Sustainability of urbanization processes in the digital environment: food security factors

Motives: The article examines the potential of the digital environment in the sustainable supply of fresh food to the big city. Urbanization is a difficult process to manage, and adapting it to the demands of sustainable development requires the search for the new opportunities and ways. In this context, it is highly probable to use the opportunities provided by the digital environment through the Internet, digital technologies and devices, or other digital means. The place and role of ensuring food security in cities and the sustainability of urbanization processes have been little studied. Aim: It is expedient to assess the role of the suburban zone and the zone of transportation of these products to the city in the provision of large cities with fresh food products in terms of sustainable development of urbanization zones. Results: Research and calculations conducted on the example of the Baku agglomeration (Azerbaijan) have provided an opportunity to comment on the impact of food security factors on the sustainability of urbanization processes in the digital environment. To determine the changes in the transportation zone of fresh milk to this agglomeration, we calculated the proposed “weighted average distance of transportation” indicator. It was revealed that the formation of the digital environment in the agricultural production business entities is faster in the areas located closer to the Baku agglomeration.

Effects of land consolidation in Southern Poland

Motives: The fragmentation of land and the distribution of plots in rural areas negatively affects the profitability and efficiency of agricultural production. Land consolidation is an activity that facilitates the improvement of the spatial structure and at the same time contributes to the sustainable development of rural areas. European Union (EU) funding helps to improve, among others the area structure of agricultural land in the EU countries. Aim: From these premises, the purpose of the work results, which is the assessment of the effects of the performed consolidation of land with EU funding. The detailed analysis covered 16 precincts from the Podkarpackie voivodeship and 3 precincts from the Świętokrzyskie voivodeship. The assessment of the consolidation of land was made in 19 consolidated objects in the years 2007-2020. In practice, there is a problem of how to demonstrate the effects of land consolidation? This article proposes to present the four most important effects of land consolidation in the form of the following coefficients: W1 (coefficient of reducing the number of plots as a result of consolidation), W2 (coefficient of increasing the average plot area in the consolidation facility), W3 (coefficient of reducing the number of plots in an individual farm as a result of consolidation), W4 (index of road network density in merged area) are a reliable image of the results of the land consolidation performed in the studied area. Results: The results were obtained. Index W1 in the examined objects indicated the result of 34.0% for the Podkarpackie voivodeship, and 28.8% for the Świętokrzyskie. Index W2 in the Podkarpackie voivodeship is 27.0%, and in the Świętokrzyskie it is higher and amounts to 29.7%. Index W3 which amounts to 39.4% of the average number of plots in a farm in the Podkarpackie voivodeship and much higher, amounting to 46.6% in the Świętokrzyskie. Index W4 for the Podkarpackie voivodeship is + 14.7%. However, for the Świętokrzyskie it is only + 3.7%. Summing up, the study analyzed four indicators showing the effects of land consolidation in southern Poland. The results obtained for these two voivodeships were similar. However, unsatisfactory in terms of the effects of land consolidation.

Cities after pandemic: enabling social distancing as a new design standard to achieve urban immunity

Motives: COVID-19 pandemic has caused worldwide implementation of unprecedented measures of physical distancing to decrease the potential of the COVID-19 infection. As cities respond to closure measures in order to flatten the infection curve, the challenges associated with the spread of the epidemic and the increasing numbers of infected and deaths that compel us to fundamentally rethink the formation of our cities, especially their streets, the research presents an urban review of the impact of the pandemic on cities and find solutions to recover, achieve a safe and sustainable healthy environment, and prepare better for any pandemic that may occur in the future, the research seeks to strengthen the theory of prevention, which the research proposes to call (urban immunity) by including social distancing as a design criterion in the city that has proven effective in flattening the curve. Aims: This paper focuses on the mechanisms related to sustainable mobility after COVID-19 in shaping urban mobility and initiating a green transformation in urban transportation rapidly by decarbonizing and promoting cycling and walking across all over the city. The research methodology depends on identifying the most important urban problems that Al-Dhubat Street suffers from and proposing solutions that reduce dependence on private transportation and move towards sustainable mobility as an important step in strengthening urban prevention against any epidemics that may occur in the future, and then testing indicators on the Al-Dhubat Street to identify effective indicators. Results: The research concluded that social distancing is the way back to active mobility by relying on walking and bicycles and works to restore the right of pedestrians in the streets and sidewalks instead of cars and thus achieve sustainable urban development, which enhances the urban immunity of the city against any other epidemics may occur in the future. With the proposed interventions on Al-Dhubat Street we can keep car use low and promote walking and cycling for a sustainable, equitable, habitable, and healthy community after the pandemic.

Support for Restricting the Possibility of African Swine Fever (ASF) Spread Under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2020

Of the many measures under Polish Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014–2020, the aid instrument entitled “Support for investments in preventive measures aimed at reducing the effects of probable natural disasters, adverse climatic phenomena and catastrophes” is the focus of this publication. This mechanism is intended to support, inter alia, agricultural producers at risk of damage caused by natural disasters such as African swine fever (ASF). The aim of the article is to attempt to analyse whether, and to what extent, this form of support ensures the sustainability of an agricultural producer’s business by restricting the possibility of African swine fever spread. The author focuses on an analysis of normative solutions contained in the instrument to support investments aimed at preventing the destruction of agricultural productive potential, offered by RDP 2014–2020. The aid form concerned encourages agricultural producers to initiate preventive measures arising from the biosecurity programme aimed at restricting the spread of African swine fever. These are preventive in nature and enable making specific investments to prevent the destruction of agricultural productive potential due to the emergence of specific epizootic events.

