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The failure of the critical infrastructure elements represents a significant impact on the national security, safeguarding the basic living needs of the inhabitants, human health or the state's economy. Several critical infrastructure elements are defined, including transport. The world is threatened by several emergencies - floods, drought, tornadoes and other. These events threaten the state's critical infrastructure. Different events could trigger cascading effects. It means that the impact of an emergency on transport has an impact on another essential element of infrastructure - energy. Paper is focused on the failure of critical infrastructure elements and potential cascading effects on the transport. At first, literature research on critical infrastructure will be carried out. Secondly, possible cascade effects in the transport sector will be analyzed. Finally, evaluation and recommendation will be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this paper we tried to emphasize the importance of the Critical Infrastructures in general, as well as a divided approach of the infrastructures. The main topics discussed in the following lines are debating the importance of critical infrastructures in the field of Transportation, Energy production, Water and sanitation, Nuclear Industry as well as some examples for stating the importance of Critical infrastructures, at a national and European level on the economical and social point of view. The paper also reviewed possible solutions to the ongoing threats to critical infrastructure security, threats that are becoming increasingly complex and diverse, aiming to improve the Critical Infrastructure to become more and more efficient, smart and robust. Methods: The authors have tried to analyze the subject accordingly with specialized literature in comparison with the states with tradition in Critical Infrastructures protection, such as USA, Europe. There were listed the main objectives classified as critical infrastructure in Romania, and their importance has been highlighted. The existing legislation and the measures taken by the state authorities in Romania for the protection, as well as the development of new critical infrastructures, have been emphasized. A comparative analysis between European Union and Romanian legislation has been carried out in order to eliminate differences can lead to vulnerabilities. Results: A plan, based on four directions of alignment of the Critical Infrastructures in Romania with the rules introduced by the European critical infrastructure protection program in order to strengthen and increase the efficiency of critical infrastructures, has been proposed. It was aimed at improving the way of preparation, response and recovery in the event of a cybernetic or terrorist attack. Other types of threats were also analyzed. Conclusion: The paper aims to analyze the need for Romanian Critical Infrastructures is to become “smarter”. Making the infrastructures “smarter” meaning making them greater in normal operation and use: more adaptive, more high – tech. These smart critical infrastructures should (SCIs) also be “smartly robust” in order to resist to extreme threats, such as extreme weather disasters or terrorist attacks. Making an existing infrastructure “smarter” is attained by making it more complex, but, as well it makes it more vulnerable, as we can easily see in the case of cyber attacks. In this paper we tried to find practical and theoretical solutions for the problems with the increasing complexity of Critical Infrastructures, so we could improve the resilience of an SCI as well as its ability to anticipate, prepare for, adapt and withstand, respond to and recover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the policy and support of the creative industry in the Zilina Region. In the Zilina Region, the major part of the creative industry is represented by the advertising industry. The main aim of the paper is to identify the aspects of the support in the advertising industry in the Zilina Region. To achieve the aim of the paper, the primary research consisting of personal, telephone, and e-mail questioning was carried out. The survey was aimed at the advertising agencies operating in the Zilina Region. Querying, analysis, induction and statistics are methods to be used in primary research. Based on an analysis of the current state of the support in the advertising industry in the Zilina Region, the survey examined these four research areas: public support, human resources, institutional support and funding. Within the research areas, in the means of public support, the survey was focused on finding out whether the advertising agencies use some form of support on the state, regional government, city or municipality level. In the area of human resources, the survey was focused on identifying the employee qualification requirements, the education level, the significant shortcomings from the view of employees, and the possible ways of improving the education level in the advertising industry. In the area of infrastructure, the survey has been focused on identifying the conditions of institutional infrastructure development in the Zilina Region. In the area of financing, the survey was focused on determining the most common and the most important forms of financing used by advertising agencies operating in the Zilina Region. As the main finding may be considered that there are several instruments for support of the advertising industry in the Zilina region, but they are not used sufficiently. The recommendations arising from the paper are focused on the means of the development of the advertising industry in the Zilina Region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing demand of the world economy for infrastructure-related capital increases the practical importance of its academic research. However, there are significant differences in the understanding of the term "infrastructure" and its classification. Consequently, the results obtained by different researchers are often incomparable. All