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In the authors’ view, the existing urban planning system is not favourable to the temporality and variability of urban wastelands, which complement traditional urban greenery through a range of functions such as; gardens, meeting spaces, places to walk the dog etc. Consequently, the aim of the paper is to investigate functions and possible scenarios for the development of urban wastelands in Poland. The methods used in the research include a comparative assessment of wasteland case studies from Warsaw and Tarnów and a comparison of possible development scenarios based on case studies from different cities across Europe. Wastelands were researched to establish their location, their functions, the distance from inhabited areas and the types of other green areas located within a 5 min. isochrone from the surrounding housing area. Case studies of development scenarios were researched to establish their changing functions, the continuity of design and the algorithm of creation. The authors conducted qualitative interviews, mapping, inventories of territorial marks (makeshift benches or other constructions made by users showing the way they ‘own’ the area), investigation of local development plans and literature reviews to gather the data used. The collation of results has led to the creation of a ‘wastelands toolkit’ – a tool dedicated to urban planners and decision makers.

Abstract. Urban wastelands may often be perceived as dysfunctional and unattractive, however they always seem to have environmental and sociological values, which encourage people to act spontaneously in their use. Undeveloped areas are important places in the structure of inhabiting landscape as a substitute for "natural" landscape. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to describe residents' aesthetical preferences for urban wasteland according to the image (type of scenery) and function of this kind of urban greenery. The survey was carried out on 13 selected case studies of brownfields, neglected greenery and undeveloped areas in Warsaw. The users' aesthetical preferences as well as the behaviour of residents, which have been treated as a neighbourhood greenery, were examined and compared. A basis of the comparison was differences in the image of the visiting landscape, perceived as different types of scenery. The methods used included Visitor Employed Photography and territorial markers and a physical traces inventory. The results show the various recreational uses, thus the great potential of wasteland green areas. It also confirms the growing acceptability of free vegetation aesthetics, while also presenting differences in the choice of a particular scenery by different groups of users.

Underground Built Heritage (UBH) is a distinct class of cultural heritage providing a focal point for community pride and engagement to become a springboard for local sustainable development (LSD). This research aims to articulate how local UBH and its fringe serve as a facilitator of communal identity to mobilize community care towards social and economic development with less involvement from the state and the market actors. For this purpose, local (and less-conspicuous) cases of UBH are employed in Warsaw, Poland, and Volos, Greece, indicating the power of UBH to connect and engage local communities with places, triggering a momentum for a truly bottom-up action that pays less attention to market considerations and state support. The studied UBH sites have been discussed according to an established common framework, dealing with five main issues: (a) general context and status, (b) history, (c) users and management, (d) ecosystem services, and (e) introduction of the paradigm of living labs. The analysis was based on a thorough literature review and complemented by field observations and interviews. The results provide evidence for UBH as a potential facilitator of social and economic development. The case studies in Poland and Greece showed that local actors were involved in activities and social networks of tacit knowledge, generating community building to reinforce bottom-up activities in contact with UBH.

At the time of reflection on green justice, when the role of public green spaces is increasing, it is worth paying attention to vernacular greenery, especially in single-family residential areas on city outskirts which property owners arrange in front parts of plots. The paper’s aim is to show that vernacular front gardens (VFG) can act as missing public space and at the same time have the attributes of public green space, providing ecosystem services (ES). In order to confirm these assumptions, we carried out a VFG’s attributes inventory and a survey on garden designers. We identified dominating garden features and conducted a cluster analysis of the gardens based on their characteristics. The basis for building periurban streetscape in single-family housing estates is the visual inclusiveness of VFGs. They provide all the ES groups, playing representational, natural and recreational roles as well as serving as locations of edible plants production. Streets in residential sites, thanks to VFG, can be treated as real green public spaces creating a type of green area accessible not only to owners but also to pedestrian eyes. We conclude that our results can be valuable for city planning but also for the professional garden designers.

(1) Background: The growing demand for developing new methods of degraded land remediation is linked to the need to improve the soil environment, including post-industrial soils. Biological methods such as the aided phytostabilisation technique are the most common methods applied to achieve effective remediation. This study aimed to determine the technical potential of methods using novel or yet not used soil amendments, such as blast furnace slag (BFS) and coal slag (CS), with Dactylis glomerata L. as a test plant. (2) Methods: The experiment was conducted on post-industrial area soil with high concentrations of Cu (761 mg/kg), Cd (23.9 mg/kg), Pb (13,539 mg/kg) and Zn (8683 mg/kg). The heavy metal content in roots and the above-ground parts of plants and soil was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. (3) Results: The addition of BFS to the soil was the most effective in increasing Dactylis glomerata L. biomass yield. The Cu, Cd, Pb, and Zn concentrations were higher in the roots than in the above-ground parts of the plants. BFS and CS induced a considerable increase in soil pH, compared to the control treatment. The addition of BFS also produced the greatest significant decrease in the Pb content in soil following the phytostabilisation process. (4) Conclusions: In view of the above, the use of BFS in the aided phytostabilisation in soils contaminated with high levels of Cu, Cd, Pb, and Zn can be recommended for larger-scale in situ projects.

The aim of the presented work was to show that contemporary researchers recognize the potential of urban gardening in improving urban retention, and that the contemporary scientific literature mentions specific problems-indicators of retention that can be useful for developing guidelines for authorities and gardeners on the management and development of urban gardens, such as allotments and community gardens, considering their role as a retention tool. In this study, a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed scientific articles from popular scientific databases such as Web of Sciences, Science Direct, Springer and MDPI was performed, which was, besides literature analysis, the main method of research. Definitions of urban garden retention indicators were developed, which are: rainwater/stormwater infrastructure (collecting rainwater water – special infrastructure); watering systems (system for providing water strait to plants); planting type (garden plants: flowers, vegetables, fruits, herbs on beds – no turf: lawn or turf with dicotyledonous plants). The most frequent groups of indicators in the articles were also identified. The study also analyzed the distribution of surveyed articles between continents, noting the overrepresentation of articles from North America and the absence of articles from South America.

Based on eighteen case studies the chapter discusses social values of urban wasteland areas. Therefore, it presents contemporary, post-human theories of vernacular models of democracy. Based on non-participatory observation, inventory of territorial markers and free-form interviews: processes, functions, users and possible development of urban wastelands are shown. The role of these places is perceived in two aspects, either as a substitute for the deficit of green areas or as their necessary functional complementation. Consequently, the main functions of these areas are informal activities, community gardening, extreme sports, inhabiting place for homeless, etc. Concluding, the authors state that in a development of urban wastelands, a new and open design approach is required. Future development of these spaces should preserve their values such as: inclusiveness, freedom of creation, creative attitudes and social participation processes.