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Chaotic post-socialist suburbs need retrofitting through planning a system of local centres. The paper is aimed at recognizing the orientation of recent suburban planning in Poland through a focus on centres and identifying conditions for and examples of a proactive approach to planning local centres. The hierarchy of centres and the set of functions assigned to them is important since it could prevent the dispersion of public facilities and strengthen the potential of higher-order centres. Documents subjected to analysis encompassed spatial policies of 27 suburban municipalities included in the Functional Area of Warsaw. The Polish spatial planning system neglects centres as a category of functional, economic, and social space, leaving municipalities complete freedom in planning them. The study proved that a system of local centres should become an urban planning standard since it helps municipalities locate public functions more reasonably. A vision of local centre development is rarely based on rational premises. The Polish case shows that in outer suburbs, a proactive approach to LC planning that involves designing a desired future and then inventing ways to create that future state is still a long way off. • Chaotic post-socialist suburbs need retrofitting through planning a hierarchical system of local centres. • Service hierarchy corresponding to centre levels helps municipalities prevent the dispersion of economic potential. • The best arrangement of suburban local centres is a four-level order with local integration space as the lowest level. • The problem is that in Poland, the arrangement of local centres is rarely based on rational premises. • In post-socialist Poland, a proactive approach to local centre planning is still a long way off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stability of municipal revenues is crucial for long-term socio-economic planning at the city level. This paper presents the impact of changes in legal regulations mandating the transformation of perpetual usufruct into ownership on preferential terms. Using micro-level information on transactions and plots handed over in perpetual usufruct for single-family housing, we determined potential losses in the City of Poznan caused by the new regulations. The research uses mass appraisal models to assess the fees related to the land value of properties affected by the legal transformation, scenario analysis, and Monte-Carlo simulation to evaluate the consequences of the change in the regulation in the long run. The simulation results indicate that the municipalities are deprived of relatively stable revenues after the reform. In Poznan, we assess that the net present value of revenue losses ranged from −327.3 mln PLN to −419.6 mln PLN (74.6 % to 92.9 % reduction of the baseline revenues, respectively). Incorporating provisions allowing the perpetual usufruct of developed land to be converted to housing is less financially beneficial for municipalities than for perpetual usufruct holders. Additionally, it significantly manages municipal strategic control of local development within the city and reduces municipal land resources. The research attempts to narrow the gap in knowledge about the role of land leases in municipal revenues. • The regulations introduced by the Law on Perpetual Usufruct Transformation of 2018 are financially disadvantageous for municipalities. • In the long run, the decrease in revenues will most likely cause a sub-optimal expenditure reduction and, to some extent, will lower the quality of local public utility services. • Reducing municipal land resources significantly limits local development and the scope of public utility services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The travel restriction leads to the enormous economic loss to the tourism industry. In this paper, the economic loss and the environmental gains (e.g., water and energy resources) from COVID-19 impact on China's tourism industry are estimated based on environmentally extended multiple regional input-output model. Results indicate that the China's tourism consumption loss triggered 921 billion US$ output loss via supply chain in 2020, which account for 7 % of GDP in 2019. Additionally, the economic loss further ripples tourism water footprint conservation of 10 billion m3 (equal to the annual water consumption of Poland) and tourism energy footprint conservation of 116 million tce (equal to the annual energy consumption of Australia). Findings reveal that regions with large tourism economic losses are not completely consistent with the regions with significant relief of water and energy pressures. Water pressure in Xinjiang (Northwest) and energy pressure in Hainan (South) have been alleviated due to reduced tourism consumption along the Southeast coast. These knock-on effects highlight a deeper internal link between the economy and the environment. The development of tourism in the post-COVID-19 era needs to reduce the direct water and energy footprint of local area by applying advanced water-saving and energy-saving technologies. • China's tourism output loss caused by COVID-19 accounts for 7 % of GDP in 2019. • 10 billion m3 of water saving equals to the annual water consumption of Poland. • 116 million tce of energy saving equals to the annual energy consumption of Australia. • Tourism activities decreasing in East relieve great water use stress in Northwest China. • Decreasing tourism demand in Southeast mitigates energy use stress in South China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper critically evaluates the urban climate change adaptation policy and practise in Central Europe using Polish cities as an example. The study focused on local policy documents and a scoring system was elaborated and applied for their analysis with particular attention to 'green' adaptation concepts. The