this requires once again refer to the concept of infrastructure. The purpose of this paper is to formulate a flexible framework for the concept of infrastructure, to examine the presence of the concept's core among the research for the last 50 years and to identify the ways to create infrastructure classification system, following the same logic of flexibility. Achieving this purpose allows, on the one hand, adapting the concept to specific research goals and objectives and, on the other hand, making the results comparable. The authors emphasize to the importance in advancing the understanding of how to ensure the usefulness of economic research for the formulation of economic policy in terms of infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To attract investments in the economy of the country is very important. Rise in the standard of living of the population, the increase in the scale of the real sector and other effects of investments in the region result in improving regional infrastructure, which, in turn, improves the investment attractiveness of the region. The paper will present the results of empirical research of described regularities. So purpose of this article is research of correlation between the investment attractiveness of Russian regions and the dynamics of development of the real sector in these regions. Methods. To evaluate the performance results of enterprises of the real sector of Russia the method used by the author earlier for the study of the economy of Northwestern Federal District has been adapted. Integral values for each activity of the regions are calculated. According to the results of calculations the regions are divided into 6 groups. And then this results compared with the numerical values of the investment potential and investment risk of regions. Results. The data only partially evidence on the direct dependence of the successful work of the real sector on the level of investment attractiveness of the region in the years preceding the period in question. Consideration of backflow, i.e. influence of successful work of the real sector on the increase of the investment attractiveness of the region, gave results similar to the previous case. Conclusions. It can be said that the hypotheses advanced in the beginning of the article have been confirmed, although not in full. Most regions that had unfavorable investment climate at the beginning of the years 2000 showed low integral indices of the real sector performance in subsequent years. The conclusion is clear - the absence of attractive environment for investors, deprives the real sector of opportunity to obtain funds for the development and, accordingly, there is no development. Without the development of the real sector the region has neither the funds nor the incentives to improve their investment climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to assess the millionaire cities attractiveness for residents in the Russian Federation in the period from 2011 to 2015. Ranking is made using 20 indices combined in five groups. As a result, authors find out that the best positions among millionaire cities in their attractiveness for living are taken by Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Chelyabinsk. They are characterized by a high standard of living, the state of the economy, and the provision of social infrastructure. A little lower attractiveness is shown by Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan and Krasnoyarsk. In the middle of ranking are cities Perm, Omsk, Volgograd and Samara, showing the minimal difference between each other in the integral index. Rostov-on-Don, Ufa and Voronezh are citiesoutsiders in context of their attractiveness for living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation and development of innovative infrastructure in the regions of Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is one of the priority lines of these territories complex development. Structural analysis of the concept of regional innovative infrastructure, its basic subsystems, international experience of innovative infrastructure formation in the Arctic countries (Canada, the USA, Norway and Denmark) are presented in the paper. The typology of Arctic countries is realized on the basis of analysis of innovative development features and factors. Trends as well as problems of the innovative development of the Russian Arctic zone during the period from 2011 to 2015 are revealed. In conclusion, the model of effective formation of innovative infrastructure development in the Russian Arctic zone is presented, as well as basic prospects of its development are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic performance of a country can be measured by various macroeconomic indicators. Gross domestic product (GDP) is considered as one of the most important and closely critical indicator of economic performance and can be defined as the market value of all the finished goods and services produced in the economy during a specific time period. GDP and its development in time is influenced by many factors. Transport infrastructure is one of the pillars of economic development. Good transport infrastructure is a prerequisite for economic growth in all countries. Transport infrastructure affects the development of many areas of the economy and its quality is also reflected in other indicators of economic performance of a country. It represents public capital, which plays an important role in investors' decisions whether to invest in the country or region, or not. The paper deals with the relationship between economic development (measured by the key macroeconomic indicator, GDP growth rate) and the quality of transport infrastructure in the Czech Republic. The attention is paid to the influence of the density of highway infrastructure in the Czech Republic on GDP. Improvements to highway infrastructure (the length of the highway network and its density) and their impact on GDP are assessed with regard to the development of indicators within the European Union. Statistical methods (regression and correlation