IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i12p4633-d188388.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can Depopulation Create Urban Sustainability in Postindustrial Regions? A Case from Poland

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Runge

    (University of Silesia Department of Economic Geography, 60 Będzińska street, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland)

  • Iwona Kantor-Pietraga

    (University of Silesia Department of Economic Geography, 60 Będzińska street, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland)

  • Jerzy Runge

    (University of Silesia Department of Economic Geography, 60 Będzińska street, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland)

  • Robert Krzysztofik

    (University of Silesia Department of Economic Geography, 60 Będzińska street, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland)

  • Weronika Dragan

    (University of Silesia Department of Economic Geography, 60 Będzińska street, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland)

Abstract

Many towns and cities in the world experience the process of urban shrinkage. This may be observed in localities of different types and of all sizes, including a large group of post-industrial towns and cities of Central and Eastern Europe. One of the districts affected by the urban shrinkage process is the Katowice conurbation in Poland, which may serve as a good example to consider the potential for introducing the idea of sustainable development. In this perspective, sustainability is considered as a specific challenge within the progress of regional transformation, but also a target concept for a large urban region to be followed throughout the evolution and at particular stages of the change. In the discussed region it is all the more important because it is followed by phenomena related to post(industrialism), relatively high pollution levels compared with the European average and a polycentric system of settlement. This paper states that the current urban policy implemented in the Katowice conurbation does not seem to have any palpable effect reversing the trend of depopulation in the region, which seems to stem from the fact that numerous initiatives undertaken in the area are ‘illusory’ and often unnecessary and unjustified. This also applies to activities embracing and fostering the idea of sustainability. With regard to the latter issue, the main concern refers to overinvestment and wasting the measures to reduce low emissions and to make savings in the heat supply system for residential buildings. The Authors proposed a new vision for the transformation of the region. It will respond to the current and expected needs of the residents, while making allowances for multidimensional sustainable development, particularly in terms of housing policy and spatial development. This concept primarily focuses on a new balance between the areas covered by low-rise and high-rise buildings and the reorganisation of the structure of the local economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Runge & Iwona Kantor-Pietraga & Jerzy Runge & Robert Krzysztofik & Weronika Dragan, 2018. "Can Depopulation Create Urban Sustainability in Postindustrial Regions? A Case from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-18, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:12:p:4633-:d:188388
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/12/4633/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/12/4633/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Phelps, Nicholas A., 2017. "Interplaces: An Economic Geography of the Inter-urban and International Economies," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199668229.
    2. James Evans & Phil Jones, 2008. "Rethinking Sustainable Urban Regeneration: Ambiguity, Creativity, and the Shared Territory," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 40(6), pages 1416-1434, June.
    3. Elizabeth Karol & Julie Brunner, 2009. "Tools for Measuring Progress towards Sustainable Neighborhood Environments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 1(3), pages 1-16, September.
    4. Luke Boyle & Kathy Michell & François Viruly, 2018. "A Critique of the Application of Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Tools in Urban Regeneration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Annemarie Schneider & Curtis E. Woodcock, 2008. "Compact, Dispersed, Fragmented, Extensive? A Comparison of Urban Growth in Twenty-five Global Cities using Remotely Sensed Data, Pattern Metrics and Census Information," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 45(3), pages 659-692, March.
    6. Capello, Roberta & Nijkamp, Peter, 2002. "In search of sustainable human settlements: Prefatory remarks," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 151-155, February.
    7. Qi Zhang & Esther Hiu Kwan Yung & Edwin Hon Wan Chan, 2018. "Towards Sustainable Neighborhoods: Challenges and Opportunities for Neighborhood Planning in Transitional Urban China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-23, February.
    8. Costanza, Robert & Patten, Bernard C., 1995. "Defining and predicting sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 193-196, December.
    9. Manfred M. Fischer & Peter Nijkamp (ed.), 2014. "Handbook of Regional Science," Springer Books, Springer, edition 127, number 978-3-642-23430-9, December.
    10. Ayyoob Sharifi & Akito Murayama, 2015. "Viability of using global standards for neighbourhood sustainability assessment: insights from a comparative case study," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(1), pages 1-23, January.
    11. Adam Radzimski, 2018. "Involving small landlords as a regeneration strategy under shrinkage: evidence from two East German cases," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(3), pages 526-545, March.
    12. Xuening Fang & Bingbing Zhou & Xingyue Tu & Qun Ma & Jianguo Wu, 2018. "“What Kind of a Science is Sustainability Science?” An Evidence-Based Reexamination," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-16, May.
    13. Umberto Berardi, 2013. "Sustainability assessment of urban communities through rating systems," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1573-1591, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Valentin Mihaylov & Stanisław Sala, 2022. "Planning “the Future of the City” or Imagining “the City of the Future”? In Search of Sustainable Urban Utopianism in Katowice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-23, September.
    2. Źróbek-Różańska Alina, 2019. "Depopulation of Cities and Housing Decisions of University Graduates," Real Estate Management and Valuation, Sciendo, vol. 27(4), pages 105-113, December.
