Temporal analysis of urban changes and development in Warsaw’s ventilation corridors

This paper presents the results of the urban indicators analysis conducted within Warsaw’s ventilation corridors from 1992 to 2011. The literature review shows that the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) index is one of the best indicators to detect urban development; therefore, this was the core of the analysis. Three periods were analysed (1992 – 2002 – 2011), as such a long time-span allows the assumption that change will be visible. The ventilation corridors were divided into 500 m and 100 m grids and the FAR index was calculated for each cell. The results highlight alarming changes within some of the corridors, indicating areas that are crucial to sufficient air flow in Warsaw.