLN (13,564 USD), although energy consumption proved statistically insignificant at this aggregated scale. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating spatial spillovers, as neighbouring dynamics shape regional emissions. The results underscore the need for differentiated regional climate policies reflecting spatial and structural disparities across Polish regions.

This article determines the effect of crisis changes on the structure of household expenditures in the following different regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Vinnytsia. The study covers the period before the full-scale Russian invasion (2017–2022) and after its onset (2022–2024). We analysed the data through correlation analysis and the Cobb–Douglas consumption function model to determine the structure of expenditures depending on two factors: the cost of housing rental and consumer goods prices. Before the full-scale invasion, we observed a stable positive correlation in most cities between the cost of housing and prices of goods, with changes in one indicator being reflected in the other. After the invasion began in the affected regions (Kharkiv and Odesa), the correlation between prices of goods and the cost of housing rental changed from positive to negative. In the regions that were less affected (Lviv, Vinnytsia, and Kyiv), the correlation remained or grew stronger due to increased demand. This article therefore contributes to understanding consumer behaviour in times of crisis.

Municipal authorities are expected to play a central role in urban climate change adaptation, using urban assets and engaging local stakeholders through both direct command-and-control measures and indirect approaches such as delegation, and civic participation. However, the public responsibility dimension of the mixed governance mode is not yet specified clearly. This article addresses the gap by analysing how a combination of direct and indirect governance approaches can shape the scope and distribution of public responsibility. This is illustrated by comparing actions in urban adaptation plans and recommendations from climate citizen panels. The findings demonstrate that a mixed governance approach is an emerging mode of urban climate governance. However, its configuration varies between official plans and panel recommendations, particularly with regard to the scope of city-led actions and the involvement of other entities.

Local communities worldwide rely on cultural values, and Indigenous institutions to recover from social conflict; however, the process by which social awareness is constructed as a peacebuilding mechanism remains insufficiently theorised, particularly in post-colonial island societies. This study examines how social awareness is constructed and mobilised in resolving recurring social conflicts in the Kei Islands, Maluku, Indonesia. Employing a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations involving community leaders, customary elders, religious figures, and local residents. The findings reveal six interrelated forms of social awareness – sense of brotherhood, participation in joint activities, social interaction, problem-solving through deliberation, the ability to listen and communicate, and tolerance – which collectively shape everyday peace practices in the community. Drawing on Berger and Luckmann’s theory of social construction, this study demonstrates that while processes of internalisation and externalisation are increasingly challenged by modernisation and social pressures, objectification through strong customary institutions functions as the primary stabilising anchor in conflict resolution. The study extends social construction theory by proposing a communal–institutional variation, in which collective institutions play a corrective role in sustaining social cohesion. These findings underscore the importance of strengthening Indigenous institutions and culturally embedded practices in locally grounded peacebuilding initiatives.

This study examines how digital archives and smart city technologies can preserve collective memory during Zaporizhzhia’s post-war rebuilding. Using digital archival research, it explores how digital archives can safeguard intangible heritage (oral histories, traditions, community memory) and architectural heritage during reconstruction. The article reviews scholarship on cultural memory in conflict, digital preservation, and smart city heritage, presenting a study of 312 Zaporizhzhia residents and expert interviews with urban planners, heritage professionals, and technologists. Survey results show strong public support for integrating digital memorial projects into city planning, though participation remains moderate. The discussion offers policy recommendations for preserving history during rebuilding. The article argues that integrating digital archives into smart city reconstruction can bridge the past and the future, honouring loss while building resilient cultural memory.

Despite the perception of cities as having positive aspects, city living also has negative aspects for individuals and communities. The challenge is to increase the advantages and decrease the disadvantages associated with urban life. Thus, to address this challenge, the article presents the concept of a stressless city. To fill the research gap, the urban stress concept regarding resilience was analysed based on existing literature and a pilot study. The research area is typically concentrated on countries or metropolitan cities, leading to a lack of publicly available data at the local level and an incomplete overview of the situation. Moreover, a complementary, systematic approach to evaluating resilience is necessary. To present a complete overview of the situation, an interdisciplinary approach is required, considering the links between psychology, health, and urban sciences. In this case, such studies on stress contribute to the assessment of urban living conditions by identifying factors that pose the greatest challenge to building urban resilience and highlighting the need for greater attention to residents’ perspectives.