Search results for: SUSTAINABILITY
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Estimation of the River Flow Synchronicity in the Upper Indus River Basin Using Copula Functions
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Proposal of a Mobile Medical Waste Incinerator with Application of Automatic Waste Feeder and Heat Recovery System as a Novelty in Poland
PublicationThe paper presents and discusses the issues of medical waste (including hazardous ones) and the problems regarding their proper management in Poland. Inappropriate handling of infectious medical waste directly endangers human health and the environment. Infectious waste must be properly disposed of—in practice, the only method of their disposal available in Poland is a thermal treatment in the incinerators tailored for this purpose....
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The Use of Artificial Neural Networks and Decision Trees to Predict the Degree of Odor Nuisance of Post-Digestion Sludge in the Sewage Treatment Plant Process
PublicationThis paper presents the application of artificial neural networks and decision trees for the prediction of odor properties of post-fermentation sludge from a biological-mechanical wastewater treatment plant. The input parameters were concentrations of popular compounds present in the sludge, such as toluene, p-xylene, and p-cresol, and process parameters including the concentration of volatile fatty acids, pH, and alkalinity in...
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Trees as a Shading System for Streets on the East–West Axis: Computer Simulations for the Selected Geometrical Proportions of Building Developments in Humid Continental Climate
PublicationThe study is aimed at investigating the possibilities for solar protection provided to the street canyon located on the E–W axis and with the following profiles: shallow (height/width (H/W) = 0.2, 0.6, and 1) and deep (H/W = 2) by two rows of trees located at a distance of 3 m away from southern and northern façades. The research was based on numerical simulation analyses conducted in the Rhinoceros® program, with the application...
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Urban Vegetation in Air Quality Management: A Review and Policy Framework
PublicationRecent episodes of high air pollution concentration levels in many Polish cities indicate the urgent need for policy change and for the integration of various aspects of urban development into a common platform for local air quality management. In this article, the focus was placed on the prospects of improving urban air quality through proper design and protection of vegetation systems within local spatial planning strategies....
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A Vision of Sustainable Design Concepts for Upgrading Vulnerable Coastal Areas in Light of Climate Change Impacts: A Case Study from Beirut, Lebanon
PublicationRapid urbanization combined with the effects of climate change has increased the vulnerability of poor urban communities to natural hazards, particularly to informal settlements located in coastal areas. Apart from socio-economic challenges, the effects of climate change threaten the very existence of these settlements. They are particularly vulnerable due to their poor structural quality and lack of adequate infrastructure to...
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Digital Transformation and Its Influence on Sustainable Manufacturing and Business Practices
PublicationThe paper focuses on the relationship between businesses and digital transformation, and how digital transformation has changed manufacturing in several ways. Aspects like Cloud Computing, vertical and horizontal integration, data communication, and the internet have contributed to sustainable manufacturing by decentralizing supply chains. In addition, digital transformation inventions such as predictive analysis and big data analytics...
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Wind Conditions at Pedestrian Level in Different Types of Residential Urban Development for a High Degree of Land Use Efficiency
PublicationThe paper concerns wind conditions around urban building development at the pedestrian level. The article aims to identify aerodynamic phenomena around three types of multi-family housing developmentswith different forms and the same urban parameters of building development intensity (high intensity was taken into account). The aim of the research was mainly to achieve qualitative results that would lead to understanding fundamental...
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Looking Up to the Stars. A Call for Action to Save New Zealand’s Dark Skies for Future Generations to Come
PublicationThe rapid development of technology coupled with humanity’s desire to reach beyond terra firma, has resulted in more than 60 years of Outer Space activities. Although the exploration of space has provided many advantages and benefits to society so far, including vast, new information that has greatly added to our understanding of our planet and beyond, unfortunately, mankind’s footprint has negative aspects that need to be minimised...
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Is Digital Government Advancing Sustainable Governance? A Study of OECD/EU Countries
PublicationInternational bodies and numerous authors advocate a key role for Digital Government (DG) in improving public governance and achieving other policy outcomes. Today, a particularly relevant outcome is advancing Sustainable Governance (SG), i.e., the capacity to steer and coordinate public action towards sustainable development. This article performs an empirical study of the relationship between DG and SG using data about 41 OECD/EU...