analysis) are used for examining the relation between the two indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses various topics considering the identification of risks most common for financial market infrastructures. Views expressed in the article are in line with The Principles for financial market infrastructures and modern risk management developments in this field. Different approaches to identify risk appetite are considered depending on the business line of the infrastructure and main risks associated with it. The study uses comparative methods, benchmarking to market practices and recommendations. The risk-appetite concept is used in line with Enterprise Risk Management -- Integrated Framework and mainly addresses financial risks, and other specific risks most common for financial market infrastructures such as exchanges, central counterparties, securities depositories. An infrastructure should have governance arrangements that are clear and transparent, promote the safety and efficiency of the organization and support the stability of the broader financial system, other relevant public interest considerations, and the objectives of relevant stakeholders. Identified risk appetite statements should include quantitative and qualitative measures available to monitor and control the achievement of set targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestication is a continuing process which takes place in the context of animals' and humans' cohabitation on same territory and should not be approached as a one-time and completed action. The control over animals' movements in the context of the sustaining landscape is one of the main aspects of reindeer domestication. Reindeer herding is based on constant relocation of animals from place to place, implying daily short-term movements in order to bring them to a camp and to monitor predators' movements. In case of reindeer breeding in the taiga people and animals used to closer spatial interactions, compared to those in the tundra. This results in much bigger degree of taming of individual animals. The spatial closeness of people and reindeer is an outcome of use of both natural landscapes and infrastructure. To certain extent different kinds of fences and built structures change the qualitative characteristics of humananimal interactions. Both administrative practices and technical innovations gradually change the spatial patterns of how reindeer herders use space. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how human-reindeer relations have been transformed is Eastern Siberian taiga reindeer herding in the context of social and economic change. The authors employ data from published works and their own field materials, which were gathered among Evenki and Tofalar reindeer herders in Eastern Siberia through participant observation. The collected and analyzed data show the heterogeneity and variability of relations between humans and reindeer in different areas of the Siberian taiga. The authors approach traditional technologies which local people continue to maintain as particular 'tools', which help to adapt reindeer herding to different types of taiga landscapes and to changing social and economic situation. These technologies are embedded into the symbiotic model of landscape appropriation, which is based on the mutual adaptation and strategy to minimize consumption of energy sources. Therefore, domestication of reindeer is a process of constant reshaping of human-animal relations in the context of changing environment, socio-economic conditions, technologies and energy exploitation strategies. This research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project No. 18-18-00309). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, automobile traffic reaches such levels, that one of the biggest topics of the bigger and the smaller cities is its optimization. From this problematic arises a question as: how can we streamline traffic in the city? Or with which way can we get the traffic out of the city, to reduce the impact of the transit traffic to the city center. Automobile traffic often achieves critical numbers, which impact is in creation of traffic jams and the city can easily become impassable. The solution could be find in legal restrictions for traffic, but it must be used reasonably with respect to residents and traffic congestion. In case of impact reduction of the transit traffic, a lot of cities trying to solve this problem with a city circuits or bypasses of the traffic out of the urban area to the rural zones. The rural zones are the areas formed by agricultural areas, forests and the other landscape elements. The rural zones are often cruised by transport infrastructure (roads, highways, bypasses, etc.). Emerging transport infrastructure have its impact just on landscape elements, forests and individual biotopes. This article has its aim in analyzing of the existing methodologies for assessment in the construction of transport infrastructure in the Czech Republic and especially in relation to the environment and biotopes. Because the biggest impact is on the individual biotopes. Especially the evaluation of the biotopes and the given methodologies is the aim of this article to find out, what is used in common practice. The outputs of the article is in the knowledge of the lack in assessment of biotopes, with recommendations for the further evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies the steps, parameters and criteria for evaluating technologies in terms of its potential for creating new sectors in the economy of resource region. We established the key principles for prioritizing the directions of technological development: maximizing the technology's potential for future economy, integrating the effects of regional development with national economy. The study is based on an analysis of the global and national trends in technological development, identification of technological gaps and assessment of the opportunities available to the Russian regions. We defined the term of «prospective technologies» as technologies aimed at