<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">More and more often, post-mining and post-exploitation areas, which have been heavily transformed by man’s economic activities, are no longer a danger to the environment, but they enhance the monotonous urban-industrial landscape of a particular region and are instead its identifying value. Activities regarding the planning of landscape development are very difficult. This paper emphasizes some of the problems that result from legal barriers with regard to the concept of the more diversified management of post-mining areas as substantial forms of the landscape. In the process of the complex shaping of the natural environment in reclamation actions regarding post-mining areas geographers, biologists and architects have a large role to play.. Due to the fact that landscape management falls within the scope of interest and competencies of many stakeholders, such as: government, regional and self-government institutions, nature, monument and state forest protection authorities as well as the scientific community from various disciplines, it is very difficult to reach a consensus in this matter and to develop uniform operating procedures. The landscape management problems on postindustrial areas have been illustrated through the example of the region of Silesia. The cultural landscape of the region has been intensively developed in the last thousand years, but signs of human impact are much older, dating back to the pre-historical and early Medieval periods. The Silesia region is currently undergoing a major spatial reconstruction.</abstract>

Landscape management on post-exploitation land using the example of the Silesian region, Poland

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">In the present study an attempt was made to determine the degree of effective ventilation of the valleys in the area of the Rybnik Plateau, based on the example of the environs of Jastrzębie Zdrój, a city with high air pollution. For the analysis of the conditions of airing of valleys the areas with different physico-geographical characteristics, primarily in terms of density of the valley network, origin and morphology of the valleys, and type of surface deposits were selected. 49 cross-valley profiles were drawn for the selected valleys; on the basis of the profiles the following parameters were calculated: the distances between the edges of each valley, valley bottom width, and depth of the valleys. The degree of ventilation of each valley was calculated after the formulae of Kaps (1955) and Błażejczyk (1975). The lowest values of the index of effective ventilation were recorded almost in all main loessial valleys in the southern part of the area. This indicates their weak or even extremely weak degree of ventilation. The valleys in the remaining area, open predominantly to N and E, are most commonly aired to a sufficient degree. This is determined by their morphology, especially smaller depth, smaller relative heights and higher mean wind speed. The example presented in this study shows that the index of effective ventilation, even if it is calculated for a relatively small area, reflects the characteristics of the local environment extremely well which is relevant from the perspective of the movement of contaminated air.</abstract>

Influence of morphology on the ventilation of polluted areas – a case study from Rybnik Plateau, Poland

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">A few thousand anthropogenic water reservoirs can be found in the area of the Upper Silesian Coal Basis (USCB) located in southern Poland. In this paper the role of such anthropogenic lakes in the landscape of the western part of the USCB was presented and illustrated with the example of Knurów, a mining city, and its immediate surrounding area. The study of landscape changes in this area was carried out on the basis of archival and contemporary cartographic materials, historical sources, and interviews with inhabitants and direct field observations. It was found that the origin of the majority of the water reservoirs is related to hard coal, clay and sand mining. They were created primarily as a result of filling subsidence basins and post-mining excavations with water, as well as being the result of the construction of various hydro-technical facilities (settling ponds, fire protection water reservoirs, etc.) In the study area the anthropogenic water reservoirs are of different sizes, shapes and durability and play different roles in the environment. Between 1884 and 2001 their number increased 25-fold, while at the same time their total surface area increased more than 8-fold. The role of the newly created water reservoirs in the landscape primarily involves the transformation of the existing terrestrial ecosystems into wetland ecosystems. The agro-forestry landscape of the late 19th century was transformed into a typically anthropogenic landscape with a dominant share of water reservoirs, settlement ponds and mining waste heaps. The most common species of plants around the water reservoirs are <italic>Phragmites australis</italic>, <italic>Typha latifolia, Ceratophyllum demersum</italic>, <italic>Elodea canadensis, Potamogeton natans</italic>, <italic>Lemna sp., Acorus calamus</italic>, <italic>Myriophyllum verticillatum</italic>, <italic>Sagittaria sagittifolia</italic>, <italic>Alisma plantago-aquatica</italic> and <italic>Glyceria aquatica</italic>. The most valuable elements of the flora include <italic>Trapa natans</italic> and <italic>Ruppia maritima</italic>, species recognized in Poland as threatened with extinction. Changes in the vegetation cover can be considered favourable since the analysed area is currently characterised by greater biodiversity. Reservoirs are in general positively perceived by residents and used for recreational purposes.</abstract>

The role of anthropogenic water reservoirs within the landscapes of mining areas – a case study from the western part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Problems of the social non-acceptance of the mining industry (particularly development projects) is relatively new, so more widely discussed for a relatively short time. In this paper, an extensive review of worldwide literature on this topic has been presented with special regard to the specificity of the European Union countries, where the NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) phenomenon is one of the key reasons for local community opposition. The problem is recognized mainly from the perspective of the mineral industry, but also from the point of view of government, NGOs or local communities. There are case studies, publications in the range of sustainable development, corporate social responsibility, geo-ethics, proposals for new analytical methods (for example multi-criteria and others) or effective solutions. The improvement in social acceptance for the mineral industry may be achieved by further development of technological, organizational and scientific methods which minimizes mining influences on the environment and society developing. Modern approach to social issues associated with mineral activity includes also strategies of bilateral communication, mediation/negotiation, cooperation between stakeholders to a larger extent then in the past. However, it is the continuous need of extensive, in-depth social debate on mineral development projects in the European Union, both in energetic and non-energetic branch.</abstract>

