Global Azure Bootcamp Conference at the WSZiB.
April 27, 2019. The Global Azure Bootcamp conference has already been held in over 300 cities around the world.
The WSZiB hosted one of the 4 events of this type in Poland.
Approximately 100 attendees gathered in the auditorium at ul. Armii Krajowej and had the opportunity to listen to 6 technical sessions. The topics of the various lectures, even though they focused on cloud services, were comprehensive and covered the following areas: artificial intelligence, tools for working with data, deploying applications to Azure, maintaining infrastructure in the cloud and transferring data to the cloud.
The speakers:
- Arleta Wanat – Microsoft MVP in the Office Servers and Services category,
- Damian Mazurek – CTO at Chmurowisko,
- Hubert Kobierzewski – the President of the Data Community Poland Association, data warehouse expert and lecturer at Kozminski University
- and WSZiB lecturers: Michał Sadowski, Kajetan Miś, Marcin Henclik and Tomasz Libera
Electro mobility and ecology
Polish Ecological Club organised another debate, which took place on February 18, 2019, at WSZiB in Cracow at al. Kijowska 14. The topic of the debate was “ELECTRRO MOBILITY AND ECOLOGY, TRUTH – FACTS -MYTHS.
How to implement the program in a city and in local governments? Tasks and obstacles – how to overcome them? Funding Opportunities.”
Among the participants of the panel discussion, there were:
– Prof. dr Marek Brzeżański – Cracow University of Technology
– Dr Eng. Tadeusz Kopta – PKE communication expert, participant of, among others: Climate Summit COP 24 Katowice,
– M.Sc., Eng. Łukasz Szewczyk – Deputy Director of the Municipal Service Department of the Cracow City Hall
– Dr Jakub Szymański – Director of the Department of Operational Programmes Management, Marshal’s Office
– a representative of the Voivodeship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management
Tasks, obstacles and opportunities related to clean air
On January 21 2019, another eco-debate took place in the Auditorium of the School of Management and Banking in Cracow.
The topic of the meeting was the “Clean Air in Cracow and in the Region” programme and how to implement it in the city and local governments. Tasks, obstacles and funding opportunities.
The debate was moderated by:
Piotr Skałka from the Department of Air Quality – Cracow City Hall
Tomasz Pietrusiak – Deputy Director of the Department of Environment – Marshal’s Office
Robert Bażela – Voivodeship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management
What are the limits of interference?
On November 19 2018, Polish Ecological Club and MIPiSE Foundation organised another debate, which took place in the WSZiB auditorium in Cracow.
The discussion was preceded by a lecture on “Protected and forest areas: national parks, landscape parks” by Professor Zbigniew Witkowski (AWF) and Dr Paweł Adamski (Institute of Nature Conservation PAN Cracow).
The lectures were a continuation of the topics covered last month in the series “Nature 2000 Tourism and Ecology.”
In the next section, Tadeusz Kopta, BEng, PhD (Polish Ecological Club communication expert) spoke about bicycle policy in protected areas, and Marcin Tischner, MA (ProVeg Poland; Warsaw) gave a presentation on intensive animal farming and the many environmental challenges.
Interesting lectures were given by
Polish Ecological Club and the MIPiSE Foundation at another debate that took place on October 22, 2018. at the School of Management and Banking at al. Kijowska 14.
Numerous participants of the debate filled the entire 150-person School auditorium. We were honoured to host the General Director of the State Forests – Andrzej Konieczny and the Regional Director of the State Forests – Jan Kosiorowski, who were accompanied by the substantive employees. Numerous members of the Polish Ecological Club Scientific Council also arrived, including prof. Janusz Sowa – Chairman of the Scientific Forestry Council to the Prime Minister of Poland and prof. Zbigniew Witkowski – former Chief Nature Conservator.
At the beginning of the debate, the Deputy Chairman of the State Council for Nature Conservation, prof. Zbigniew Mirek delivered a speech on the protected areas of the limits of interference. The speech aroused great interest among the participants and triggered a lively discussion.
Debate on the 38th anniversary of Polish Ecological Club establishment in September 23, 1980.
The Polish Ecological Club and the MIPiSE Foundation organized an anniversary debate, which took place on September 24, 2018 at the School of Management and Banking in Krakow at al. Kijowska 14.
The topic of the meeting was “HUMAN-NATURE-MORALITY”
During the debate, prof. Janusz A. Majcherek – Director of the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology at the Pedagogical University of Cracow, the author of the book “Man, Nature, Morality” (original title in Polish: “Człowiek, przyroda, moralność”) analysed the trends of the contemporary ecology, eco-philosophy and environmental ethics.
