The Analysis of Green Areas’ Accessibility in Comparison with Statistical Data in Poland

Abstract

The study discusses the problem of public green areas’ accessibility for the residents of large cities in Poland. The purpose of the research is to assess the possibility of applying the British Accessible Natural Greenspace Standard (ANGSt) method in determining the amount of natural green space available to residents in Polish conditions including, in particular, the assessment of accessibility using data collected by the Central Statistical Office and the verification of results based on detailed research. The identification of green areas for 18 voivodeship cities in Poland was prepared using the GIS programme, taking into account public green space, provided for general access and free of change. The verification of the ANGSt method consisted of mapping spatial barriers extending the route of access either on foot or by roads as well as closed private areas. The conducted research revealed that, after taking into account the access routes to selected areas, the distance to public green areas increased, on average, from 50 m in the smallest cities (Gorzów Wielkopolski and Olsztyn) to as much as 450 m in Warszawa. A detailed analysis showed that the discussed accessibility was reduced, on average, by almost 10% for the residents of the analysed cities. It was also found that the introduced barriers did not affect the accessibility of more distant, larger green space areas.

Evaluation of green space systems in small towns of Kyiv region

“…In Ukraine, as in Chinese or Polish cities (Wysmułek et al, 2020;Szymańska et al, 2015), there is no information on green space in backyards and these are practically not taken into account when determining citywide indicators of landscaping. Taking into account all the green space in small towns provided green space results that are comparable with the indicators of European and other towns.…”

Public Green Space Policy Implementation: A Case Study of Krakow, Poland

“…The publication [29] points to the appreciation of natural values and experienced health benefits as universal attitudes, but also mentions concerns about the general cleanliness and proper maintenance of city parks. It is also pointed out in the subject literature that not only the proximity of green spaces is important, but also the distance necessary to travel to be able to reach them [30]. According to [31,32], the presence of natural areas affects quality of life in many ways.…”

“…The research studies on green spaces in Poland cover quantitative studies in the country and in selected cities [47][48][49] as well as spatial analyses related to the accessibility of green spaces [16,17,30,[50][51][52]. Other presented research studies concern ecosystem services [53], allotment gardens [33,34,54], urban planning [55], the management strategy of the Białowieża Forest [56] and the influence of the vicinity of greenery on housing prices [57,58].…”

Dynamic Development of the Global Organic Food Market and Opportunities for Ukraine

“…A complex investigation of modern transformations in the organic sector lets us single out dominant factors that appear to be its development catalysts: postindustrialization; production and trade digitalization (active use of the latest technologies (GPS, Global Navigation Satellite System, the Internet of things, robots and blockchain technology)); the implementation of alternative methods in agriculture (hydroponics, aquaponics and vertical farming); the modernization of professions and educational methods (the appearance of "jobs of the future", e.g., a "rewilder", a new type of a farmer whose job is to minimize negative influences on the environment; agroecologists; fish and urban farmers; and the introduction of organic produce courses in educational institutions); the ecologization of the international economy (green entrepreneurship and sustainable consumption); agribusiness functional diversification (the "bioeconomy" phenomenon); the dynamization of e-commerce and transformation of business subject interaction (B2B, B2G, B2C, C2C, G2B and C2G); produce customization; and the appearance of a new type of consumer-the "digital consumer". It must be mentioned that the outcome of the postindustrial market's appearance was the aggravation of ecological and food crises due to overuse and inefficient use of resources and galloping and asymmetric economic development of countries [36][37][38][39].…”