The article was published in Polish in "Studia Regionalne i Lokalne", 2/2006
The title of the article may suggest that it presents issues important to the global economy, and not to a district, city, region or university. This is not the case, however, because the process of globalisation of production, services, investments, finance, the labour market and knowledge will continue over the coming years, irrespective of the scale of national protectionism. Therefore, the effects of globalisation will be experienced by everybody: countries, regions, local communities and individuals. If we want to achieve success, both as a country and as individuals, we have to be well prepared for globalisation.
Aktywność ekologiczna gmin może być bardzo istotnym elementem zwiększania ich atrakcyjności. Współczesne możliwości technologii cyfrowych pozwalają na zastosowanie inteligentnych rozwiązań i zrealizowanie wielu postulatów ekonomicznych i społecznych na przykład z perspektywy problemów ekologicznych. W artykule zbadano miasta i gminy na pograniczu polsko-niemieckim w aspekcie ich aktywności w rozwiązywaniu problemów ekologicznych. W badaniu wskazano przede wszystkim stopień aktywności gmin w realizacji fakultatywnych projektów ekologicznych oraz zdiagnozowano niski stopień udziału gmin w przedsięwzięciach transgranicznych. Kluczowym wynikiem jest zaprojektowanie badania ankietowego w taki sposób, aby było one uniwersalnym narzędziem do badania dojrzałości ekologicznej, w sposób cykliczny, niskokosztowy, a dający szereg informacji poprzez weryfikację różnych obszarów aktywności gmin, a następnie sformułowanie wniosków dla polityki klimatycznej, regionalnej itd. Przez badanie z jednej strony pobudzono potrzebę realizacji projektów ekologicznych, zwłaszcza o charakterze transgranicznym, a z drugiej prowadzono działania edukacyjne i wskazywano na różne możliwe rozwiązania.
Postindustrial agglomerations struggling with image deficits and environmental problems are looking for new development paths to take. One of these paths can bring about the development of business tourism, including the industry of the organisation of meetings and events. The unique and attractive character of the place can favour taking such a direction. The business tourism sector can therefore become an instrument contributing to the sustainable metropolisation of the city by building up its position in the global network of flows. The development of the meetings and events sector allows, therefore, for a change of image, for a re-evaluation of endogenous resources, including those relating to the industrial past, and for tapping into the unlimited resources of the global network. Increased attention in this network may lead to an influx of more events, and of investors as well. Replacing heavy industry with an enlarged service sector and modern industry based on flexible and innovative small and medium-sized enterprises fosters sustainable development. The meetings and events industry can become a tool for sustainable development and the promotion of its ideas, related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The trajectory outlined above seems very promising. However, to some extent, it is just a hypothesis. The author undertakes to test it on the example of Katowice, a former industrial city which has decided to follow the route outlined above to become a city that hosts many events, including the COP24 summit in 2018. In the article, the author presents empirical research studies whose authors tried to determine whether the path the city has chosen has a real impact on its image and development. The author also deals with the question of the sustainability of such a development path and the conditions for its self-support in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
Planowane wielkoskalowe obiekty hodowli/chowu zwierząt (tzw. fermy) są często przedmiotem protestów społeczności lokalnych ze względu na uciążliwości, które generują. Do aktywnego udziału mieszkańców dochodzi na wczesnym etapie procesu inwestycyjnego, jakim jest postępowanie w sprawie wydania decyzji środowiskowej, gdy określa się lokalizację i cechy fermy. W artykule poddano analizie 52 przypadki postępowań w sprawie ustalenia środowiskowych uwarunkowań realizacji takich obiektów, w których miały miejsce udokumentowane protesty mieszkańców. Celem artykułu jest ustalenie jak – pod wpływem protestujących mieszkańców – przebiegają postępowania środowiskowe w sprawie obiektów hodowli/chowu zwierząt i czy ostatecznie zostają ustalone środowiskowe uwarunkowania realizacji niechcianych inwestycji. Przedstawiono wypowiedzi protestujących mieszkańców, odwołując się do kategorii wiedzy w procesie decyzyjnym (Glicken 1999, 2000; Edelenbos 2011). Badanie pokazało, że pomimo obowiązującej zasady mówiącej o tym, że sprzeciw społeczny nie może być podstawą odmowy ustalenia środowiskowych uwarunkowań, protestujący mieszkańcy pośrednio wpływają na ostateczny, najczęściej negatywny wynik oceny środowiskowej. Blokując realizację niechcianych inwestycji, mają rzeczywisty wpływ na kształtowanie przestrzeni lokalnej.
The accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant was one of the largest in human history. It is often referred to as a global event because its effects were felt not only by Ukrainians but also by the populations of Belarus, Russia, Central Europe, the Balkans and the Scandinavian Peninsula. 2022 marked the 36th anniversary of this terrible occurrence, when the history of Ukraine in the late twentieth century was divided into two parts: before the tragedy of 26 April 1986, and after it.
Today, it is important for Ukrainian society not only to recognise the significance of the catastrophe and remember its victims but also to find ways to overcome its grave consequences. This requires comprehensive research useful for developing new approaches to minimising the environmental and socio-demographic problems caused by the Chornobyl tragedy. Thus, this research has practical scientific, humanitarian and socio-political significance. The novelty of the obtained results lies in the study’s critical rethinking of the achievements of predecessors and its analysis of historical sources concerning the environmental and socio-demographic consequences of the accident at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant as they manifested from 1986 to 2022.
The methodological basis of the work is empirical cognition. The use of logical-analytical methods of grouping and typology allows us to classify homogeneous events and coherently present the material of the article. The study additionally uses comparative judgment, historical-statistical and problem-chronological methods. The principles of objectivity and impartiality also play an important role in the work.
The purpose of the study is to investigate the consequences of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident on the environmental and socio-demographic aspects of the population of Ukraine from 1986 to 2022 based on the identified set of sources. From a historical perspective, the level of pollution in the territories of Ukraine is traced, the demographic situation is monitored, and parallels are drawn between the Chornobyl disaster and the increase in incurable diseases and mortality.
In conclusion, the authors note that although 36 years have passed, the echo of this catastrophe remains tangible for the population of Ukraine. Several issues still must be solved. The first is the return to life, namely, the safe living and management of areas that have been exposed to radiation contamination, as well as the continuation of work aimed at restoring agricultural soils. Second, purposeful work must be conducted by the state to minimise social and demographic problems resulting from the Chornobyl catastrophe. In our opinion, the government should increase expenditures aimed at providing quality medical services to the population of Ukraine, as well as conduct constant monitoring of the health of those people who are at high risk in order to better detect diseases in their early stages.
These groups of people include liquidators of the consequences of the accident and migrants. Such measures can stabilise the demographic situation by increasing birth rates and reducing mortality, as well as improve the health and living standards of the population of Ukraine.
It has been substantiated that the increase in the concentration of heavy metals in the environment has especially aggravated in the conditions of military operations on the territory of Ukraine. The use of woody plants for the purposes of phytoremediation is one of the most effective options for optimising the state of the environment in urban ecosystems, regardless of the nature and source of contamination by metallic elements, which is of significant relevance in the conditions of post-war environmental restoration of Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to explore the peculiarities of some heavy metals accumulation by the assimilation apparatuses of the black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) plants growing in the recreational areas of the city of Dnipro in order to further optimise tree plantings with the aim of improving the environment. The content of heavy metal elements (Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd) in the biomass of the Robinia pseudoacacia L. leaves and in the soils of Dnipro recreation areas has been determined. The intensity of the accumulation of heavy metals in the phytomass of the Robinia pseudoacacia L. represents the following sequence Zn > Cu > Pb > Cd, which demonstrates a more intense absorption and accumulation in the phytomass of the leafy fraction of Zn and Cu in the phytomass of the deciduous fraction, and less significant of Pb and Cd. With the help of geo-information systems, cartographic material has been developed. It demonstrates the concentration gradient of Pb, Cu, Cd, and Zn in the assimilation organs of the black locust plants in the city of Dnipro recreational areas. Based on the cartographic analysis, it has been proved that the general condition of the soils in the recreation areas of Dnipro is characterised by significant disproportions in the level of pollution. The maps show the existing potential of the accumulative capacity of Robinia pseudoacacia L. to deposit Pb, Cu, Cd, and Zn, which allows for additional city functional zoning by considering phytoremediation functions of the existing and planned green spaces.
Globalisation – characterised by dynamic economic growth, increasing exploitation of the natural environment, and deepening social inequalities – brings negative consequences and is strongly perceptible also in local communities. A new approach to development policy based on the idea of sustainable development must be incorporated into local governments’ strategies, programmes, and actions. We adopted exploratory approach to determine the level and identify the spatial patterns of sustainable development of Polish poviats. The aggregated (synthetic) indicators of economic, social, and environmental development were developed to analyse the spatial patterns of the poviats’ development trends. Our research shows that in Poland there are overwhelmingly more poviats characterised by lower development than those better developed in all three analysed categories. Hierarchical analysis using the Ward’s method revealed that Polish poviats can be divided into three relatively homogeneous clusters in terms of development levels. The largest group consists of poviats characterised by the relatively lowest level of sustainability in economic and social areas, and the highest – by environmental development. Analyses using the Moran method made it possible to determine the so-called spatial regimes of clusters. The captured spatial relationships indicate that selected poviats have a significant impact on the level of development in the neighbouring poviats.