The program also included commemorative speeches by PKE (Polish Ecological Club) founders and the presentation of awards, diplomas and prizes!
Financing Ecology
The International Institute for Ecological Policy and Strategy Foundation and
the Polish Ecological Club organised the 35th debate, which took place on July 13, 2018
at the School of Management and Banking in Cracow.
The topic of the meeting was “National Environmental Policy and the mechanisms
of financing projects from local governments, individuals and research
centres.
During the debate, a lecture was given by Artur Michalski – Vice President of the Board
of the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.
Debate on raw materials policy
Another
debate of the Foundation and the Polish Ecological Club took place at the School of Management and Banking in Cracow. The meeting was held on May 14 2018
at the School of Management and Banking in Krakow.
Prof. Mariusz Orion Jędrysik, Secretary of State, Chief National
Geologist
(Ministry of the Environment) spoke about the national raw materials policy, sustainable development
and ecological barriers. Whereas the presentations on the
exploitation of the ocean floor were given by M.Sc., Eng. Michal Nowosielski
Chief Geologist Assistant.
Paradoxes and flaws of the smog-fighting strategy
During another debate organized by the Polish Ecological Club and
the MIPiSE Foundation, we were looking for answers to the following questions:
Is the smog-fighting strategy effective?
Who loses and who gains?
Shouldn’t the current strategy be revised?
The meeting was held on April 19 2018 at the School of Management and
Banking in Cracow.
The following speakers took part in the debate:
Marcin Popkiewicz – a physicist, the author of books such as “Energy revolution, but
what for?” (original Polish title: „Rewolucja energetyczna ale po co?”), known to PKE (Polish Ecological Club) members from previous debates
Dr Ludomir Duda – a chemist, thermodynamist, energy auditor
Marcin Orłowski – from Frapol Wrocław company
What’s next for fluoride
On March 26 2018, at WSZiB in Cracow, took place a debate organized by the MIPiSE Foundation and the Polish Ecological Club,
The topic of the meeting was the threat that fluorine poses to
human life.
The lecture “Fluorine in Skawina’s waters” was presented by Marek
Górnik, MA (UJ), and Dr Jan Ignacak from the Department of Medical Biochemistry (UJ) presented
the topic “Health effects of environmental contamination with fluorine and fluorides.”
Development Strategy for the City of Cracow
On February 26 2018, the International Institute for Ecological Policy and Strategy Foundation, together with the Polish Ecological Club, organized another EKOdebate at WSZIB in Cracow.
During the meeting, some issues were discussed, i.e. Is Cracow developing or expanding?
What about the quality of life? Is Cracow our dream city? What are the priorities in
Cracow’s development? The limits of compromise – are they possible?
A presentation of the Development Strategy of the City of Krakowcan be downloaded from
http://fundacjaeko.org.pl/ from the News tab.
Circular economy
On 22 January
2018 at the College of Management and Banking at al. Kijowska 14 in
Kraków, another PKE (Polish Ecological Club) meeting was held.
This time, it was based on
the example of municipal companies in Cracow. They discussed about the topic of
circular economy.
The participants
of the debate:
Public transport operator – Miejskie
Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacyjne S.A.
Technical Director M.Sc., Eng. Kazimierz Fudala
Municipal
Heat Supply Company
Director for
PONE (The Low Emission Limitation Programme), Janusz Miechowicz, MA
Municipal
Water Supply and Sewage Company
Krakowski Holding Komunalny
Deputy Director of the Thermal Waste Treatment Plant, Tadeusz Żaba
Bogusław Sonik MP
PKE (Polish Ecological Club) debate
The Scientific Council of the Polish Ecological Club and the MIPiSE Foundation organized another
ecodebate, which took place on December 18, 2017 at the School
of Management and Banking at al. Kijowska 14.
In the first part of the meeting, Sławomir Wróbel, MA and M.Sc., Eng. Bartłomiej Zubek from Tatra National Park
discussed ecological problems of the Park.
“Clean air” debate with politicians
PKE (Polish Ecological Club) and MIPiSE Foundation organized a debate entitled “Clean air –
healthy environment and people.” The meeting was held on 13 November 2017 at
the School of Management and Banking in Cracow.
The debate was an opportunity to meet prominent politicians, MPs and local government officials from the
Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska political party).