link between the time of adoption and the scores received by cities' Strategies and Programmes for Environmental Protection demonstrates innovation flow from science into urban policy. We revealed that many of the proposed measures in Urban Adaptation Plans represent rather mitigation than adaptation implying substantial knowledge gaps in differentiating between them. A portfolio of projects implemented in 2014–2020 within EU funding programmes and Participatory budget was compiled with further classification into 'green', 'grey', or 'soft'. More than 80 % of the selected projects in each of the cities were classified as 'green', but only one studied city demonstrated an upward trend in the number and cumulative budget of the adaptation projects. The examined Polish cities, similarly to other Central and Eastern European ones, experiencing fast economic growth have featured a profound contraction of green areas over the last decades. Partially it might be compensated by local environmental programmes that promote application of nature-based solutions. • Urban Adaptation Plans often failed to separate mitigation and adaptation measures. • Time of adoption of policy documents shapes their link with novel adaptation concepts. • Most of the identified bottom-up adaptation projects are 'green'. • There is no steady increase in adaptation projects' number and budget revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant role in regional development is played by large urban centres whose development processes affect neighbouring functional areas. So far, research publications have focused on the ways of delimiting the functional areas of cities as well as on the issue of financing urban functional areas, including EU cohesion policy instruments. It seems, however, that only few research studies give attention to the development of functional areas, especially in the context of their internal differences and when perceived as relatively uniform areas. The authors believe that there is a knowledge gap in this area. For this reason, the objective of this research study is to assess gaps between the municipalities which constitute urban functional areas from the perspective of their demographic potential and socioeconomic development. The research covers the functional areas of Poland's largest regional centres, i.e. the capital cities of NUTS2 regions. The paper focuses on the internal gaps between urban functional areas and the identification of their reasons. The conducted research indicates that the development of the demographic potential of municipalities belonging to functional areas is affected by a positive migration balance rather than positive birth rates. It also points to a correlation between the development of regional centres and the development of the external zones of their functional areas. Also, the research shows higher development levels in urban municipalities as compared with rural areas. The development of the municipalities of external zones is also affected by their location in relation to core cities. The findings of this study may contribute to efforts aimed to develop a theoretical framework for explaining the causes of differences in development processes at a regional level, particularly in large urban areas and their surroundings. They may also provide insight into factors determining internal differences in urban functional areas. Moreover, the undertaken study points to the necessity of research into the socioeconomic development of territories at a lower level than regions or countries. • Development effects in the municipalities of the external zones of the functional areas of regional centres are different • Development levels in the municipalities of functional areas are positively correlated with the development of core cities • The highest development levels are recorded in urban municipalities and the lowest levels in rural areas [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing mismatches between dwellings and their tenants lower the use and management efficiency of social housing stock. To address this problem, rational and well-coordinated tenant relocation within this stock needs to be stimulated, which can be significantly improved by introduction of new geoinformation technologies to support decisions in this area. This paper presents a proposal of a dedicated geoinformation system supporting tenant relocation in municipal (social) housing stock management in Poland. The concept is combined with the organizational structure of a typical urban municipality and associated with the integrated spatial database. The proposals are described in terms of business modeling and the categories of Unified Modeling Language. Implementation and empirical verification of the system was conducted employing ArcGIS platform environment. The functionalities of the dedicated system allow assessing the actual mismatches, creating reports and scenarios for tenant relocation as well as their analysis and visualization. On this basis it is possible to identify the objects with highest need for tenant relocation and make appropriate recommendations for housing policy. The proposed solutions may be of interest to other countries where the problem of mismatches in social housing has arisen and managers are obliged to solve it. • System functionalities allow assessing actual mismatches and scenarios for tenant relocation. • Proposals are described in terms of business modeling and the UML. • Significant mismatches between the surface sizes and maintenance costs of many municipal dwellings are covered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the practical dimensions of using the concept of three capacities: absorptive coping, adaptive, and transformative, as well as agency perspective. The aim of this article is to find the contexts in which these capacities appear in strategic documents and planning. Within the