both maintaining traditional resource and infrastructure sectors and creating booming sectors («high tech» and «knowledge economy»). These new sectors are oriented towards the development of new markets and market niches, creation of products with new attributes, which results in substantial multiplicative effects on the region's economy. The procedure of evaluation includes several types of criteria: capability to confront the global economic challenges, to respond to the main trends in science and technology prevailing in Russian Federation and meet the needs of regional development. We used the following parameters for evaluation: the share of leadership in programs of international and interregional cooperation, the percentage of innovative and «high tech» products and services that were exported, the share of regional enterprises' participation in creation and functioning of new territorial clusters, the share of production with increasing value added etc. To choose prospective technologies we suggest using their links to convergent technologies, priority trends in science and technology, the technologies critical for social, economic and technological development of different Russian regions. The proposed technique was tested using the data obtained in Krasnoyarsk Krai. This technique is particularly useful for evaluating technologies with respect to the purposes and priorities of the economic development of Krasnoyarsk Krai. The assessment of multiplicative effects is based on the matrix of perspective directions of technological development for resource and infrastructure development of «high tech» sectors of regional economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with the prospects of interstate cooperation in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) - Russia's integration project - and the Silk Road Economic Belt (One Belt, One Road - OBOR) - China's initiative of building land trade routes from Asia to Europe. The author points out that the political consensus reached on implementation of the EAEU and the OBOR between the leaders of two countries significantly reduces geopolitical risks in Russian-Chinese relations and clarifies rules of regional competition in Central Asia. The paper analyses macroeconomic challenges for Chinese and Russian projects. In particular, it is emphasized that sea transport preference in the world trade and the coastal areas dominance in the world industry require from the RF and the PRC technological, administrative and legal solutions to provide effective realization of the initiatives. Particular attention is paid to the challenges for Russian transport and logistics system which significantly reduce the efficiency of industrial cooperation within the framework of the EAEU and limit Russian participation in the OBOR. In this article, short-term, medium-term and longterm scenarios of Russian-Chinese cooperation are addressed through the lens of the EAEU and the OBOR interaction including foreign trade, investment and cooperation in legal sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovative development of regional economic systems involves clustering of the economy, creation of points of growth within separate territorial units, and formation of innovative infrastructure elements. Today many countries witness a substantial gap in the chain of creation and commercialization of innovations. On the one hand, the research and development sector being low-oriented to the economic needs suffers production and financial constraints hindering independent implementation of innovations and bringing them to the market. On the other hand, the manufacturing industry is in possession of unutilized production capacities, however, it demonstrates reluctance to invest in such innovations that have not been commercially proven in the market. As a result, there is still a certain gap between potential members of an innovative cluster. Insufficient cooperation among R&D organizations or institutes and enterprises in terms of development of innovations, as well as lack of experience in the hi-tech commercialization are the stones of stumbling on the way to establishment of innovative clusters. This is precisely why forming of an innovative infrastructure in the region is a significant issue preventing competitive clusters from growth. As a way to seek a solution, this paper covers a study of theoretical and methodological aspects of formation and development of innovative infrastructure within a regional cluster. Overarching challenges are highlighted, general properties and basic features of innovative infrastructure are defined, possible methods of evaluation of infrastructure development are reviewed. Furthermore, a new approach to working out a structure of cluster is offered, which is based on identification of external and internal elements of the cluster's infrastructure. Appropriateness of value added index application is substantiated from the point of view of evaluation of the regional cluster innovative development efficiency, inclusive of all members of the cluster. It is demonstrated that intensification of innovative activities is a key factor to catalyze a value added increase at the enterprises making part of the infrastructure along with strengthening a competitive ability of the regional cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vulnerabilities of urban water infrastructure and services affect environmental performance and life quality (including health). This study is part of a comprehensive framework aiming to implement practices that respond simultaneously to the basic needs of prevention, mitigation and the long-term adapting process to the risks posed by natural hazards and the socio-economic change in order to attain sustainable urban development. Starting from the hypothesis that there are different rhythms between the social economic dynamics of the city and its capacity to adapt and innovate public infrastructure utilities, the present paper analyses the relation between the types of piping materials and the drinking water quality related to its