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The article addresses the issue of local collaborative relationships between groups of different development actors in municipalities, as well as their perception of barriers to development. The study covered Polish municipalities that represent different dimensions of development dualism. The analyses used the results of 629 questionnaires and applied statistical analysis (Mann–Whitney U test and Spearman’s rank correlation). The results indicate that the assessment of the importance of different types of relationships and barriers to development varies within some dualisms. At the same time, certain characteristics specific to certain dimensions of these dualisms can be discerned. The relationship between the importance of cooperation and the types of barriers to development showed no statistical significance or very weak relationships.

Chaotically developed post-socialist suburbs need retrofitting by providing residents with a local central space. This research aims at developing a typology of suburban local centres, describing the most common central spaces according to adopted criteria, as well as identifying which type of local centre has the most potential to be perceived as such by suburbanites and how suburban municipalities plan central spaces. The research was conducted in six institutional Warsaw suburbs representing the most common types of local centres of a neighbourhood catchment area. The research has shown that spatial criteria differentiate local centres more than social criteria. Concentric layouts attract different non-residential functions more effectively than linear ones. When recognising some spaces as central, the legibility of the broader spatial arrangement and the presence of key objects with centre-forming functions seems to be important. Factors that distort such recognition include the excessive dispersion of buildings, shops, and service points; peripheral or random location of the main activity node; poorly designed and equipped central spaces; and the proximity to large-scale shopping centres and recreational areas/objects. When looking for a model of retrofitting post-socialist suburbs through strengthening neighbourhood centres, it is worth recalling the concept of the so-called “third places”.

This article raises the question of place attachment in the context of an increasingly important factor, that is the use of gathering and leisure places. The author publishes findings of a survey conducted among the residents of Zacisze, Warsaw, a detached housing estate with a very poor range of public places for gathering and leisure. The study has proved that the use of local public spaces, as a specific category of place, reinforces attachment to the whole housing estate. The study also confirms the important role that social factors have in building place attachment. Conditions already exist for considering social factors more important than physical ones in building a positive relationship with a territory.

