Urban Sprawl Risk Delimitation: The Concept for Spatial Planning Policy in Poland

Piotr Lityński,Artur Hołuj

doi:10.3390/su12072637

Abstract

Urban sprawl is a process shaping the space of contemporary urban areas. The costs generated by this phenomenon force central and local authorities to adopt and implement a spatial policy limiting those costs. However, there is no method in Polish spatial policy that determines the extent of this phenomenon around cities, and thus identifies the area of intervention. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to propose a method of delimitation of urban areas at risk of urban sprawl. The proposed method of delimitation honors the characteristics of urban sprawl relating to spatial structure, socio-economic processes and efficiency of spatial policy. The method can be useful for conducting spatial policy aimed at reducing costs due to urban sprawl. It particularly pertains to the policy implemented at the central and regional level. Research results indicate that, in most Polish urban areas, delimitations used thus far designate too little of the area around core cities. Although the goals of reducing the negative consequences of urban sprawl are formulated at the level of national spatial policy, the methods of delimitation used thus far do not take into account the specificity of this phenomenon. Underestimating the extent of urban sprawl results in a lack of effectiveness of spatial policy due to the omission of specific areas in public intervention. This particularity is related to the fact that these are usually external areas—the most distant from the core city. These areas have the highest costs for urban sprawl. At the same time, these are areas in the early stages of spatial growth, in which a consistent spatial structure can still be kept while implementing proper spatial policy.

Highlights

Spatial planning policy is the domain of public entities, and commune governments generally play a special role in actively influencing the structure of space
The aim of this study is to propose a method of urban sprawl risk delimitation, and the empirical examples are the most important Polish cities—regional capitals
The first allows determining the maximum range of research, and the second stage involves assessing the probability of urban sprawl

Summary

Introduction

Spatial planning policy is the domain of public entities, and commune governments generally play a special role in actively influencing the structure of space. In Poland, the commune authorities are responsible for space management at the local level, but their authority is limited by the administrative boundaries of the commune. It is widely recognized in Poland that the commune self-government is struggling with the implementation of effective spatial planning policy. There are legal gaps that prevent the implementation of good practices in spatial management, taking into account economic and urban legitimacy. Systemic problems are accompanied by dynamically occurring social, economic and spatial processes. These processes occur most strongly in metropolitan areas, resulting in an undesirable spatial structure known as urban sprawl

Objectives

Methods

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Discussion

Conclusion