importance for the city's population. In February 2015, 35 drinking water samples were collected from different consumption points and tested in order to determine the content of soluble forms of heavy metals and other elements using ICP-MS equipment. The results were processed using basic statistical analysis in order to establish correlations among analyzed variables. Secondly, GIS was used in order to visualize and highlight the spatial relation between water quality, the type of pipes and the number of users. The study concludes that, in our specific case study, the material of the pipes has a limited influence on the quality of the drinking water, while water supply pipes inside the residential buildings may be responsible, to a higher extent, of the values exceeding the maximum allowed limits, which finally affects vulnerable population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes various projects of water resources optimizing use including redistribution of a river drain in Russia and in other countries. These projects are considered prerequisites for the water resource market formation. The main factor of the economy advanced ancient civilizations, as well as in modern industrial society, it needs water. After all, the first law of mankind was laws on water. Today providing the population with high-quality water in the world is an important issue. Water like no other natural resources is a determining factor in the environmental, social and economic infrastructure. The paper discusses the various projects aimed at optimizing the use of water. The bottled water market as a segment of the emerging market of water resources is also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A main concern of contemporary cities in developed countries is to provide an urban environment that encourages non-motorized transport. However, depending on the socio-cultural background of the city under study, specific parameters may demand to be considered. This paper tackles the study and assessment of the environmental qualities of Taipei city urban environment from the point of view of its walkability. The examination of the potentials of urban ambiances in Taipei city and the sensory stimuli they provide, is addressed through the analysis of a number of significant streets. These are studied in depth considering parameters related to the sensory experience of urban walking. The different stages of the methodology have been the following: the general exploration of an area of the city under study, the compilation of a list of parameters for analysis, the assessment of each selected street, and the assessment of the importance of each parameter by a group of residents through field surveys. This last stage has been carried out as an experiment on public participation in defining the assessing criteria. Out of the comparison between the previous sections, conclusions regarding successes, failures and challenges in generating healthy, sensory stimulating and walkable environments in Taipei city are extracted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of efficient innovative economy is an alternative to resource approach and a strategic condition for regional development. A number of factors have impact on innovative development of social and economic system of a region. These include socio-economic conditions of the region, innovation and management capacity and human capital availability. Innovative activity, legal framework, innovative infrastructure are identified as the main directions of process of realization of innovative policy of social and economic system of the region. The purpose of the paper is to investigate factors of innovative development of the socio-economic system of the region and offer the directions of their improvement. Research problem solution was achieved by analyzing the main directions of economic innovative development. The methodological base of research includes the abstractlogical method and a method of the comparative analysis, which allow estimating development of innovative capacity of the region and indicators of its realization. The model of system for innovative management of the socio-economic system of the region and the mechanism of its functioning on the example of an index of innovative development of the region was presented. The results of innovative policy on the example of the Penza region and indicators of efficiency of its realization proved high efficiency of the presented model for the system of innovative management of the socio-economic system of the Penza region. The regional place in a rating of innovative activity of subjects of Russia was identified. The priority directions of development of innovative activity in the region are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eastern part of Europe is the new actor of the international tourism market. Entered in the circuit shortly after the democratic revolutions from the late '80s and the beginning of the '90s, this space has a higher tourism growth than any other region of Europe, according to World Tourism Organization. However, little is known about the factors that triggered this fluxes (essentially domestic), given the fact that most of the regions in this part of the continent are predominantly rural. The aim of this paper is to identify which type of tourism resources induces a higher tourist affluence in an European peripheral region. Our research focused on Moldavia region from Romania. Tourism databases from National Institute of Statistics and the tourism potential evaluation from Spatial Planning of the National Territory were used in order to obtain our results. The results showed a clear difference between rural and urban destinations, and even significant differences between the big and the small cities, regarding the main type of resources attracting tourists. For the big and medium cities, the cultural resources and technical infrastructure were the most important and attractive resources, while for the small cities the natural resources had a stronger relation with tourist arrivals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As