This article of a theoretical and conceptual nature seeks to indicate possibilities for the dualisms applied in sociology to gain incorporation into the conceptualisation and operationalisation of the research on socio-economic development that geographers pursue. These dualisms should prove useful in explaining the mechanisms of social change as the driving force behind development. The article emphasises the role of structure and agency in explaining development mechanisms, proposes the pursuit of research at several levels simultaneously in line with sociology's methodological dualisms, and also supplies examples of dichotomous categorisations and social structures that help with the understanding of development mechanisms. The incorporation of sociological dualisms into geographical considerations of development can bring new perspective to the design of research, triangulation (combining different methods of analysis) and conclusion-drawing. The result will be a readier challenge of geographers' propensity to formulate deterministic dependences and perceive development factors as fully controlled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive suburbanization, especially in postsocialist countries, and a deficiency of fully public spaces result in an increasingly complex mixture of different types of spaces of public functions. Where there is a deficiency of completely public spaces, their role can be enhanced by those places available to the public for a specified period of time and under certain circumstances. Such places are provided and maintained not only by the public but also by the private sector. This article explores the diversity of places of public character and looks for criteria that organize this diversity. It introduces a new typology that corresponds mainly to the suburbs and combines five criteria of categorization: intended users, time limits as to access, prevailing form of control, intended functions, and visual characteristics. The typology draws attention to the role of spaces not intended for all the public but for selected groups and that of spaces with time-limited access. Such semipublic places are consistent with the lifestyle of suburbanites and therefore play an increasingly important role in suburban social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to determine how three factors—the fence, the internal public space, and the type of building—affect the sense of community, as well as the perception of social divisions that gated communities generate and the need for integration between people living in and outside gated communities. Its results are based on the survey conducted in two villages, Józefosław and Julianów, located in the Warsaw metropolitan region. It has been found that the existence of a physical barrier in the form of a fence affects the perception of human relationships. Research has confirmed the negative impact of fencing off on social bonds, the sense of community, and attachment to the area beyond the housing estate. The study of Józefosław and Julianów, however, has proved that for the residents of suburban gated communities the key factor that can increase their sense of community is access to an internal public space. The sense of community and the attachment to the area of residence are also dependent on the type of building. Inhabitants of suburban gated communities dominated by multifamily housing are definitely characterized by a weaker attachment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of the paper is to identify different visions and expectations of the citizens and the local government regarding the development of their suburban space, which are a source of potential spatial conflicts. It discusses contradictory interests of all the people living in the suburban area, certain groups of inhabitants, and local authorities. The paper characterizes different types of conflicts, including spatial ones. The conflicts in the suburbs are generated by a desire to keep the suburban character of the place of residence, the primacy of property rights and individual interests over collective ones, and excessive development ambitions of local authorities. Considerations on spatial conflicts in a suburban zone are illustrated by the results of two surveys carried out in the Lesznowola municipality near Warsaw, one on a representative sample of residents throughout the whole municipality (394 persons), and the other on a representative sample of residents of Mysiadło (305 people). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The municipality (gmina) of Piaseczno, located directly adjacent to Warsaw, was one of the local authority areas that began from the 1990s onwards to take advantage of their proximity to a large city, as well as various beneficial environmental aspects, with a view to stimulating housing development. These are areas in which people seek a natural environment offering peace and quiet, but also lower real-estate prices. The decisions Warsaw residents take as regards migration have also been shaped by the places familiar to them from the point of view of recreation and weekend leisure (the Kabacki Woods, Chojnowski Landscape Park, etc.). However, the dynamic increase in numbers of new residents (not just from Warsaw), had rapid negative consequences harmful to the original attractiveness of the area, since levels of noise and congestion increased, excessive pressure was imposed on the environment and - most troublesome of all - there was continued underdevelopment of both road infrastructure and public transport between Piaseczno and Warsaw. A survey conducted on a representative sample of residents of the gmina of Piaseczno showed that, as a decision to change place of residence was being taken, less importance that expected was attached to ease of travel to Warsaw or other place of employment, availability of places of leisure and recreation, proximity to schools and shops, etc. The underdevelopment of infrastructure is considered the most major problem by the residents of Piaseczno, who are functionally dependent on Warsaw to a considerable degree. All of this is a source of frustration, especially for young people, for whom Warsaw looks more and more attractive. When asked whether young people seeking to become independent would like to move out of Piaseczno, most respondents (respectively 20 and 34.1%) chose the answer "rather" or "definitely" YES. As many as 32.3% want to live in Warsaw. In summary, the consequence of the functional fusion of the municipality of Piaseczno and Warsaw's Capital City area - one of the manifestations of suburbanization - is the desire on the part of young people to move where it is easier to function every day, and where there attractions are much more diverse. In this situation, proximity to Warsaw is one of the reasons why in Piaseczno can be referred to in terms of a development trap based around that very proximity, which was the initial driving force behind development, and may now serve as a push factor in the case of the very residents considered to be of greatest value where the prospects for development of the municipality are concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A strong preference for suburban living has led to extensively developed suburbs that need retrofitting by improving their compactness. However, an attempt to make suburban areas more sustainable only by shaping their spatial form, without considering individual demands and preferences, is usually ineffective. The aim of this research is to better understand the factors that are important for suburban neighborhood satisfaction and to determine the relationship between neighborhood satisfaction and both the objective spatial attributes reflecting different levels of spatial chaos and satisfaction with particular neighborhood characteristics. The factor analysis and a linear multiple regression model have revealed that there are four significant subjective factors explaining neighborhood satisfaction, namely: assessed suburban assets, assessed accessibility, assessed walkability, and assessed mental and social attitude towards the neighborhood. Among these, the assessed accessibility is the most important predictor of the neighborhood satisfaction and synthetic indicator of spatial chaos the least significant one. Although the research proved that subjective measures are more important determinants of neighborhood satisfaction, fighting urban sprawl should be based on the interference in both subjective evaluations and objective spatial attributes, since two of the four subjective factors are likely to be strongly influenced by improving accessibility in the process of retrofitting suburbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, after the rapid and chaotic suburbanization in the 1990s, public spaces were gradually appearing in the new suburbs of postsocialist Poland. It is worth verifying to what extent these spaces are used on a daily basis. This paper aims to present a method of measuring the utility value of recreational public spaces and to determine the relationship between the utility value of space and its publicness. It suggests models of publicness of the most community-friendly recreational public spaces in Warsaw suburbs. As the research shows, intended diversity has the greatest influence on the prosocial character of space. Proximity, on the other hand, does not influence utility value so much. Location at some distance from the main nodes of activity and the highest concentration of houses, but with safe pedestrian access, is of more importance and should be promoted as a condition of successful suburban recreational space. The main conclusion from the research is that the most community-friendly recreational spaces do not have to be fully public. The measurement tools used in analyzing socio-spatial relations contributes to the development of the academic methods of studying the quality of public space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]