Problems of the social non-acceptance of mining projects with particular emphasis on the European Union – a literature review

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The article addresses the question of the emergence of urban centres with a gateway function in the area of contemporary Poland. The work concentrates on three urban centres – Mysłowice, Szczakowa and Granica (Maczki) – which gateway function was conditioned by the existence of railway border crossings in the past that provided services for international transport. The interpretation of settlements and their transformations followed the town plan analysis includes method of Conzen. The article indicates spatial consequences of this kind of function which influenced a significant part of the urban area in the indicated towns. The study highlights the dynamics of spatial changes contemporarily conditioned by the loss of the former gateway function and a fact that role of the border has been marginalized. From the other point of view the decreasing role of the political borders which have become in Europe in most cases barely a symbolic meaning. In the presented case studies the key aspect determining the marginalization of their role in the rail transport system and also their urban development was the change of the political borders and their negative consequences (demolition post-rail areas, formation of functionally derelict areas or depopulation). Former glory and role of these three towns are the still existing railway stations. Fortunately, presented railway stations – their potential and heritage give new possibilities for ideas of functional changes and future development.</abstract>

Department of Economic Geography, Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska Str. 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland

Herder Institute for East-Central Europe Research, Gisonenweg 5-7, 35037 Marburg, Germany

Genesis and development of the spatial structures in former border railway centres Mysłowice – Szczakowa – Granica (Maczki), Poland

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">For decades the Silesian voivodeship has played a key role in the development of the economy of Poland. Its central area is occupied by an old industrial region which has been developed since the 19th century on the basis of coal mining and the processing of iron, zinc and lead ores. As a result of the political transformation of the country, after 1989, the region was faced with a difficult economic situation – a significant reduction in production was recorded and numerous unprofitable obsolete mines and steelworks were decommissioned. Since then, the economy of the Silesian region has been subject to restructuring and revitalization. This article presents this process as illustrated by a representative city – Żory. This is one of the oldest cities in the region which was established in the Middle Ages (1272). For centuries, its inhabitants were engaged in agriculture, fish breeding and trade. Its industrial development started with the construction of the ironworks at the beginning of the 19th century, but the investments after the Second World War were of greatest importance to the city. At that time the “Fadom” factory, two hard coal mines – “Żory” and “Krupiński” – and a plant known as Zakład Tworzyw Sztucznych ERG (Synthetic Fibres Works “ERG”) were constructed. After the political and economic changes of 1989 the economy of the city required urgent restructuring. The change of the function of the city of Żory proceeded gradually, but the creation of economic areas and zones, especially the establishment of the Jastrzębie Zdrój and Żory Subzone of the Katowice Special Economic Zone (1996) and Żory Industrial Park (2004), were of crucial importance to the development of the city. Over the past 20 years the city of Żory has changed from a city dependent on the extractive industries, without signs of a developed urban infrastructure, to a centre of a varied structure of production. Employment in industry and construction decreased from 65.5% to 36.3%, and doubled in the case of services. The private sector currently comprises 75% of all economic entities – most of the companies are small or medium-sized enterprises up to 250 employees.</abstract>

Processes of economic restructuring and functional transformations of an industrial city based on the city of Żory, Poland

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Environmental & Socio-economic Studies

 Environmental &amp; Socio-economic Studies is an international, peer-reviewed journal publishing original research papers, review articles and scientific communications concerning the interactions between human activity and the environment in urban and industrial areas, and the functioning of society and nature, both in periods of urban growth and economic development, and in periods of the restructuring of the economy and the development of post-industrial space. The research attention is focused on cities, metropolitan areas and their associated suburban and rural areas, industrial and mining districts, and other areas under human impact. The journal also presents research results across the fields of physical geography, economic and human geography, the biology of organisms, ecology and nature conservation, environmental protection and natural resource management, geology, environmental engineering, environmental law and social sciences.   The journal is indexed in Scopus and Web of Science - Clarivate Analytics Emerging Sources Citation Index.   Environmental &amp; Socio-economic Studies publishes the results of research across a wide variety of interests in the following fields:    Human impact on the environment   Biomarkers used in monitoring the environment   Urban ecology   Landscape and urban planning   Environmental protection and restoring nature   Environmental management   Reclamation of post-industrial and post-mining areas   Economic development   Urban growth, living conditions and social conflicts   Conflicts around the use of natural resources   Legal aspects of environmental protection and spatial planning   Sustainable development   Environmental education   Physical geography and geology      Archiving   Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.   Plagiarism Policy   The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process.   Charges   The journal does not have article processing charges (APCs) nor article submission charges. 