electric vehicles market in Europe grows, the requirements for higher density of charging infrastructure are increasing. The purpose of this study is to present a method how the existing supply of charging service can be measured. This is demonstrated on the current situation in the Czech Republic. The paper follows on the background of previously published studies dealing with charging infrastructure optimization models. Geographical datasets of various types are processed and merged. Crucial factors of the problem are assessed and three model level types are presented. The best model is chosen with respect to the current quality level of data. The model is also demonstrated on the numerical example. The major aspects of charging supply modelling are demonstrated on territory of the Czech Republic. Predominately spatial, temporal, technical compatibility and behavioural dimensions have to be taken into consideration. It is crucial to obtain data of sufficient quality, which has been proven to be the main obstacle to create a model that is both specific and plausible. A basic model of charging supply has been developed and it shows that the country is covered insufficiently by the charging infrastructure. Even if the drivers were willing to travel long distances (50 kilometres) to charge their vehicles, they wouldn't be able to reach all destinations within the country. Future research shall aim at obtaining higher quality data and developing the model with higher specificity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The search the reasons for a manufacturing development is very important for Russia. Nowadays the extractive enterprises are the most important part of Russians economy. For example, in 2013 year the part of mineral products in common Russian export was 76,1% (data of Russians Federal State Statistics Service). But to be competitive in the global economy the country needs in production of more complex products. Methods. The method of this research is a production function which was constructed for the Russian manufacturing. The most known production functions which are used for used in the regional economics are the Cobb-Douglas function and the CES function. In spite of long life of the Cobb-Douglas production function and availability of large amount of new functions, we can say, that this instrument is still applicable today. Many scientists use this production function in their research. So in our article we used the Cobb-Douglas function and the factors were labour, capital, transport infrastructure and innovations. The coefficients for the selected function were obtained using the correlation-regression analysis approach. Results. The result is that transport infrastructure doesn't matter for Russian manufacturing. The coefficient of innovation in logarithmic production function is 0,15 and it's significant on the 1% level. It's means that innovations play an important role in manufacturing production increasing. Conclusions. The first conclusion is regarding the possibility of using the Cobb- Douglas function to research the Russian industry and regarding factors, which influence the development production. The main factor except labor and capital is innovations that means that to increase manufacturing production in Russia the government should improve innovation infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern airports and their surroundings are constantly changing, as does the form and functions of contemporary cities. So far, the public awareness associated airports with the place of plane landing, functioning of control towers and other facilities used for air transport. Currently, this traditional model gives way to the idea of the so-called air cities. This idea is based on the assumption that in addition to own infrastructure and services, the airport also develops additional services, not related to air, which are a source of revenue for the airport. At the same time, the scope and impact on the economy of the areas around the airport is developed and expanded. Based on this idea the Polish government started the process of creating a new airport, Central Communication Port, i.e. the Solidarity Port, is to be the investment that will be the best communicated place on the map of Poland in the project assumptions. The target location has been revealed in recent months. The new airport HUB and the railway junction will be built in the Baranów municipality, about 40 km west of Warsaw - soon the Polish government is to adopt the CPL concept. Within 10 years, a new airport, a railway station and a node for High Speed Railways and expressways connecting the new investment with road infrastructure in Poland are to be built. At the beginning, the concept predicts two runways, and ultimately there will be four. The total area planned for the investment is 3 thousand hectares. Initially, the capacity is planned at 45 million passenger per year. Current calculations are based on the 2010 data projection. A new analysis is currently being prepared, the completion of which is planned for mid-2018 to establish the final investment limits. Conceptual work is underway to resolve the main terminal for passenger check-ins. Two concepts are present in the discussions. The first one assumes the airport railway. It is used not only on expanding airports, but also on some of the most modern ones. This solution is more flexible and therefore cheaper, on the other hand, it extends the time of unproductive loss of passengers. On the other pole are terminals built in a concentric way, resembling a starfish. This solution is less flexible, more expensive, but more convenient for passengers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poland is at the beginning of the revitalization process, which started in 2015, when the legal framework had been provided. The revitalization process, understood as an innovative change that is based on four equally important aspects - the social, the economic, the infrastructural and the ecological ones, has been facing an important barrier in