Land Management Using Land Reserves to Alleviate Emergencies on the Example of Warsaw

Abstract

Some of the most important contemporary threats to the population are global emergencies, such as pandemics, refugee waves, and climate disasters. Urban areas with high-density housing and limited access to services have been primarily affected. There is often a lack of time, resources, and space to develop primary services available near places of residence. In the face of progressing urbanisation and the expanding pandemic, it is necessary to rationally manage urban space, ensuring the use of unused, post-industrial areas, on the one hand, and minimise the negative effects of crises—the spread of a virus, the occurrence of an urban heat island, or the relocation of refugees. One beneficial solution in cities is effectively managing empty, undeveloped urban areas to develop cities in a way that is future-proof from new emergencies. In this study, we aimed to search for optimal solutions which can help to alleviate the negative effects of emergencies in the city using the decision-making model of field reserve management. Two districts of Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, were chosen for this study: one was typically urbanised, namely, Mokotów, and the other had large undeveloped areas for construction, namely, Białołęka. We analysed the land reserves of these districts. Spatial analyses of the data made it possible to identify optimal locations that constituted land reserves that can be used for essential services. Based on the analysis results, planners can effectively create a set of recommendations for local governments. Thanks to these recommendations, municipalities can manage their land reserves and eventually adapt them for the abovementioned purposes. As a result, it is expected that the effective management of land reserves using publicly available spatial data will improve preventive actions in an emergency, such as a pandemic. In addition, the proposed design solutions are universal; since they are based on the data on available field reserves and their statuses, management in emergencies will be possible.

Use of Field Reserves in Emergencies as Assessed by Urban Residents and Refugees in Warsaw and Lviv during the War in Ukraine

“…Ensuring these necessary conditions could make selecting optimal locations for hosting resettled persons possible. For this purpose, among other things, a simple decision-making model was developed to create a ranking of the reserves located within a city area [19].…”

“…Areas in the urban fabric that are particularly important from the point of view of their possible reuse are land reserves [19], especially in the emergency phase of a refugee wave. Although no single legally standardized definition of this concept exists, considerations regarding this topic have appeared in the literature for many years.…”

Potentials and opportunities for revitalisation of post-harbour areas based on the Port of Zeran inWarsaw case study

“…Post-harbour areas are often distinguished by their numerous aesthetic, environmental and recreational values, as well as their favourable location. Consequently, directions for the possible development of such areas are elaborated: from residential sites, waterfront parks, public spaces, service areas offering workplaces to land reserves used in emergency situations such as the pandemic [2], or the refugee crisis [3]. The complexity of the issues related to the need for the rational management of port and post-port areas has been captured in the name of a separate scientific field, port geography [4].…”