In this work, we center the importance of residential narrative in communicating about the “15-minute City” concept by presenting and interpreting the results of a local survey investigating interrelations between: neighborhood-level availability and accessibility to services and amenities; perceived quality of life; and place attachment, this last often being disregarded in this concept. The results, based on qualitative research carried out in Warsaw, document strong links between the first two, with the primary observed benefits being time- and effort-saving, followed by advantages concerning general life comfort, safety and walkability. Regarding place attachment, we identify a division of residents into the categories “stayers” and “movers”, which define their attitude irrespective of neighborhood convenience and quality of life perceived. Narratives emphatically attributed availability of public transport infrastructure an important role in contributing to life-quality, revealing the intensity and complexity of spatial interaction linking the neighborhood with the city-cum-metropolitan level. ...

This paper investigates the dynamic evolution of world city hierarchy from 1996 to 2023, emphasising metropolitan areas as global command-and-control centres. It proposes a classification of the diverse literature on world/global cities and develops an analytical framework revisiting Godfrey and Zhou’s (1999) approach. Using data from the Fortune Global 500 list and Refinitiv Eikon database, the paper explores trends in global command-and-control centres by analysing the locations of corporate and regional headquarters. It confirms a shift towards Pacific Rim cities, driven by the emergence and rapid growth of firms from developing economies, particularly China. The findings highlight the strengthening role of US cities, the relative decline of Europe, and persistent global disparities in command-and-control. Beijing, in particular, rivals traditional centres such as New York, Tokyo and London, becoming a leading hub of global corporate power.

This study assesses the current state of heritage conservation at the Non Nuoc Cao Bang UNESCO Global Geopark (Vietnam) and examines the impact of tourism on historical and cultural sites. Using a survey of 500 respondents, including local community members, tourists and heritage experts, combined with field data analysis and GIS technology, the research reveals that, although public awareness of heritage values is relatively high (74.3%), the effectiveness of conservation efforts remains limited, with only 39.3% of respondents expressing satisfaction with current measures. The adoption of digital technology in conservation is also low (34.6%). Tourism in the geopark has grown at an average annual rate of 12.4%, but this increase has led to the degradation of 30.6% of heritage sites. The study identifies virtual reality (VR), mobile applications and integrated conservation-education models as promising solutions to improve heritage preservation and management. ...

Due to urban sprawl and the increase in the number of motorized vehicles, even medium-sized cities are now struggling with mobility problems that primarily affected large cities. In response, cities in Brazil were required to create an urban mobility plan to promote more sustainable modes of transportation. The limited public participation in the development of such plans, combined with often inadequate infrastructure and safety concerns, might contribute to negative perceptions of urban mobility and discourage the use of sustainable transportation alternatives to private cars in Brazilian medium-sized cities. To explore this, we used a questionnaire survey to investigate whether residents of Divinópolis, a medium-sized Brazilian city, participated in the creation of an urban mobility plan and how they perceive urban mobility, focusing on public transportation, active modes of transportation (i.e., walking and cycling), and smart solutions in urban transportation. ...

The study examined climate concern (CC) and pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) regarding climate change. In our research, we chose the second largest city in Hungary, Debrecen. We conducted a questionnaire survey among residents in 2020 (N = 200). The closeness, strength and intensity of the relationship between the predictors, Total Climate Concern Index (TCCI) and PEB Index (PEBI), were examined by correlational analyses. Regression analysis investigated selected variables' relative impacts on and relationships to TCCI and PEBI. We revealed that the TCCI of inhabitants is very high, but PEBI is much lower. In correlational analyses, TCCI and PEBI were each separately found to correlate positively and significantly with AI (Attitude Index, which comprises risk perception and confident willingness to change lifestyle). ...

The research contextualizes the emergence of viticulture in non-traditional vine regions due to climate change and examines the landscape potential for such development on the sample of Hażlach commune in Poland. The research problem addressed is how areas with specific landscape characteristics favourable to viticulture but not constrained by historical or industrial-scale wine traditions, possess a greater capacity to develop sustainable and identity-driven wine production models. These conditions are particularly conducive to fostering a unique terroir and supporting rural development based on cultural heritage. The methodology employs GIS-based terrain analysis, utilizing slope, exposure, and proximity to water bodies, to identify optimal zones for viticulture. 11% of the commune meets the criteria for site-specific terroir development. The research highlights the potential of small-scale vineyard and oenotourism in Hażlach not only to establish a distinctive wine culture but also to contribute to the restoration of the landscape of small farmstead structures.

The main objective of this study is to explore the potential of using regional rail for intra-urban commuting in post-socialist cities of Central and Eastern Europe. The purpose of this study can be approached from cognitive and methodological perspectives. The cognitive objective is focused on the role of geographical and political conditions, while the methodological objective aims to propose and test a research procedure to assess to what extent existing regional train services can support urban rail transit. The study was conducted using examples from four cities in Central and Eastern Europe: Lviv, Riga, Wrocław, and Zagreb, as well as one from Western Europe (Leipzig), serving as a reference point for the analysis of research results. The main empirical part was conducted using nine indicators categorized into three groups: infrastructural, organizational, and developmental.

This article examines the determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI) undertaken in China and India by companies from the Visegrad Group (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary). We examine the impact of several host country factors (like on the FDI using the panel autoregressive distributed lag (p-ARDL) model to assess the short- and long-term connectedness. Econometric models were constructed using time-series stacks from 2006-2021. The main research results suggest that GDP per capita (representing market-related determinants) and trade openness (representing policy framework determinants) significantly and positively influence FDI outward stocks from the Visegrad Group into China and India in the long term. The remaining determinants considered in the study, such as labour costs (efficiency determinant), inflation (policy framework), and R&D expenditures (strategic assets determinants), were statistically insignificant factors in the long term. However, those factors play an essential role as short-run determinants, where the relationship running from labour costs, trade openness and R&D expenditures to FDI suggests that those determinants can increase the FDI of the Visegrad Group countries in the short term.

One of the key tools of environmental policy is economic instruments. This article focuses on one type of economic instrument applied in waste management – namely, fees for municipal waste. The aim of this work is to ascertain the amount of mixed municipal waste produced, analyze the level of fees for municipal waste, and determine the type of fee applied in Slovakia and its individual regions. This work underscores the need to implement volume-based waste fees and indicates the potential of artificial intelligence which, by employing smart bins and sensors, can assist in determining the quantity and type of waste. This could form the basis for calculating volume-based fees and establishing a more equitable waste-charging system.

The latest pandemic had disparate impacts on the quality of life of individuals around the world. The primary hypothesis guiding this research is that the impacts on quality of life during the pandemic years are associated with the pre-pandemic social and environmental conditions. However, the effects varied across certain groups of countries and regions, as well as across different years. In order to substantiate this assumption, an analysis will be conducted on the 27 member states of the European Union at the national and NUTS2 regional levels. The regression analysis demonstrates that life expectancy in 2021 decreased more where it was lower before the pandemic. In 2020 and 2022, there were no significant differences in terms of life expectancy changes across the countries. However, we get a more nuanced picture at the regional level. In terms of life satisfaction, a convergence between the EU countries is observed by 2022.