Academic research indicates that total or current expenditures have been most commonly used in sub-central or local government’s efficiency analysis as dependent variables, and a proxy for the cost of service provision. Our research applied in the case of Polish districts for 2019 and 2020 indicates two important results: firstly, regardless of whether total or current expenditures have been used, the determinants indicate the same direction of impact, and, secondly, the COVID-19 pandemic did not change the direction of the impact. The regression results confirm the positive direction that the administrative, educational, protection, and safety variables have on dependent variables.
The article examines the key points of creating eco-industrial parks in the Lviv region and reforming existing industrial parks according to the principles of circular and green economy. The intensive increase in the number of industrial enterprises in the Lviv region is due to the active relocation of enterprises from the war zone of Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to justify the feasibility of creating eco-industrial parks in the Lviv region according to the principles of circular and green economy. The authors recommend the principles of selecting industrial enterprises in the territories of industrial parks, taking into account industrial symbiosis. As part of research cooperation, we conducted and researched the stages of the design, construction, and development of industrial parks in the Lviv region of Ukraine. Practical recommendations have been developed and proposed for the creation and implementation of the production of environmentally-friendly products with further processing and the secondary cycle of waste use in order to reduce the use of natural resources and environmental pollution, and increase the socioeconomic development of the western region of Ukraine.
The article was published in Polish in "Studia Regionalne i Lokalne", 3/2008
Public space of the post-modern epoch is a conglomerate or blend of discontinuous functions, a collection of loosely connected fragments, increasingly more frequently unrelated to a city. People compose for themselves their own town from individual trajectories that are outlined by means of motor roads. Neo-liberal logic of city development recognizes the rule of spontaneity wherever the interest of big capital groups dominates, pushing onto the sidelines the more important task of contemporary urban planning – the protection and development of public spaces. Due to the crisis it is undergoing at present (commercial pressure), the efforts are taken to regain its social and spatial significance. The purpose of these transformations is bonding public spaces with broader surroundings (with open terrains, waterside zones, promenades, playgrounds, etc). Such recomposition is part of a regeneration process that unites the city and reconstructs the identity of the place where relationships of inhabitants with their urban environment were not completely abandoned.
The aim of the work was to analyse the essence of recreational resources as a component of ecosystem services for the planning and development of recreation within the protected areas of Ukraine. This study highlights the features and essence of the ecosystem services concept. The classification, characteristics and possibilities of cultural ecosystem services usage of protected areas are assessed, and the location and importance of recreational services are emphasized. Theoretical and methodological approaches to the recreational ecosystem services assessment of protected areas were performed using GIS tools. The negative consequences of the Russian Federation military aggression on the protected areas of Ukraine and the ecosystem services decline are considered. The main advantages and obstacles of implementing the ecosystem services concept for planning the recreation development of the Ukrainian nature reserve fund are discussed.
Celem artykułu jest określenie roli środków Programu Rozwoju Obszarów Wiejskich na lata 2007–2013 we wzmacnianiu zmian rozwojowych. Do realizacji celu przeprowadzono postępowanie badawcze, w którym dokonano pomiaru rozwoju zrównoważonego dla roku 2015 (na trzech płaszczyznach: gospodarczej, społecznej i środowiskowej) oraz przedstawiono zróżnicowanie przestrzenne badanego zjawiska. W następnym kroku dokonano pomiaru pozyskanych środków i przeprowadzono ocenę ich wpływu na zrównoważony rozwój. Pomiary wykonano z wykorzystaniem miary syntetycznej, rozpoznanie zależności pomiędzy poziomem rozwoju a poziomem pozyskanych środków zrealizowano z wykorzystaniem analizy wariancji. Badaniami objęto gminy wiejskie i miejsko-wiejskie województwa wielkopolskiego. Otrzymane wyniki dowiodły występowania istotnych zróżnicowań w poziomie zrównoważonego rozwoju obszarów wiejskich województwa wielkopolskiego.
This study examines the characteristics of cross-border migration in the border communities of Ogun State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 331 cross-border migrants in the study area. The analysis revealed that few employment opportunities, bad economic conditions, poverty, wage differentials, soil infertility, natural disasters, and drought were the underlying push factors predicting the need to earn better income among the migrants, whereas more job opportunities, better economic conditions, less environmental degradation, good access to land, commerce, marriage, the chance to join other family members, better income, good harvest, and soil productivity were the underlying pull factors predicting the choice of destination in Nigeria. Therefore, the study concluded that economic and environmental considerations were the push factors predicting the need to earn better income, whereas environmental, economic, and social considerations were the pull factors predicting the choice of destination in Nigeria.