The main principles of the smart city concept rely on modern, environmentally friendly technologies. One manifestation of the smart city concept is investments in renewable energy sources (RES), which are currently a popular direction in urban transformation. It makes sense, therefore, to analyse how Polish cities are coping with this challenge and whether they are including the implementation of RES facilities in their development strategies. The aim of the article is to analyze and assess the level at which renewable energy facilities are being implemented or developed in the urban space of cities in Poland as a pillar of the implementation of the smart city concept. This goal is realized on two levels: the theoretical (analysis of strategic documents) and the practical (analysis of the capacity of RES installations, questionnaire studies). The study shows that renewable energy installations are an important part of the development strategies of Polish cities, and especially of those that aspire to be termed “smart cities”. Moreover, it is shown that the predominant RES facilities are those based on solar energy.

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Recent decades saw a global degradation of ecosystems and climate change caused by rapid anthropogenic socio-economic growth. The paper investigates spatio-temporal changes in green areas in Polish cities. The study involved two levels: macro (all 936 towns and cities in Poland) and micro (zooming in on Kraków and Toruń) from 2006 to 2018. The authors analysed 64,312 records of statistical data and 32,317 polygons representing areas of specific land use categories in the Urban Atlas with GIS tools and algorithms. Results for the entire country (a macro level) indicate that the area of forests in cities is in decline, but the total share of green urban areas is increasing slightly. Polish towns and cities also exhibit a positive balance of shrub count and a negative balance of tree count. At a micro level, land use analysis indicates a slight decrease in green urban areas, but an increase in the forest area. Moreover, an analysis of the spatial distributions of changes in green areas in Kraków and Toruń demonstrated specific trends. Sites exhibiting a significant decrease in green urban areas were found mainly along main transport routes. Moreover, incomplete green belts around highly urbanised zones turned out to be a characteristic component. The slight differences in results at a micro and macro level are due to a more significant generalisation at a macro level. Micro-level research focuses on an individual case. Hence, it should be used mainly to juxtapose cities, while the macro-level perspective is adequate for cross-country analyses, for example. The results are relevant to urban policies deployed by local and regional authorities, the European Green Deal and climate neutrality.

One of the greatest challenges currently facing cities is the evaluation of the revitalisation process, i.e., verifying whether and to what extent it has been successful. This assessment is important as it will determine the extent to which the revitalisation needs of a place have been met. The aim of this article is to present the results of the evaluation of a post-revitalisation space made by its users and to determine the usefulness of the Maslin Multi-Dimensional Matrix (MMDM) method used. This is the first attempt, not previously reported in the literature, to use the MMDM for evaluating revitalisation. According to research, projects of an integration and environmental character and those improving security were the most appreciated and at the same time had the best revitalising effect on the Bydgoskie Przedmieście district in Toruń, Poland. The lowest ratings were given to infrastructural projects or those dedicated to narrow social groups (alternative arts). The MMDM method should be considered an appropriate tool for evaluating revitalisation.

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