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A Systematic Review for Establishing Relevant Environmental Parameters for Urban Lighting: Translating Research into Practice
PublicationThe application of lighting technologies developed in the 20th century has increased the brightness and changed the spectral composition of nocturnal night-time habitats and night skies across urban, peri-urban, rural, and pristine landscapes, and subsequently, researchers have observed the disturbance of biological rhythms of flora and fauna. To reduce these impacts, it is essential to translate relevant knowledge about the potential...
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Heterotrophic Anodic Denitrification in Microbial Fuel Cells
PublicationNowadays, pollution caused by energy production systems is a major environmental concern. Therefore, the development of sustainable energy sources is required. Amongst others, the microbial fuel cell (MFC) seems to be a possible solution because it can produce clean energy at the same time that waste is stabilized. Unfortunately, mainly due to industrial discharges, the wastes could contain nitrates, or nitrates precursors such...
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State of the Art of Automated Buses
PublicationUrban transportation in the next few decades will shift worldwide towards electrification and automation, with the final aim of increasing energy efficiency and safety for passengers. Such a big change requires strong collaboration and efforts among public administration, research and stakeholders in developing, testing and promoting these technologies in the public transportation. Working in this direction, this work provides...
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Applying a Mesoscopic Transport Model to Analyse the Effects of Urban Freight Regulatory Measures on Transport Emissions—An Assessment
PublicationSustainable urban freight management is a growing challenge for local authorities due to social pressures and increasingly more stringent environmental protection requirements. Freight and its adverse impacts, which include emissions and noise, considerably influence the urban environment. This calls for a reliable assessment of what can be done to improve urban freight and meet stakeholders’ requirements. While changes in a transport...
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Current Status, Barriers and Development Perspectives for Circular Bioeconomy in Polish South Baltic Area
PublicationThe following article presents the current legal situation in Poland as well as in the European Union. Data on biomass production in the Polish South Baltic area were analyzed, along with an indication of the key sectors for the development of bioeconomy. Presentation of the current state of biomass management was made and areas necessary for development were indicated to facilitate the sustainable management of biomass and waste...
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Looking for the Optimal Location of an Eco-District within a Metropolitan Area: The Case of Tricity Metropolitan Area
PublicationCompact housing structures located in city centers are considered to be the most energy and environmentally eective, mainly due to the access to services, transport networks and municipal infrastructures. There is the question of why so many of the acknowledged ecological housing complexes are located on the outskirts of cities or suburbs. Numerous cities decide to introduce strategies either to densify city centers, hoping to...
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Fault Loop Impedance Measurement in Circuits Fed by UPS and Principle of Safety Protection
PublicationThis paper indicates a significant problem of uncertainty of fault loop impedance (FLI) measurement in circuits powered from uninterruptible power supply (UPS) (double-conversion AC-DC-AC). The correctly determined value of this impedance, related to the short-circuit current disconnection time and to the reference value, is one of the most important elements that determines the approval of an electrical installation and its receivers...
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The Undisrupted Growth of the Airbnb Phenomenon between 2014–2020. The Touristification of European Cities before the COVID-19 Outbreak
PublicationAs a result of the Airbnb eruption, not only has the character of the short-term rental market been completely transformed, but the decades long growth in tourism has also been further accelerated. Therefore, due to the new demands of the tourism economy, the major shift in the usage of historic city centers occurred–the process of ‘touristification’, that results in the emergence of its new, unsustainable form. Despite the significance...
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Integration of a Multilevel Transport System Model into Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning
PublicationWhen planning their transport policy, cities usually focus on developing sustainable transport systems and reducing the negative consequences of transport. One way to deliver transport policies is to use the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP), a strategic document designed to meet the demand for mobility whilst ensuring adequate quality of life for the residents. The process of Sustainable Urban Mobility Planning (SUMP process)...
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Absorptive Desulfurization of Model Biogas Stream Using Choline Chloride-Based Deep Eutectic Solvents
PublicationThe paper presents a synthesis of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) based on choline chloride (ChCl) as hydrogen bond acceptor and phenol (Ph), glycol ethylene (EG), and levulinic acid (Lev) as hydrogen bond donors in 1:2 molar ratio. DESs were successfully used as absorption solvents for removal of dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) from model biogas steam. Several parameters affecting the absorption capacity and absorption rate have been...
