Abstract

This article presents a harmonised procedural framework for constructing a new open-access pan-European regional database covering population, GDP, and derived GDP per capita for 1546 regions over the period1960-2021; the empirical illustrations presented in the article cover the period 1960-2020. The resulting resource is distributed in three supplementary Excel workbooks, one for each variable. Drawing on national and regional sources, including the Maddison Project Database as the main GDP anchor, ARDECO, the Rosés–Wolfregional GDP database, database.earth, and country-specific sources, it provides continuous annual time-series coverage and broad cross-country comparability. Its main contribution lies in combining pan-European spatial coverage, a six-decade temporal span, and the systematic harmonisation of heterogeneous national and regional data sources. The resource enables analyses of regional income convergence, spatial dynamics,and long-term demographic and economic polarisation across Europe. By extending beyond the European Union, it fills major spatial and temporal gaps in existing resources and creates new opportunities for spatial economic and regional research.

Keywords: Pan-European spatial coverage, regional population, GDP per capita, NUTS3, GDP retropolation, Maddison Project Database, ARDECO

Piotr Rosik [rosik@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw: Poland
Marcin Mazur [m.mazur@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw: Poland
Rafał Wiśniewski [rafwis@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw: Poland
Patryk Duma [p.duma@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw: Poland

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present the concept of the “mutilated village” as a new analytical category for interpreting a specific type of rural settlement transformation. The concept refers to settlements that, as a result of sudden and most often exogenous impacts, have lost part of their morphological, functional, social or cultural integrity, while retaining settlement continuity. The term “mutilation” has a metaphorical character and denotes a socio-spatial condition of a settlement resulting from the deconstruction of its previous socio-spatial whole, rather than its complete disappearance. The article presents the theoretical foundations of the concept of the “mutilated village”, identifies its main dimensions – morphological, functional, social and cultural – and proposes a typology and a research model enabling the operationalisation of this category in empirical studies. The research procedure includes the identification of factors leading to the loss of settlement integrity, the analysis of the course of transformation, and the assessment of the village after “mutilation”, taking into account its adaptive potential, capacity for regeneration, and possible trajectories of further development.

Keywords: ‘mutilated’ village, rural settlement, morphogenesis, human geography, settlement geography

Andrzej Suliborski [andrzej.suliborski@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Lodz Kopcińskiego 31, 90-142 Łódź: Poland
Tomasz Figlus [tomasz.figlus@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Lodz Kopcińskiego 31, 90-142 Łódź: Poland
Anita Kulawiak [anita.kulawiak@geo.uni.lodz.pl], Faculty of Geographical Sciences University of Lodz Kopcińskiego 31, 90-142 Łódź: Poland

Abstract

Working students provide a useful case for extending the conceptual understanding of pacemakers, as their everyday mobility emerges through the coordination of university and paid work schedules. This paper reconceptualises pacemakers as dynamic and relational entities whose organising influence fluctuates across different temporal phases. Rather than treating pacemakers as stable sources of rhythm, the analysis demonstrates that they generate multiple heterogeneous rhythms with uneven organising capacities. The findings reveal distinct rhythmic mobility configurations and substantial variation in commuting behaviour across the academic year. The paper thus contributes a new perspective to rhythmanalytical and mobility-oriented research on everyday temporal organisation.

Keywords: pacemaker, rhythm, rhythmanalysis, temporal regimes, time-geography, student mobility, working students, commuting, everyday life

David Gorný [gorny.david@mail.muni.cz], Department of Geography Masaryk University Kotlářská 2, 602 00 Brno-střed Brno: Czech Republic

Abstract

The studies of solar radiation, its intensity, and its structure are among the key issues addressed by meteorologists and climatologists. The inflow of solar radiation is crucial to the functioning of the Earth’s climate system. Currently, the most commonly observed characteristic of solar radiation is its global value (Kglob). However, for numerous application studies e.g. in human bioclimatology, agroclimatology, solar energy or urban climate, there are required information on the seasonal pattern and spatial distribution of individual radiation fluxes: direct (Kdir), diffuse (Kdif), and reflected from the ground surface (Kref). Thus the aim of the current research is to propose a statistical model for determining the Kdif values for the climate zone of Central Europe based on available observations of global solar radiation. The model uses the Ångströmclearness index (ACI) which illustrates the attenuation of global solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface relative to its intensity at the upper boundary of the atmosphere. The development of a statistical model consisted of two stages: model development and model verification with the use of the set independent observational data representing lowland area of Poland (Dfb climate zone) as well as Beskid Sądecki Mts. (Dfc climate zone). The applicability of the model was also tested for other climate zones (southern Vietnam and central Mongolia). The results indicate that the proposed ACI-based model accurately approximates the amount of diffuse radiation for the lowland region of Central Europe. The method provides the satisfactory Kdif approximation in mountainous regions. The study results suggest also that the proposed ACI-based Kdif estimation model can be applied to other climate zones as tested for Aw zone of southern Vietnam, and Csa zone of central Mongolia.

Keywords: diffuse radiation fraction, Central Europe, statistical modelling

Krzysztof Błażejczyk [k.blaz@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw: Poland

Abstract

Cities worldwide are confronting numerous problems and challenges that affect the human-nature relationship in urban spaces. The biophilic city concept, proposed by T. Beatley, is a response to improving the quality oflife in cities and creating a lasting connection between people and nature. A biophilic city is a place immersed in nature, where residents do not visit nature but live within it. It is therefore a city with good availability and accessibility to green urban areas (GUAs). The aim of the study is to identify the availability (area share) and accessibility of GUAs in Toruń (Poland). We carried out (1) geospatial analyses through which we examined the availability (% area share) of GUAs in the area of city and its 20 urban planning units – UPUs (the threshold value of the indicator was set at 30%); (2) network geospatial analyses; through which we analysed the accessibility of GUAs in Toruń – the share of the 300-metre zone in the area of the city and individual UPUs (the threshold value of the indicator was 50% after excluding the green areas themselves from the area of the city and UPUs). The analyses conducted indicate that a high level of availability does not always translate into the same level of accessibility. The research also shows that, on a citywide scale, Toruń meets the assumptions set out in the article, i.e., records indicators above the established thresholds. However, the city should take action at the individual UPU level to reduce disparities across different parts of the city. The actions should take into account local and even micro-local conditions.

Keywords: biophilic city, urban greenery, availability, accessibility, GIS, Toruń, Poland

Krzysztof Rogatka [krogatka@umk.pl]
Mateusz Kowalski [mkowalski@doktorant.umk.pl], Doctoral School of Social Sciences Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Bojarskiego 1, 87-100 Toruń: Poland

Abstract

The role of neotectonic movements in shaping the ice-marginal and river valleys of the Polish Lowland during the Quaternary is poorly understood and is generally marginalised in favour of explanations invoking climatic factors or changes in the base level of erosion. However, the author points to their morphogenetic significance within the ice-marginal valley and the lower Drwęca valley, particularly in the Konstancjewo, Elgiszewo and Młyniec basins. The hypothesis was tested through analyses of the older basement, lineaments, and the morphology and morphometry of the ice-marginal valley and the southern part of the Chełmno Moraine Plateau, based on existing studies and a Digital Terrain Model. The results indicate the involvement of neotectonic movements during the period from the deglaciation of the study area to the end of the last glaciation.

Keywords: neotectonics, photolineaments, morpholineaments, Digital Elevation Model, deflection, Drwęca Valley, Chełmno Upland

Paweł Molewski [molewski@umk.pl]