Spatial transitions of areas near highway interchanges of the eastern A4 highway section in Poland

This paper presents the research outcomes of a study on the spatial transitions of areas around the highway interchanges of the eastern section of the A4 highway in Poland. We hypothesise that the changes that occur in the areas around these interchanges are a direct result of the construction and use of the new highway. The aim of this research was to determine the nature and scale of these transformations over a period of about 10 years, with the intent to find possible geometric regularities and taking into account the spatial relationships between the highway interchanges under study and the existing network of cities. The analysis of the highway interchanges were quantitative, expressed by the quantitative growth of new buildings located in the vicinity of a given junction, as well as in spatial terms – examining the geometric distribution of the placement of new buildings and identifying the zones of the most dynamic spatial transformation for each interchange/junction. The findings were individually referenced to each interchange, after which they were aggregated to the cities that these junctions or groups of junctions serves. The study was based on original field research and a comparative analysis of satellite imagery that depicted the site development of the space investigated in the period preceding the construction of the junctions and at the time of the study. GIS and CAD tools, as well as a review of the literature and the state of the art were used. The results presented contribute a number of important insights into the scale and nature of the transformation of the areas around the junctions under study. They also allow for general conclusions to be drawn concerning the impact of highway corridors on space, particularly that of suburban areas, and the impact of the location of highway interchanges on the transformation of the functional and spatial structure model of cities.