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Simultaneous Removal of Hexane and Ethanol from Air in a Biotrickling Filter—Process Performance and Monitoring Using Electronic Nose
PublicationBiofiltration is a well-accepted method for the removal of malodorous compounds from air streams. Interestingly, the mechanisms underlying this process are not fully understood. The aim of this paper was to investigate the simultaneous removal of hydrophobic hexane with hydrophilic ethanol, resulting in the enhanced removal of hexane in the presence of ethanol. Investigations were performed in a peat-perlite packed biotrickling...
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Project-Based Learning as a Method for Interdisciplinary Adaptation to Climate Change—Reda Valley Case Study
PublicationThe challenges of the global labour market require university authorities to extend traditional forms of education into more innovative and effective solutions. Project-based learning (PjBL) is one of highly effective methods for acquiring knowledge and teaching “soft” skills to future employees. This article describes an experimental use of PjBL at a university with a long history of teaching based on traditional methods—the Gdansk...
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Heavy Metals in Sediments of Urban Streams: Contamination and Health Risk Assessment of Influencing Factors
PublicationSediments of two urban streams in northern Poland outflowing to the Baltic Sea were assessed to explain the spatial variation in relation to urbanization level of the catchment, the role of retention tanks (RTs) and identification of pollution level. During the 3 month period of investigation sediment samples were collected from the inflow (IN) and outflow (OUT) of six RTs located on streams for flood protection. Six heavy metals...
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Analysing Ways to Achieve a New Urban Agenda-Based Sustainable Metropolitan Transport
PublicationThe New Urban Agenda (NUA) sets a new vision of sustainable urban development to help cities deal with the challenges of changing demography. While numerous articles have addressed how the NUA can be implemented at different levels and in different areas, this article points out the potential limitations in incorporating the NUA into metropolitan transport policies. The relevance of the limitations can be seen in three main fields:...
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Experiences and Challenges in Fatality Reduction on Polish Roads
PublicationAccording to the UN, road safety is the key to achieving sustainable development goals, yet the complexity of how road accidents happen makes this a difficult challenge leaving many countries struggling with the problem. For years, Poland has infamously been one of the EU’s top countries for road-accident fatality rates. Despite that, it has made significant progress in the last thirty years with a fatality reduction of more than...
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Analysis of Validation and Simplification of Timber-Frame Structure Design Stage with PU-Foam Insulation
PublicationThe transition from experimental studies to the realm of numerical simulations is often necessary for further studies, but very difficult at the same time. This is especially the case for extended seismic analysis and earthquake-resistant design. This paper describes an approach to moving from the experimental testing of an elementary part of a wood-frame building structure to a numerical model, with the use of a commercial engineering...
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Visual Capacity Assessment of the Open Landscape in Terms of Protection and Shaping: Case Study of a Village in Poland
PublicationThis article describes the methodology and results of research on landscape visual capacity. The aim of the project was to develop a tool that would support planning and design decisions at the level of communal management in rural areas in Poland through systematic application of visual criteria. Their importance in the protection, management and shaping of space is underlined by the document produced at the European Landscape...
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Cycling as a Sustainable Transport Alternative in Polish Cittaslow Towns
PublicationIt is well known that growing motor traffic in urban areas causes air pollution and noise which affects the environment and public health. It is hardly surprising then that cycling should be used as an alternative mode of transport, not just in major cities but also in smaller ones including those that are members of the Cittaslow network. Their approach is based on sustainable development, care for the environment and transport...
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Assessment of Citizens’ Actions against Light Pollution with Guidelines for Future Initiatives
PublicationDue to the wide reach of media reports about scientific research and technological tools such as the world wide web (WWW), the Internet, and web browsers, citizens today have access to factual information about the negative impact of artificial light at night (ALAN) on their dark skies, and their health and well-being. This means they can now make educated decisions and take the necessary steps to help protect themselves and their...
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Optimization of Stabilizing Systems in Protection of Cultural Heritage: The Case of the Historical Retaining Wall in the Wisłoujście Fortress
PublicationThe aim of the paper is to propose new quantitative criteria for selecting the optimal method of securing and repairing a historical object, which take into account Structural, Conservation and Architectural aspects (the S–C–A method). Construction works on cultural heritage sites tend to be challenging and require an interdisciplinary approach. Therefore, they are strictly related to the philosophy of sustainable development which...