An overview of urban resilience: dimensions, components, and approaches

This paper investigates the theoretical and research literature on urban resilience. It examines various definitions of the concept and explores its social, economic, and institutional dimensions as components of a dynamic system. The study design was a descriptive review of relevant material collected from high quality scientific databases using the purposeful sampling method. The results indicated that the social ecology model of urban resilience provided a coherent and dynamic approach to the study of urban resilience. This model comprises economic, social, and institutional dimensions, the components of which have different functions in relation to urban resilience in the face of changes and pressures. To be effective, the system must be flexible and contain a variety of resources and functions to make predictions, deal with adverse events, and make provision for possible failures. System stability and balance require active and knowledgeable actors and institutions that enable appropriate communication between them. In this approach, a resilient city not only has the ability to absorb and withstand disasters, but also contains a variety of internal and external resources to regain balance. Resilient systems are the result of a series of decisions and actions at different times. The necessary capacities must be developed in the economic, social, and institutional dimensions to create economic stability, increase awareness and public cooperation, and develop efficient institutions to legislate for and implement urban resilience programs.

Dispersed privatization of council housing: Some structural effects in the municipal housing stock in Olsztyn, Poland

Council (public) housing privatization, as the basic instrument for transforming housing systems, has significantly affected the tenure structure and created millions of new owners across Europe. In Poland, the concept of the dispersed privatization was adopted and implemented in the long term primarily through preferential sales of council dwellings from the municipal housing stock to sitting tenants. The aim of the study was to analyze the effects of the dispersed privatization of municipal dwellings in the spatial and ownership structure of the municipal housing stock of the city of Olsztyn in Poland. The results showed that poorly controlled processes of the dispersed privatization of municipal housing caused unfavorable structural effects in the surveyed housing stock. The stock has shrunk significantly, losing buildings in better locations and conditions and the undesired fragmentation of municipal ownership and its mixing with private ownership has increased. The results and proposals are important to other cities and countries facing the challenge of slow privatization of public housing.

Implementation of municipal adaptation plans to climate changes: Case study of Poznań

The adaptation of cities to climate change is becoming an increasingly pressing need. The choice of optimal adaptation solutions for cities is difficult as it requires an individual approach. One way of avoiding poor decisions is to use the experience of cities which have already implemented adaptation solutions. The aim of the work was to identify measures conducted as part of implementation of the municipal plan of adaptation to climate change for Poznań and to evaluate if the conducted measures complied with the adopted strategic goals specific for the research area. It was found that Poznań undertakes measures on each of the four specified strategic goals, but to a different degree. Hard measures and measures of the types: mitigation, physical infrastructure, and green infrastructure prevail. Most measures are performed in the sectors of transport and biodiversity. In addition, single cases of actions which have a negative impact on the natural environment have been identified.

Transformation of the public administration system in the digital economy

Digitalization is an objective and inevitable process, which is impossible to halt. The development of the digital economy should allow the Russian economy to integrate into the global context and legal aspects of this process need to be analysed. This paper aims to to study the influence of digitalization on public administration (especially in economic sectors) in Russia, to outline new requirements to public administration in digital era as well as to analyze new challenges caused by implementation of technical decision within global process of digitalization. The program “Digital Economy of the Russian Federation” dictates new requirements for the system of public administration. But despite the fact that the implementation of the Program requires serious simplification in the interaction of market operators and the state, interdepartmental interaction, it does not fully respond to the challenges of digital transformation of the public administration system. It should lead to a radical change in the approaches to the organization of the work of public authorities through the digitalization, reducing the “bureaucratic burden” when issuing electronic documents. It deals with the formation of conditions ensuring the development of information technologies and effective interaction of a state and business, which covers legal regulation, information infrastructure, personnel and information security, etc. As a result the authors came to conclusion that now it is not a primary task to set out new electronic systems in new fields as much as to improve already existing systems and the system of public administration itself in order to duly adapt it to new digital environments that was established. It is necessary to establish the limits for implementation of various electronic systems to ensure the proper protection of fundamental rights (for example, the right to the protection of personal data, the right to privacy, etc.) as well as to set up some limits for automated individual decision-making.

Analysis of spatial distribution of touristic accommodation in Poland with the kernel density estimation of POIs

Motives: Using Points-of-Interest (POIs) data and GIS software, the spatial heterogeneity of different types of accommodation could cheap, easily and quick be analyzed. Aim: The use of kernel density estimation (KDE) of Points-of-Interest data to shown spatial distribution of different types of accommodation in Poland. Results: There is a close relationship between the type of accommodation and the type of tourist attraction.

Safety perceptions at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland

Motives: The pandemic situation created unique opportunity to undertake research in the context of the changed living conditions of the population. Aim: The main purpose is to assess broadly understood safety perceptions at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The key research tool used was a survey questionnaire (270 respondents), complemented by observations in Poznań (Poland) and photographic documentation. Hometown was chosen due to imposed restrictions on movement. Results: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly changed people’s life in many aspects and therefore affected perceived safety. Level of fear of the pandemic was varied and so was keeping up to date with information about the pandemic outcomes. Before the pandemic people felt safer in the analysed various places. Implication of the pandemic for everyday behaviour was significant, resulting e.g. in leaving home when it is absolutely necessary, working from home. Most of the imposed restrictions were rated positively.