New monograph prepared by IETU experts: “Integrated environmental management of land and soil in European urban areas”

A new monograph entitled: “Integrated environmental management of land and soil in European urban areas”, edited by Anna Starzewska-Sikorska has already been published. The subject of land and soil management in cities, addressed in the monograph, was the subject of many research and application projects carried out at IETU in the last 10 years. The monograph presents the results of these projects as well as diagnoses and solutions aimed at improving the situation in the field of sustainable land and soil management.

Introduction to the monograph, edited by Anna Starzewska-Sikorska:

“… The projects dealt with issues in European countries in general, but especially in Central European countries, facing problems related to the still existing heritage of the last decades, to which common European problems in this field should be added…

… Various aspects of sustainable land management are presented in the projects financed by the INTERREG Programme for Central Europe which include solutions in methodology, tools and instruments supporting land management in urban areas.

Results of other projects on the analysis and assessment of negative effects of unsustainable land management in urban areas consisting in using forest and agricultural land for other purposes are also presented.

Degraded post-industrial sites are an important part of urban areas in many European cities. The methods and tools for managing these sites are presented, including remediation methods and health risk assessment methods which support decision making in management and use of these types of sites. Some aspects of waste management and air quality in urban areas have also been presented as an important element of urban space quality and the life comfort of the inhabitants.

It should be stressed that in all cases land and soil are perceived as a resource which needs protection and reasonable use like other environmental resources. Therefore, in all of these projects, the tools and methods of environmental management have been applied to the field of land use planning and management. This alliance of environmental resources management with land use planning and management is the key idea promising the future improvement in making urban areas better for living.”

We are pleased to invite you to read the publication.

The monograph was published as part of the Works & Studies of the Institute of Environmental Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Zabrze (Prace i Studia Instytutu Podstaw Inżynierii Środowiska PAN w Zabrzu).

We also recommend you a monograph prepared by IETU experts on cities and their sustainable development, published in 2020 and entitled: “Urban and industrial areas in the face of climate change as exemplified by the cities of the central part of the Upper Silesia Metropolis” edited by Justyna Gorgoń, Works & Studies No. 89, IPIŚ PAN Zabrze 2020 (Prace i Studia nr 89, IPIŚ PAN Zabrze 2020). The publication is available after registering / loging in to the IETU Digital Library or on IPIŚ-PAN website.

Chapters in Monograph:

• Anna Starzewska-Sikorska - The idea of circular land use management
• Anna Starzewska-Sikorska - Integration of land use management with sustainable environmental management in relation to land as a resource
• Marta Pogrzeba, Alicja Szada-Borzyszkowska - Remediation technologies for environmental management to improve the safety and comfort of living in urban areas — an example of application in Ruda Śląska
• Joachim Brouder - Application of robust estimators of dispersion and local indicators of spatial associations in assessment of soil contamination
• Marta Fudala - Urban environmental acupuncture for improving access to green spaces in cities — example from an urban region in Central Europe
• Magdalena Głogowska - Reduction of forest and agriculture land on urban areas basing on the analysis of statistical and spatial data
• Eleonora Wcisło - Health risk assessment in contaminated site management
• Janina Fudala - Application of air pollutant emission and air quality forecasts for better air quality management and improvement of living conditions of the inhabitants at a local level
• Marek Matejczyk - Spatial aspects of waste management in inhabited areas of Poland
• Mariusz Kalisz, Oktawian Pastucha - Comprehensive inventory of the post-industrial area in terms of restoring the site functions and re-use of waste. Case study of industrial heap of unknown origin