    3. Anna Wichowska, 2021. "Economic Aspects of Shrinking Cities in Poland in the Context of Regional Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-12, March.
    4. Zhao, Yanqi & Yang, Ying & Leszek, Sobkowiak & Wang, Xinyi, 2021. "Experience in the transformation process of “coal city” to “beautiful city”: Taking Jiaozuo City as an example," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    5. Robert Krzysztofik & Oimahmad Rahmonov & Iwona Kantor-Pietraga & Weronika Dragan, 2022. "The Perception of Urban Forests in Post-Mining Areas: A Case Study of Sosnowiec-Poland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-26, March.
    6. Jan Ženka & Luděk Krtička & Lenka Paszová & Tereza Pundová & Kateřina Rudincová & Simona Šťastná & Veronika Svetlíková & Jan Matula, 2021. "Micro-Geographies of Information and Communication Technology Firms in a Shrinking Medium-Sized Industrial City of Ostrava (Czechia)," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-26, July.
    7. Jaroszewska Emilia, 2019. "Urban Shrinkage and Regeneration of an Old Industrial City: The Case of Wałbrzych In Poland," Quaestiones Geographicae, Sciendo, vol. 38(2), pages 75-90, June.
    8. Shuyi Xie & Elena Batunova, 2019. "Shrinking Historic Neighborhoods and Authenticity Dilution: An Unspoken Challenge of Historic Chinatowns in the United States through the Case of San Francisco," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.
    9. Ondřej Slach & Vojtěch Bosák & Luděk Krtička & Alexandr Nováček & Petr Rumpel, 2019. "Urban Shrinkage and Sustainability: Assessing the Nexus between Population Density, Urban Structures and Urban Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-22, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carmela Gargiulo & Antonio Sforza & Claudio Sterle & Floriana Zucaro, 2018. "An Optimization Model Fitting the Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Ali Cheshmehzangi & Ayotunde Dawodu & Wangyang Song & Yuzhu Shi & Yuwei Wang, 2020. "An Introduction to Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Tool (NSAT) Study for China from Comprehensive Analysis of Eight Asian Tools," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-29, March.
    3. Qi Zhang & Esther Hiu-Kwan Yung & Edwin Hon-Wan Chan, 2021. "Meshing Sustainability with Satisfaction: An Investigation of Residents’ Perceptions in Three Different Neighbourhoods in Chengdu, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-32, November.
    4. Å pela VerovÅ¡ek & Tadeja ZupanÄ iÄ & Matevž JuvanÄ iÄ & Simon PetrovÄ iÄ & Matija Svetina & Miha Janež & Žiga PuÅ¡nik & Iztok Lebar Bajec & Miha MoÅ¡kon, 2021. "The Aspect of Mobility and Connectivity While Assessing the Neighbourhood Sustainability," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 10, May.
    5. Matthew Cohen, 2017. "A Systematic Review of Urban Sustainability Assessment Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-16, November.
    6. Jiangang Shi & Kaifeng Duan & Guangdong Wu & Hongyun Si & Rui Zhang, 2022. "Sustainability at the community level: A bibliometric journey around a set of sustainability‐related terms," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 256-274, February.
    7. Spela Verovsek & Matevz Juvancic & Tadeja Zupancic, 2018. "Widening the Scope and Scale of Sustainability Assessments in Built Environments: From Passive House to Active Neighbourhood," Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Richtmann Publishing Ltd, vol. 7, March.
    8. Peng Wu & Yongze Song & Xin Hu & Xiangyu Wang, 2018. "A Preliminary Investigation of the Transition from Green Building to Green Community: Insights from LEED ND," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-14, May.
    9. Li Zhu & Chen Wang & Ning Huang & Yu Fu & Zhexing Yan, 2022. "Developing an Indicator System to Monitor City’s Sustainability Integrated Local Governance: A Case Study in Zhangjiakou," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, April.
    10. Matthew Cohen & Geoffrey Habron, 2018. "How Does the New Urban Agenda Align with Comprehensive Planning in U.S. Cities? A Case Study of Asheville, North Carolina," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-18, December.
    11. Luke Boyle & Kathy Michell & François Viruly, 2018. "A Critique of the Application of Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Tools in Urban Regeneration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, March.
    12. Ana Paula Lima Vilela & Michelle Simões Reboita & Luiz Felipe Silva & Miglena Krasimirova Gerasimova & Daniele Ornaghi Sant’Anna, 2020. "Sustainable neighborhoods in Brazil: a comparison of concepts and applications," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 6001-6028, August.
    13. Pamela A. Mischen & George C. Homsy & Carl P. Lipo & Robert Holahan & Valerie Imbruce & Andreas Pape & Weixing Zhu & Joseph Graney & Ziang Zhang & Louisa M. Holmes & Manuel Reina, 2019. "A Foundation for Measuring Community Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-16, March.
    14. Kilic, Huseyin Selcuk & Yalcin, Ahmet Selcuk, 2021. "Comparison of municipalities considering environmental sustainability via neutrosophic DEMATEL based TOPSIS," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    15. Sudeshna Kumar & Sumitro Bhaumik & Haimanti Banerji, 2021. "Methodology for Framing Indicators for Assessing Economic-Socio-Cultural Sustainability of the Neighbourhood Level Urban Communities in Indian Megacities: Evidence from Kolkata," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 154(2), pages 511-544, April.
    16. Tanushri Kamble & Sarika Bahadure, 2020. "Neighborhood sustainability assessment in developed and developing countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 4955-4977, August.
    17. Francesca Abastante & Isabella M. Lami & Marika Gaballo, 2021. "Pursuing the SDG11 Targets: The Role of the Sustainability Protocols," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, March.
    18. Rigby, Dan & Woodhouse, Phil & Young, Trevor & Burton, Michael, 2001. "Constructing a farm level indicator of sustainable agricultural practice," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 463-478, December.
    19. Rey, Sergio, 2015. "Bells in Space: The Spatial Dynamics of US Interpersonal and Interregional Income Inequality," MPRA Paper 69482, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Núria Bautista-Puig & Jorge Mañana-Rodríguez & Antonio Eleazar Serrano-López, 2021. "Role taxonomy of green and sustainable science and technology journals: exportation, importation, specialization and interdisciplinarity," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(5), pages 3871-3892, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:12:p:4633-:d:188388. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.