Spatial dispersion and the concentration of buildings in an urban agglomeration – a typology proposal for the Warsaw Metropolitan Area

Paweł Sudra

doi:10.2478/environ-2020-0025

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the state of dispersion and concentration of buildings in the Warsaw urban agglomeration. In particular, a goal was defined to develop a typology of basic administrative units due to the level and characteristics of the spatial concentration of buildings. The study was conducted based on the municipalities (urban, urban-rural and rural) of the Warsaw Metropolitan Area (delimitation of the Warsaw urban agglomeration used for the strategic and planning purposes) and districts of the capital city of Poland. Data on buildings was obtained from the topographic objects database. The share of buildings in total, as well as single-family and multi-family housing objects, was taken into account (these two categories were assumed to be the main determinants of suburbanization). Two methods were used to analyze their distribution: the density quotient factor, and the average nearest neighbour method. The spatial arrangement of buildings covers a wide spectrum of types, determined by combinations of both extreme and intermediate values of two dimensions of spatial concentration – the density of objects and the degree of their spatial dispersion (level of regularity, randomization, or clustering in their distribution). The typology allows us to indicate units for which similarly oriented spatial policy should be applied. The method of construction of the developed typology may be useful for application to research in other areas.

Highlights

This article is based on the occurrence of dispersed and concentrated buildings in the Warsaw urban agglomeration
The specific aim of the study was to develop a typology of administrative units related to the spatial concentration of buildings, which takes into account the share of single-family and multifamily housing
The study was conducted based on the official Topographic Objects Database (BDOT), which was made available by the Head Office of Geodesy and Cartography, and valid for the year 2013

Summary

Introduction

This article is based on the occurrence of dispersed and concentrated buildings in the Warsaw urban agglomeration. The spatial patterns of the locations of buildings were analyzed based on topographic data for the location of all buildings. This is the first study of the examined area at such a detailed scale. The capital city of Warsaw, in conjunction with the surrounding municipalities creates the only metropolitan area in Poland of the European third-order metropolis (potential MEGA type) (ESPON, 2007). It is the only monocentric agglomeration in Poland with over 2 million inhabitants. The processes of suburbanization and their related scatter of buildings are the most intense among the urban centres in the country and have the largest spatial coverage

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Discussion

Conclusion