framework of the agency perspective, the aim is to indicate the factors affecting the implementation of a resilience strategy, tools and appropriate strategy implementation steps. An analysis of urban adaptation plans and local development strategies of the 45 largest cities in Poland have been conducted. Also, interviews with academics and specialists in the relevant field were carried out. The results demonstrate that urban adaptation plans are too much oriented towards absorptive capacity, whilst local development strategies show little more transformational approach. However, the results indicate neither the need nor the method of the long-term deep transformation of urban systems. Both in adaptation plans and local development strategies, much attention is given to the inclusion and integration of communities with local governments and key agents. But, new tools of social participation, and financial benefits for city inhabitants are essential factors for the implementation of the resilience strategy. • Absorptive coping capacity in Polish cities mostly relates to environmental protection and aims to prevent natural disasters • In both planning and strategic documents, key declarative issues are inclusiveness and integration • Institutional factors and a centralised approach to planning determine activities to help tackle climate change • Transformation of urban systems is not a strategic priority [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to verify the hypothesis that the rapid metropolization process that has been taking place in large Polish cities since the beginning of the second phase of post-communist transition in 2000 leads to their socio-economic diversity, which is manifested, among others, in the differentiation of the level and structure of crime. Introduced into the discourse of this paper are subsequent stages of metropolization, which are called potential, initiating, advanced, and mature and which the examined cities have achieved so far. These stages have led to various economic and social effects, which resulted in changes in the level and structure of crime. Eighteen core cities of functional urban areas (FUAs) according to the classification ESPON 2007, were adopted as case study objects. Averaged crime data for the period 2013–2017 were analyzed in total and for seven types of crimes. The obtained results confirmed the adopted hypothesis. • The post-communist transition started the rapid metropolization of large cities. • Metropolization generally resulted in Poland since 2000 in a decrease in total crime. • Metropolization has reached different stages in individual cities: embryonic, initial and advanced. • In the initial stage, crime increased, especially against property, and traffic. • In the advanced stage, crime decreased, especially against freedom, and against life and health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents Łódź, Poland's third-largest city in terms of population, and which is a part of the urban heritage of the industrial age. At the start of the twentieth century, it was a major textile industry centre and achieved the highest population growth rate in Europe, with a scale comparable to the rapid development of American cities in this period. Prior to the First World War, Łódź was among the world's 35 largest cities. This profile presents strategies for addressing critical shrinkage by building a relationship with Warsaw as a part of a duopolis. The authors explored the processes by which Łódź enhances its competitiveness by improving its urban structure, altering its economic profile and changing its image from that of an industrial city to a cultural city. The case of Łódź demonstrates that understanding the necessity of introducing synergic layouts can be an element of building resilient city policies in Central and Eastern Europe, which has been hit by city shrinkage particularly hard. • Łódź as Poland's third-most populous city with an industrial origin. • Analysis of influence of demographic and economic change on Łódź's urban development. • Significance of the urban regeneration of the 19th-century post-industrial heritage. • Strategy studies: Duopolis Warszawa – Łódź and new image of the city as an anti-shrinkage resilience concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the issue of 'inner' suburbanisation – a unique spatial and social phenomenon. The process of 'inner' suburbanisation involves the development of low-rise housing estates (characteristic of 'classical' suburban architecture) within highly urbanised areas. This phenomenon, with its anti-sprawl effect, develops in polycentric systems on account of the specific distribution of ground rent and the availability of free land for new housing developments. This paper presents 'inner' suburbanisation in a post-industrial example, in the post-socialist Katowice conurbation in southern Poland. Referring to that example, the factors of the advancement of 'inner' suburbanisation are discussed, as well as the typology of spatial manifestations of this process within the metropolitan core. It was established that 'inner' suburbanisation processes developed in the surroundings of most towns in the core of the polycentric urban region. Unlabelled Image • Different types of suburbanisation have been identified in the post-socialist, post-industrial polycentric urban region (PUR) • Urban development in the Katowice conurbation is directed at suburbanisation occurring both in the core and outer zone • Self-reinforcing factors and the economic transition caused the growth of 'inner' suburbanisation in the Katowice conurbation • The suburbanisation process can develop not only outside cities but also within their administrative limits • The phenomenon of 'inner' suburbanisation can explain the spatial development of some post-socialist and polycentric urban regions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]