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This article discusses living environment determinants in Central and Eastern Europe. It is based on a case study of the city of Radzionków, which has 16 thousand inhabitants and is located in the Silesian agglomeration in southern Poland. Hard coal has been mined in this area for almost two hundred years, and it is the main fuel used for central heating. A total of 360 buildings, divided into groups of 60 buildings each, were investigated in the selected city. Three distinct areas were distinguished in terms of living environment quality, depending on building technical condition, heating method and location. These qualities were found to be largely determined by site-specific spatial and geophysical conditions. A significant portion of the literature was found to ignore the spatial factors mentioned in this paper, instead focusing primarily on statistical data concerning pollution. This study examines site-specific variables and presents differences in air pollution levels as examined in relation to the morphological structure of development, the degree of building modernisation and heating system types.

Air pollution is one of the important environmental problems in Poland. The main cause of its occurrence is emissions associated with individual heating of buildings. The reduction of the primary energy demand in a building is influenced by its proper thermal modernization, including in particular insulating. In view of the above, this article presents the results of studies on the possible environmental benefits of thermal modernization of single-family houses for the area of Southern Poland. The analysis was limited to determining the impact of measures to reduce air pollution emissions by insulating the building envelope of single-family houses. The research was conducted for two voivodeships: Śląskie and Małopolskie. Its aim is to identify the financial costs and achievable ecological effects of the thermal modernization of single-family buildings. The geographical selection of the research area was based on the fact that it covers the most polluted region in Poland. This region is characterized by many features that influence poor air quality. Among these features, the most important are: diversified building structure, a diverse topography, and very high population density. To limit multiple variables, we have selected a scenario method that has already been used in similar research. Four scenarios were established to show the relationship between the value of emission reductions and the level of funding for thermal modernization. The analysis allows a comparison of the effectiveness of individual variants and the transposition of their results into the possibilities of action in the region. This research will help to supplement the knowledge of the impact of insulating building envelopes on reducing pollutant emissions by reducing the energy demand of a building. They also identify a possible link between the level of this reduction and the grant amount for thermal modernization. As a result, it was found that a high share of external funding—stimulating the tendency of the inhabitants of the analyzed voivodeships to effective thermal modernization, and thus reducing the buildings’ energy consumption—has a significant impact on the improvement of air quality.

The article highlights that glass fiber reinforced concretes (GFRC) can meet the requirements of Smart City better than ordinary concretes. The comprehensive discussion on GFRC composition is presented together with the review of glass fibers’ influence on various concrete properties. First of all, because of their bridging abilities, they can limit the width, length, and total area of cracks. Additionally, GFRC are characterized by enhanced tensile, flexural, and splitting strength; impact, abrasion, spalling, fire, and freeze-thaw resistance as well as ductility, toughness, and permeability. All of this positively influences the mechanical behavior, durability, and corrosion resistance of concrete elements. Moreover, decreased thermal conductivity allows for better energy performance from the building’s point of view. This results in cheaper structures both in manufacturing and maintaining even though GFRC are more expensive materials. However, mechanical properties enhance as long as sufficient workability and uniform fiber distribution are assured. From the environmental point of view, GFRC are eco-friendlier materials than ordinary concretes since their application can decrease the emission of CO2 by 17%. The article also describes the GFRC application fields and emphasizes the possibility of the creation of not only structural elements mainly intended for load transferring but also elements accompanying the building process, as well as elements of small architecture that make public spaces more attractive, durable, and safer. Owing to greater design and shaping freedom, GFRC can also better fulfill the needs of habitants of Smart City.

The premise for the selection of the topic discussed in this article is the lack of research on the level of reduction of air pollutant emissions by the use of photovoltaic micro-installations in single-family buildings, both in Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Therefore, the Authors made an attempt to estimate the scale of air pollution reduction (in particular CO2) in the area of the urbanized Metropolitan area of Krakow, which is one of the most polluted regions in Poland. The installation of photovoltaic panels on single-family buildings, co-financed by the government My Electricity Program, is the investment cost in improving the air quality in this region, and thus increasing the well-being of its inhabitants.