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Towards Greater Citizen Participation in Financing Public Cultural Institutions—Legal Barriers and Proposed Solutions
PublicationThe paper contains a conceptual proposal that aims at indicating new models of participatory financing of cultural institutions as well as actions towards supporting culture. It presents results of a qualitative study in the form of action research, on identifying legal barriers of financing of cultural institutions in Poland. Additionally, it presents practical suggestions to the encountered problems that were worked out after...
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A Method for the Evaluation of Urban Freight Transport Models as a Tool for Improving the Delivery of Sustainable Urban Transport Policy
PublicationThe article presents a method which helps local authorities to evaluate urban freight transport models. Given the complex requirements for input data and the inability to supply them for most cities, a proper quantitative evaluation of model functionality may be quite difficult for local authorities. Freight transport models designed to support sustainable urban freight transport objectives are a particular example. To overcome...
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Application of Game Theory to Conflict Management in a Construction Contract
PublicationInterest has recently grown in the application of game theory (GT) to solve a number of diverse problems in the field of construction. The use of GT by a general contractor (GC) of construction works to indicate the best strategy leading to winning court proceedings in a situation of conflict with investor (IN), has not been investigated until now. Thus the aim of this paper is to indicate the optimal strategy from the GC viewpoint...
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Developing a Framework for the Implementation of Landscape and Greenspace Indicators in Sustainable Urban Planning. Waterfront Landscape Management: Case Studies in Gdańsk, Poznań and Bristol
PublicationUrban landscape (UL) management and urban greenspace (UG) delivery require effective planning tools. The aim of the study is to develop a conceptual framework for the implementation of ecological, structural and visual landscape and greenspace indicators (LGI) in spatial development of urban areas. The UL and UG management provisions in Poland are identified at various levels of urban planning (local, municipal and regional). Furthermore,...
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Global Approaches to Reduce Light Pollution from Media Architecture and Non-Static, Self-Luminous LED Displays for Mixed-Use Urban Developments
PublicationUrban environments have become significantly brighter and more illuminated, and cities now consider media architecture and non-static, self-luminous LED displays an essential element of their strategy to attract residents, visitors, and tourists in the hours after dark. Unfortunately, most often, they are not designed with care, consideration, and awareness, nor do they support the visual wellbeing and circadian rhythms of humans....
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A Study of Transport Behaviour of Academic Communities
PublicationAn important challenge to achieving sustainable university campuses is ensuring that the academic community makes sustainable transport choices. The objective of this study was to investigate the daily commuting patterns, identify the potential for change, and determine the factors and criteria affecting the transport decisions of academic communities of two universities located in Gdansk, Poland. This paper summarizes the results...
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Detection and removal of priority substances and emerging pollutants from stormwater: case study of the Kołobrzeska collector, Gdańsk, Poland
PublicationProgressive urban development affects environmental balance and disrupts the hydrologic cycle, in which rainfall plays a significant role. Since rainwater is considered a valuable resource of the environment, many technical solutions are implemented that enable effective rainwater management. On the other hand, stormwater runoff from urban areas contains numerous (also toxic) substances, and therefore should be properly treated....
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A Strategy for Managing the Operation of Technical Infrastructure Based on the Analysis of “Bad Actors”—A Case Study of LOTOS Group S.A.
PublicationThe article covers issues related to the selection of a management strategy for the operation of technical infrastructure. It contains the approaches, methodology and a general model of the system of operation of the Maintenance Services of the LOTOS Group production company, which is an example of a large oil concern. Nowadays, an increasing aspect is put on the efficiency of individual repair processes, as well as the operation...
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Developing the Urban Blue-Green Infrastructure as a Tool for Urban Air Quality Management
PublicationUrban structure is an important factor that shapes the process of urban ventilation and pollution dispersion. With proper planning of the urban spatial layout, city breathability can be effectively regulated, contributing to urban air quality improvement. This paper investigates the development and current management of urban systems of green and open spaces in four Polish cities: Gda ´nsk, Warsaw, Pozna ´n and Wrocław, with a...
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Detecting Apples in the Wild: Potential for Harvest Quantity Estimation
PublicationKnowing the exact number of fruits and trees helps farmers to make better decisions in their orchard production management. The current practice of crop estimation practice often involves manual counting of fruits (before harvesting), which is an extremely time-consuming and costly process. Additionally, this is not practicable for large orchards. Thanks to the changes that have taken place in recent years in the field of image...
