Geographia Polonica (2024) vol. 97, iss. 1

Abstract

There is still no consensus on the definition of urban governance, which can be attributed to gaps in its empirical foundation across both time and space. The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (1867-1918), with its complex state structure, serves as an ideal historical and geographical subject for unveiling aspects related to the birth of modern urban governance within a Central European context. To conduct comparative research, this study examines selected cities from two territorial autonomies of the empire: Zagreb, Osijek, Varaždin, and Zemun from Croatia-Slavonia, and Lviv and Cracow (Krakow) from Galicia. Urban governance within territorial autonomy, particularly from a historical standpoint, is a unique subject that lacks a substantial presence int he literature of urban studies and territorial autonomy. In this paper, an analytical framework was developed based on the key components of the transformation thesis of urban governance and metagovernance theory. The findings of the study indicate that the process of designating territorial autonomies and the various political factors behind them significantly shaped the formation of urban governance systems.

Keywords: urban governance, territorial autonomy, metagovernance, historical geography, Croatia-Slavonia, Habsburg Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Monarchy

Bálint Hilbert [hilbert.balint@tk.hu], Institute for Sociology HUN-REN Centre for Social Sciences Tóth Kálmán str. 4., 1097 Budapest: Hungary

Abstract

Housing estates were constructed by public authorities and private investors long before the era of large prefab housing estates. Their dwellings, like almost all flats, became privatised after 1989 in the postsocialist cities, thus they appeared in the housing market. The aim of this paper is to analyse their market position and to explore how their physical characteristics and residential environment influence the dwelling prices. It also examines the impact of the renovation of buildings with a special attention to its housing policy background.

Keywords: Budapest, pre-war housing estate, housing

Balázs Szabó [szabo.balazs@csfk.org], Geographical Institute Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences Budaörsi út 45, 1112 Budapest: Hungary

Abstract

Polish forests differ in their potential to provide ecosystem services (ES), but it is unclear how and to what extent. We assessed the potential of 35 forest habitat types to provide 17 key ES and showed that the montane mesic broadleaved forest has a high potential to provide the largest number of key forest services (14 out of 17), which gives it the status of a multi-service hotspot. The highest overall potential was found in the forests of mountain regions, slightly lower in the postglacial northern regions, and the lowest in the central lowland regions.

Keywords: Ecosystem service potential, ecosystem service hotspots, ecosystem service bundles, sustainable forest management, forest habitat types, forest regions, State Forests, nationwide scale, Poland

Andrzej Affek [a.affek@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Jerzy Solon [j.solon@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Anna Kowalska [aniak@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Edyta Regulska [eregulska@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Jacek Wolski [j.wolski@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Ewa Kołaczkowska [ekolaczk@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland

Abstract

The research objective was to determine whether and to what extent SAR data can be used to determine changes in the water level in small glacial lakes (with an area of ~1 km2). The research object was Lake Biskupińskie – a small post-glacial lake in central Poland. As part of the research, a methodology for determining water level in small-area lakes based on radar data was developed, the potential for determining lake water levels using high- and medium-resolution SAR data was determined, and the results were verified against field measurements. The analyses employed data from two satellites, TerraSAR-X and Sentinel-1. The research confirmed the effectiveness of using SAR data to determine water-level fluctuations in small glacial lakes. The proposed methodology for working with data from the Sentinel-1 satellite allows for accurate estimation of WLF based on the results of interferometric analyses. Comparative analysis of the radar data results (lake surface) and field measurements (water level) were fully consistent with the data from TerraSAR-X and partially consistent with the data from Sentinel-1. The methodology of radar data analysis to determine WLF proposed in the paper has major research and applied potential, especially in the reconstruction of historical lake water levels.

Keywords: lake, SAR, Poland, water level fluctuations

Adam Piasecki [piasecki@umk.pl], Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management Nicolaus Copernicus University Lwowska 1, 87-100 Toruń: Poland
Wojciech T. Witkowski, Faculty of Mine Surveying and Environmental Engineering AGH University of Science and Technology Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow: Poland