Anna Starzewska-Sikorska

Soil is one of the worldwide most important resources. Some scientists are afraid that due to the expected massive urbanization in next two decades, a “soil peak” can be reached because of e.g. urban sprawl and the massive construction of traffic areas. It means that the amount of soil which is in use for agriculture or for natural purposes decreases more and more. One problem is that traditional regulative approaches of spatial planning are failing to deliver a sustainable land use. Urban sprawl supports unsustainable land use with negative economical and ecological effects, like loss of the resource soil, increase of traffic, etc. New integrated land management approaches and policy mixes are needed, to address the stakeholders varied interests in land more comprehensively. The project Circular Flow Land Use Management (CircUse) fosters sustainable land use in Central Europe by promoting the principle “avoid – recycle – compensate”. 12 partners from 6 countries are for 3.5 years implementing the project CircUse Circular Land Use Management principles and concepts. In 6 participating countries these partners promote an integrative policy and governance approaches in respect of the urbanised land utilization. For the first the CircUse strategy has been developed to illustrate what is necessary to implement the approach of a circular land use management. According to these requirements further steps have been taken by the project partners. The project CircUse has firstly unified the urban land use typologies and then prepared a pragmatic inventory tool, focused on the local/regional land use management. This tool can assist municipalities to become aware, what is the size of their development potential within their urbanised area. On working with such a data management tool further, analyses of the actual accessibility of this urban development potential can be made and mainly measures can be proposed to improve the inner urban development potential accessibility. Data gathering can usually help to size up an issue and monitor the situation. But the solution of a more effective land use can be only achieved through a coordinated action, which aims to deliver the good intentions, identified in various policies. As a tool which could achieve this, was by the project CircUse chosen the action plan, focused on improving land use effectiveness. Six action plans based on a common template were produced, one per each project CircUse partners´ country. A scale of these action plans varied from a site specific (Piekary) to a city based (Asti, Freiberg) to a peripheral regions based ones (Trnava, Voitsberg) to a NUTS 3 based plan (Usti Region). In the last three plans the multilevel governance approaches and the stakeholders´ participation were tested. To help municipalities to implement a sustainable land management a guideline for the preparation of a CircUse training course was produced. The guideline consists of 6 learning modules which are: 1. Land consumption – the problem analysis, 2. Principle of CircUse, 3. Land potentials and scenarios, 4. Stakeholders, 5. Instruments and 6. Action plans. Also education materials for secondary school children have been produced and translated into 6 languages as well as the pilot training has been conducted. A concept of institutional solutions serving the management of circular land use is another important output of the CircUse project. Here two different approaches were employed: one was based on an existing institution, to which additional or specific tasks and competencies have been transferred. This was the case of the Industrial Park – EkoPark in Piekary. Another approach was presented by establishing a new land management agency which was founded in Austria, specifically focused onto the management of circular land use. Both solutions of institutional set ups acting as local operators for management of circular land use can serve as a good practice example for other European towns and regions. This paper would share various experiences, which partners gained, while implementing the CircUse project common approach of the Circular Flow Land Use Management in their countries.

The project CircUse (Circular Flow Land Use Management) is financed from the Program CENTRAL EUROPE. Twelve partners have prepared the concept of the Circular Land Use Management, which represents an integrative policy and governance approach. To implement such an approach, a changed land use philosophy is needed in respect of the urbanised land utilization. Such a modified land use philosophy can be expressed with a slogan “avoid—recycle—compensate”. This approach is very similar to recycling-based principles, commonplace today for waste or water. The materials’ recycling can also serve as a suitable model.

Cities are facing the challenges of climate change. The application of nature-based solutions (NBS) to the urban structure is often mentioned in climate change adaptation strategies. In an effort to ensure the greatest possible well-being of citizens in the form of environmentally positive elements, the opinions of citizens are forgotten. This paper presents the results of research focusing on the feelings of unsafety associated with the application of NBS elements directly into the urban structure. In two pilot areas (Ostrava (CZ) and the part of Upper Silesian agglomeration (PL)) the feelings of the inhabitants and the possible feeling of fear or danger in the application of NBS were investigated. In Ostrava, a questionnaire survey was conducted in relation to specific elements of the NBS without discussion of specific locations. In the Upper Silesian agglomeration, residents’ feelings about specific NBS were surveyed at specific locations using guided interviews. Both approaches ...

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi that colonize the roots of plants growing on lands contaminated by heavy metals may influence the phytostabilization process reducing the translocation of metals to the aboveground parts of the plant. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of soil amendments (lime and lignite) on the concentration of the bioavailable form of heavy metals (CaCl2 extraction) in soil and on the colonization of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in the roots of Lolium perenne when cultivated in contaminated soil. During the experiment, the bioavailability of Pb, Cd, and Zn in soil was significantly reduced after application of the amendments, causing an increase of L. perenne shoot dry biomass. It was observed that the higher dose of lime (0.5%) resulting in amplified values of relative mycorrhizal intensity. However, independently of the dose, the treatments increased the occurrence of arbuscules in L. perenne roots, with the highest value observed after the application of 0.25...

The project CircUse (Circular Flow Land Use Management) is financed from the Program CENTRAL EUROPE. Twelve partners have prepared the concept of the Circular Land Use Management, which represents an integrative policy and governance approach. To implement such an approach, a changed land use philosophy is needed in respect of the urbanised land utilization. Such a modified land use philosophy can be expressed with a slogan “avoid—recycle—compensate”. This approach is very similar to recycling-based principles, commonplace today for waste or water. The materials’ recycling can also serve as a suitable model.

Soil is one of the worldwide most important resources. Some scientists are afraid that due to the expected massive urbanization in next two decades, a “soil peak” can be reached because of e.g. urban sprawl and the massive construction of traffic areas. It means that the amount of soil which is in use for agriculture or for natural purposes decreases more and more. One problem is that traditional regulative approaches of spatial planning are failing to deliver a sustainable land use. Urban sprawl supports unsustainable land use with negative economical and ecological effects, like loss of the resource soil, increase of traffic, etc. New integrated land management approaches and policy mixes are needed, to address the stakeholders varied interests in land more comprehensively. The project Circular Flow Land Use Management (CircUse) fosters sustainable land use in Central Europe by promoting the principle “avoid – recycle – compensate”. 12 partners from 6 countries are for 3.5 years i...