River banks have recently experienced a real renaissance, this form of development of the city areas located directly near the river is often treated as one of the most representative areas in the city. More and more cities are opting for the revitalization of heavily degraded areas bordering the river. Rivers, which in the past were “unfriendly” to man for most of the XX century, through the close proximity to industrial and transport functions, have become currently an attraction in the scale of the whole city and even in the wider region very often. The author presents examples of revitalized boulevards in Poland, ie.: Vistula Boulevards in Warsaw, River banks in Bydgoszcz, Biała River bank in Bialystok. The aim of the study was to compare selected types of the revitalization of these areas in Poland with selected foreign examples. In the conclusions, the author showed the factors determining their current function and character depending on their historical significance, location and function, and especially the current location in the functional and spatial structure. To a larger extent, the current function of these public spaces is determined by the size of the city and their location in relation to the centre. Distance from other open public spaces, especially green areas, is also significant. The most frequent activity in these spaces is the improvement of their pedestrian and bicycle accessibility through the construction of paths, ramps, slipways and footbridges. The second basic action is the change of the status of these areas and the attempt to include them in the park area system, giving the status of recreation and leisure places for residents and tourists. Foreign examples: The Nervión River in Bilbao, The Rio Madrid Avenue in Madrid and the Rheinauhafen Boulevard in Cologne show a fairly diverse approach to this issue while expanding the scope of possible actions.

The article discusses determinants of living environment in Central and Eastern Europe. As an example, the city of Radzionkow was chosen, with 16 thousand inhabitants, located in the Silesia agglomeration in southern Poland, in the area where hard coal has been mined for almost two hundred years, which largely serves as a source of heating for houses and flats. 360 buildings in 6 groups of 60 buildings were examined in the selected city, which allowed to distinguish 3 different areas in terms of the quality of the living environment depending on the technical condition of buildings, the method of heating and location. To a large extent, determinants are the existing spatial and geophysical conditions of a given location. Many research and reports on the living environment do not take into account the factors mentioned, focusing only on the statistical data of pollution, excluding spatial factors. In the research presented, the author, taking into account location variables, shows differences in the measurements of air pollution in relation to the designated location zones depending on the morphological structure of the building, the degree of its modernization and the types of heating used in buildings.

The progressive development of shopping centers in the world affects the urban structure of cities. These facilities are constantly evolving, which also entails changes in the way their vicinity is shaped. In this context, this article deals with the trend in the way of locating and developing shopping center areas, showing the changes taking place over the years. The subject of investigations are the areas of Kraków’s shopping centers—their spatial distribution and the way the land is developed. The aim of the research was to characterize and assess the spatial development of the analyzed shopping centers, to determine the trends in the location and characteristic urban indicators. This made it possible to verify whether possible changes in the way new investments of this type are shaped should be sought in order to improve the quality of the urban environment. To assess the spatial distribution of shopping centers, standard deviation ellipse analysis was used, as well as the nearest neighbor method. In order to determine the parameters of development of shopping centers, basic urban indicators were used, i.e., building plot ratio (BPR), floor area ratio (FAR), and green plot ratio (GPR). Spatial analysis was performed using QGIS software. Studies have shown that brownfield investments are scattered along the north–south axis of the city, while greenfield investments are located at a greater distance from its central area. Over the years, there has been a gradual concentration of shopping centers, but they are still characterized by dispersion. The results of analyses of changes in the land development of their areas indicate that over the years there has been an imperceptible trend of creating objects occupying an increasing part of the investment plot. In turn, the share of total leaf area of greenery is slightly reduced. With the increase in distance from the city center, indicators regarding the floor area and gross floor area of shopping centers are clearly decreasing. On the other hand, the share of greenery increases mildly, although this index remains at a level not exceeding 20%. These results indicate the need to take action to enforce a greater share of greenery within the areas of shopping centers and the need to care for the quality of their surroundings in order to ensure sustainable spatial development of the city.