Poland. After over two decades of constant modernization, public involvement in planning is still rather symbolic. Having addressed these problems ever since 2010, a team of planners from the Gdansk University of Technology has been in constant cooperation with the local activists from the most neglected area in the city of Gdansk - Orunia. As part of the program „Quo vadis Gdansk? The citizens plan their city" (EEA founds), a certain model of a living lab has been established, seeking an innovative approach to the revitalization process. The project was run in the urban mentoring formula, which had been developed specifically for this task - to increase the planning capacities of local communities, in order to enforce the bottom-up processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thesis deals with the assessment of the economic impact of the use of ownership and separate operational models on water cost and water infrastructure impacts on the distribution network in the Czech Republic. For the purpose of the work, publicly accessible data from the Czech Statistical Office, data provided by water network operators, financial statements and closures of public network operators and relevant laws and decrees valid in the Czech Republic are used.The article compares the impacts of the ownership and separate operational models of the water management infrastructure on water prices in selected regions of the Czech Republic in 2014-2017. The evaluation shows the increases in water and sewerage prices in selected regions, depending on the model of water management infrastructure used. The increase in prices also takes into account the average annual inflation rate in the given years. The increase in water and sewage prices is then compared on the basis of the operating model used to assess the economic value of the application of the operational models used in the Czech Republic. At the end of the thesis, a summary evaluation of the results of utilization of the advantages of individual operating models on the total water price for the final customer and impacts of the use of individual models on the water management infrastructure of the Czech Republic is made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many public projects in Poland end up with failure, i. e. with exceeded budget or duration. Therefore there is a need to determine the causes of problems in this type of projects. The first stage of analysing public projects problems is identifying the success and failure factors. In this article we focus on the mentioned factors in the case of infrastructure projects implemented by Polish local government units. In the first place the types of infrastructure projects implemented by Polish local government units are identified. Secondly the identification of stakeholders in such projects is conducted. What is more, based on a quantitative research (questionnaire sent by e-mail to the selected local government units in Poland) and a qualitative research (interviews with employees of local government units in Poland and analysis of case studies), a list of success and failure factors in such projects is prepared. Finally, based on this knowledge, we state a question if it is possible to map the identified set of success and failure factors into management procedures, helping employees in Polish local government units to improve their applied management skills resulting in increasing the probability of success of their projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the article is to analyze the current state of the register of municipalities in the Czech Republic with a focus on their influence on the development and operation of the technical infrastructure. Voluntary associations of municipalities represent one of the ways of interregional cooperation; the purpose of all associations of municipalities is to provide public services to their members. The first voluntary associations in the Czech Republic were founded in the early 1990s. Roughly half of the associations of municipalities were established in order to build water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment plants. Until early 1990s, the technical infrastructure throughout the state was centralized. Unlike the other network sectors, such as gas or electricity, water supply sector does not have one owner and independent regulator. Currently there is a large number of owners and operators of water supply network and sewerage system in the Czech Republic. Part of the water supply network is owned by municipalities; however, some municipalities have sold their network. Other municipalities have kept the network and have rented the operating part to the private sector. This is related to the emergence of problems both with financing the operation and reconstruction of technical infrastructure and drawing of European grants. The presented article maps the solutions to these problems in the Czech Republic and examines in detail the involvement of voluntary associations of municipalities operating in the South Moravian Region. The analysis of the current state of water supply and sewerage system of municipalities in the South Moravian Region was elaborated with the support of the extensive recherché and marketing survey. Based on the obtained findings was, in the frame of the research project, finalized still incomplete public database and detailed maps showing the involvement of voluntary associations of municipalities in the complicated issue of water supply network and sewerage system in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An influencing paradigm which presented as an integrated approach in social, cultural, environmental and economical dimensions is the concept of sustainable Urban Regeneration, which tries to resolve urban challenges, environmental crises and development problems for enhancing quality of life and creating balance between Growth, Preservation and Regeneration. However in recent years social sustainability has gained increased recognition as a fundamental component of sustainable development, beginning to receive political