The meeting and the presentation were attended by:
Gabriela Lenartowicz – MP, Minister of Environment in the PO Shadow Cabinet
Bogusław Sonik – MP, Vice-Chairman of the Committee on the Environment of
Natural Resources and Forestry
National Parks
The Scientific Council of PKE
and the MIPiSE Foundation organised the EKOdebate, which took place October 23, 2017
at the School of Management and Banking in Cracow.
The topic of the
meeting was National Parks in Lesser Poland (Małopolska) – the current state and prospects
for development – “tourist” and ecological threats. During
the meeting, we discussed whether legal changes in terms of nature
conservation are necessary.
National Parks
have been a key focus of our activities since the establishment of PKE. A special section of national parks was operating at
PKE. Among the participants of the
debate, there were: – Director
M.Sc.,Eng. Michal Sokolowski – Pieniny National Park
– Manager
of the nature conservation team Damian Nowak – Magura National Park
– Director
BEng, PhD Janusz Tomasiewicz – Gorce National Park
– Director
Dr Tomasz Pasierbek – Babia Góra National Park
– Manager
of the Man and Biosphere Programme prof. Roman Soja – Polish Commission for UNESCO
– Member of the Scientific Council and former Chief Conservator
of Nature – prof.
Zbigniew Witkowski
Nature-Humanism-Patriotism
The Scientific Council of the Polish Ecological Club and the International Institute
for Ecological Policy and Strategy organised the Ecodebate, which took place on 25
September 2017 at the School of Management and Banking in Cracow. The main theme of the meeting was “Nature-Humanism-Patriotism.”
The debate took place around the figures of prominent naturalists and humanists, i.e.:
Walery Goetel, Władysław Szafer, Stefan Myczkowski, Julian
Aleksandrowicz, Janusz Bogdanowski and Maria
Gumińska.
SQLSaturday 2017
On
September 15-16 2017, the
SQLSaturday Conference was held at the School of Banking in Chorzów.
It was a worldwide community conference
dedicated to the Microsoft data platform.
One of
the main partners and sponsors was the School of Management and Banking
in Cracow.
On the first day of
the conference, there were all-day workshops conducted by the best
experts from the industry, while on Saturday the participants took part in technical sessions
conducted by global and Polish experts.
A healthy home closer to nature
On 28 August 2017 The Scientific Council of the
Polish Ecological Club and the International Institute for Ecological Policy and Strategy
organised another eco-debate.
The programme featured BEng, PhD Zuzanna Iwanicka – Chief Ecologist of Bank Ochrony
Środowiska, who presented economic aspects of sustainable construction.
In the second part of the meeting, there was a speech by M.Sc., Eng. landscape Maciej Jagielak, – Chairman
of the Board of the National Association of Natural Building, who presented us
the issue of “Natural Building; Materials, Technique, Community,” M.Sc.,
Eng. Maciej Surówka – President of the Board of Association of Energy Certifiers and Auditors.
He discussed the topics of “Energy efficient and passive houses” and M.Sc., Eng. landscape
Tomasz Pyszczek Co-owner of Architektura Pasywna i Dom plus, who presented
“Economically available high energy efficient public buildings
– construction costs and maintenance costs”.
How to finance green investments
On July 14
2017, another
EDKODEBATA organised by PKE and the Rector of the WSZiB took place at the School of Management and Banking.
The topic of the meeting was the financing of ecological projects and investments.
Experts, scientists, naturalists, ecologists and MPs
from relevant committees of the Polish Parliament took part in the discussion.
The speeches were delivered
by:
– Wojciech
Stawiany – National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.
– Janusz
Kahl – Honorary Consul of Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.
– Zuzanna
Iwanicka – Bank Ochrony Środowiska
– Magdalena
Łasak-Strutyńska – Marshal’s Office of the Małopolska Voivodeship.
Are GMO crops the remedy for the world’s
food shortage?
On June 26 2017, an ecodebate was held.
It was organized by the Scientific Council of the Polish Ecological Club and
the International Institute for Ecological Policy and Strategy. The meeting was held
in the auditorium of the School of Management and Banking at al. Kijowska
14.
The topic of the meeting was: GMOs –
a threat or an opportunity? Facts and myths.
- GMOs –
The problem of world hunger: a rescue or a threat - GMOs and
biodiversity - GMOs and
Safe Food in Poland - Will
Poland be GMO-free? – legal issues
Applied Data Science 2017
On May 16, 2017, a scientific conference
was held in Wrocław, Poland. It focused mostly on databases, advanced analytics, data science and
machine learning http://science.sqlday.pl/
This is the first such event, taking place as an independent path
within the well-known and very popular (over 800 participants)
SQLDay conference.