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Potential Toxic Effects of Airport Runoff Water Samples on the Environment
PublicationDespite the positive aspects of the intensive development of aviation, airports are considered large-scale polluters. Pollution caused by runoff water (stormwater) is one of the major problems related to airport operations. The aim of this study was to characterize the potential toxic impact on aquatic life from runoff water discharges from four international airports in Europe. Samples of stormwater were collected at airports...
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State of the Art in Open Platforms for Collaborative Urban Design and Sharing of Resources in Districts and Cities
PublicationThis work discusses recent developments in sharing economy concepts and collaborative co-design technology platforms applied in districts and cities. These developments are being driven both by new technological advances and by increased environmental awareness. The paper begins by outlining the state of the art in smart technology platforms for collaborative urban design, highlighting a number of recent examples. The case of peer-to-peer...
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Commitment Ladder in the Relationship between Service Providers and Customers as Added Value in Sustainable Services Development
PublicationThe socioeconomic sphere and the relationships in which commitment occurs are important elements in the development of sustainable services. The study reported in this article identifies the elements that influence the development of the relationship between service providers and their customers and proposes a model that describes the state of the relationship between service providers and customers in terms of symmetrical commitment...
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Brief Literature Review and Classification System of Reliability Methods for Evaluating the Stability of Earth Slopes
PublicationThe issue of slope stability is one of the most important and yet most difficult geotechnical problems. Assessing slope stability is particularly difficult because of the many uncertainties involved in the process. To take these uncertainties into account, probabilistic methods are used, and the reliability approach is adopted. There are many methods for reliability assessment of earth slope stability. However, there is no system...
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Exploring the Institutional and Bottom-Up Actions for Urban Air Quality Improvement: Case Studies in Antwerp and Gdańsk
PublicationThe article presents the results of qualitative studies concerning the presence of air quality management in the process of urban planning and in the public discourse in Antwerp, Belgium, and Gdańsk, Poland. We focused on the way urban planners, environmental experts, and stakeholders perceive the problem of air pollution, especially with respect to urban development policy, and whether they consider it one of the major factors...
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Exploring DAD and ADD Methods for Dealing with Urban Heat Island Effect
PublicationThe Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect in the context of climate change and temperature fluctuations is an increasing challenge for contemporary cities. Numerous activities focus on mitigation and adaptation to the UHI effect using both appropriately selected design strategies and technological solutions. However, not all of these technologies support the postulates of ecological and low-carbon cities. Their design, implementation,...
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Pedestrian Safety at Midblock Crossings on Dual Carriageway Roads in Polish Cities
PublicationRoad crossings across two or more lanes in one direction are particularly dangerous due to limited sight distance and high vehicle speeds. To improve their safety, road authorities should provide safety treatments. These may include additional measures to reduce speed and narrow the road cross-section and the introduction of active pedestrian crossings. Equipped with flashing lights activated automatically when a pedestrian is...
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What Skills for Multi-Partner Open Innovation Projects? Open Innovation Competence Profile in a Cluster Ecosystem Context
PublicationIndustry 4.0 and the turbulent environment have rendered increasing interest in open inno- vation that extends from the bilateral transmission of expertise to multilateral platform collaborations. Open innovation ventures are seen as intricate collaborations that require the commitment of numer- ous partners during the lifetime of the project. In order to examine the specific competence of open innovation teams, we set the research...
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Market Regeneration in Line with Sustainable Urban Development
PublicationThis article presents the study of the optimal design solutions for regeneration of marketplaces. It examines the design variants for the revitalisation of the marketplace, in particular, investment in their modernisation in order to find the most optimal model for transforming these public spaces to have a significant impact on the city’s development. The research is a comparative analysis of the implementation of regeneration...
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Permeability of Waterfronts—Contemporary Approach in Designing Urban Blue Spaces
PublicationThe constant struggle with rising sea levels and flood hazards has resulted in the change of the paradigm in shaping urban waterfronts towards increasing their permeability and creation of urban blue spaces. The aim of the paper was to indicate a new approach in designing public spaces at the sea–land interface by presenting a comparative study of the design solutions used in case of the four selected case studies: the Sea Organs...