and institutional endorsement within the Urban Regeneration agenda. The first objective of this research is to clarify the Urban Regeneration definitions, Principles and concepts with emphasize on social dimension of Sustainability. It attempts to explore the various aspects of social sustainability including social equity, satisfaction of human needs, well being, quality of life, social interaction, cohesion and inclusion, sense of community and sense of place in urban Regeneration strategies. Later, it specifically concentrates on Sustainable Social Sustainability Strategies in historical Public Squares as one of the main pillars in urban social life. The results of research indicate that a strategic approach including fulfilling citizen's needs, providing social infrastructures, enhancing public participation, accelerating economic growth, Preservation the historical identity and green space management are the major contributing approaches in urban regeneration strategies to achieve social sustainability in historical Public Squares of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is an attempt to summarize the research of suburban areas near large cities in Poland, with particular emphasis on Wroclaw. Analysis of the spatial development of the suburban settlement structures allowed to create a typology of housing complexes formed on the basis of historical core of the village. The last two decades have brought significant spatial development of suburban areas around large cities in Poland. Suburban areas have become an area of intensive development of residential areas for people working in big cities. Proximity to a large urban center in conjunction with the relatively low cost of building their own home (arising mainly from the low prices of building plots), made the villages develop spatially in pace never observed before. However, a quantitative increase in the invested area does not go hand in hand with their qualitative development. New residential structure largely developed in an uncontrolled manner, leading to the formation of new spatial conflicts, collisions functions and disproportionate to the obtained benefits increase of costs for the maintenance of the technical infrastructure. Realized settlements have insufficient transport links, are not equipped with basic social infrastructure and unprepared technical infrastructure is the subject of a dispute on the line residents - local authorities for many years. The article also includes a critical assessment of the suburban structures in the context of indicators of sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mission of development strategy of localities from the plain of Romania and the diversification of their functional profile relies on attracting sustainable economic activities, promotion of the quality services, expansion and modernization of infrastructures, renewal of public spaces, in a stimulating and prosperous living environment, equitable for all citizens. The locality taken under study is a multicultural urban pole, with a high standard of living, prosperous community with a dynamic economy, active in the field of culture, education, tourism and cross-border cooperation. Smart and sustainable development can only be achieved only in a stable social climate, cohesive and inclusive. The formulation of the strategic objective of development starts from the premise that, practically, in any field, the organizational factor is crucial for the success, influencing, in a significant way, the activities of other sectors. For a community, the development strategies must be constructed in such a way in order to include more variables, to be flexible and capable to adapt to changes that appears in society. They should maximize their strengths (strengths), to attenuate or even to eliminate their weaknesses, to detect the opportunities offered by the external environment and to diminish the risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this article is to assess risks related to the States of Crisis (State of Emergency, State of Exception, State of Ware and War) and its influence on the safety and operability of critical infrastructure of the country. For this purpose risk assessment of the States of Crisis was carried out. The risk assessment is based on probability of occurrence of such crisis situations and its possible consequences as well as on the analysis vulnerability of critical infrastructure. As the results the most important risks are identified and analysed which can help to government, policy makers, state or local crisis managers or critical infrastructure operators to take adequate decisions and adapt relevant policy to reduce these risks. The conducted risk assessment provides a structural approach to the problem and highlights the diversity of States of Crisis and its possible influence on the functionality of critical infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a name indicating a wide range of Chinese $46 billion worth investment in infrastructure that will be implemented in the near future in Pakistan. These include power plants, roads, railways, and above all the construction of a strategic seaport in Gwadar. In this way, China will gain control over an important transit route, connecting Central Asia to the coast of the Indian Ocean. This will serve them for the opening of Uighur-Xinjiang Province to the World. This would make possible the effective use of Kashgar Special Economic Zone for the production of cheaper goods. It also seriously shorten the route which the goods are exported to Europe and the raw materials imported mainly from Africa. Pakistan CPEC means access to a relatively modern technology, thanks to them and make the leap and reduce the technological gap separating her from her arch-rival India. CPEC is also accompanied by investments such as the construction of a gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan (and perhaps in the future to China) and joint ventures in the armaments industry (new models of tanks, aircraft and ships). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]