Dr Bartosz Banduła, Dean of the WSZiB in Cracow, was a member
of the Conference Program Committee, and our employee, Tomasz Libera, was one of the
organizers.
Forest management and ecology
The Scientific Council
of the Polish Ecological Club, together with the Rector of WSZiB organised yet another
ecodebate that took place on 24 April 2017 at the School
of Management and Banking in Cracow at al. Kijowska 14.
The topic
of the meeting were Forests in Cracow and Lesser Poland (Malopolska). Forest management and ecology.
Health and forests.
The meeting
was attended, among others, by Jan Kosiorowski (Director of the Regional Directorate of State Forests
), Piotr Kempf and Dariusz Wnęk (the Board of Urban Greenery), prof.
Janusz Sowa (Board of the Forestry Council) and a representative of the ZOO and Wolski Forest.
Water Day
On March 20 2017, the Scientific Council of the Polish
Ecological Club and the Rector of WSZiB in Cracow organised an ecodebate
on the topic “Vistula River – navigation, tourism and recreation, sport. Ecological
Barriers and Opportunities.”
The ecodebate took place on the eve of the World
Water Day and the Baltic Sea Day at the School
of Management and Banking at al. Kijowska 14.
Renewable energy as a remedy for smog
On February 20, 2017 The Scientific Council of the Polish Ecological Club and the Rector of WSZiB organized an eco-debate on renewable energy in Cracow in the fight against smog. Current status and opportunities.
The program was attended by:
Andrzej Łazęcki – Deputy Director of the Department of Public Utilities of the City Hall, “The climate and energy policy in Cracow, the current state and perspectives” by
BEng, PhD Mirosław Janowski – AGH University of Science and Technology, “Renewable energy sources – real opportunities in Cracow”
Air over Małopolska – Fight against the smog
The Scientific Council of PKE and the Rector of WSZiB organised
another ecodebate.
The topic of the meeting was “Air over Malopolska. Fighting against the smog. Opinion on
the anti-smog resolution.”
The debate took place on the eve of the adoption of a resolution by the Sejmik of the
Malopolska (Lesser Poland) Region. The text of the document can be found at: http://powietrze.malopolska.pl/antysmogowa/
The debate was attended by air protection specialists from many
scientific circles in Cracow, ecologists, representatives of: Ministry of
Environment, National Fund for Environmental Protection, Water Management and many
others.
Bee – ecology – health
On December 5 2016, the Scientific Council of the PKE (Polish Ecological Club) and the Rector of the WSZiB
organized a Debate. Among the participants and speakers of the debate, there was Stanislaw Flaga and Hajnalka Szentgyörgyi.
Stanislaw Flaga in his presentation pointed out
the issues related to beekeeping.
The progressive
intensification of agriculture, environmental pollution and reduction of the
fertility of farmland are rapidly leading to the extinction of wild
pollinator species. In this situation, remedial measures are being taken
in Europe and worldwide, consisting mainly of restoring favourable biotopes,
creating artificial habitats for bees and improving the floral quality of public
areas.
Poland is still, compared to Western Europe, almost a
“reservoir” of biodiversity, therefore learning from
experience of highly developed countries in biodiversity management is highly
desirable.
Conventional garden management is far from the
habitat needs of pollinators nesting in flat ground, steep
loess slopes, hollow plant stems and dead wood. Research in
bee ecology shows that most of the currently listed
pollinator species persist in the landscape mainly because there is an adequate
food base for them. The larger and more varied the composition of the pollinator plants
, the better the conditions for life and development of a wide variety of
bee groups.
Practical implementation of the postulates of active conservation
of insects in western countries takes the form of, among others, naturalistic flora
gardens and thematic gardens focused on the protection of a particular group of
organisms.
The degree of degradation of bee fauna in Poland encourages
both beekeepers and people
who own or manage green areas to take protective actions. Garden owners who are
aware of the problem can play a pivotal role in this. In their case, floral compositions with
attractive plant species, apart from their aesthetic functions, spatial organisation,
air filtration and oxygen production, could be an indispensable
supplement to the ecological infrastructure for the protection of endangered
pollinator species.
Hajnalka Szentgyörgyi discussed the factors affecting the occurrence of bees in the wild.
Bees are a large and diverse group of insects counting
more than 400 species in Poland. They include, apart from the honeybee (Apis
mellifera), the bumblebee (Bombus) and all the other so-called wild bees, such
as mason bees, which usually lead a solitary lifestyle.
Bees are very important to humans not only from the
ecological, but also from the economical point of view. However, in spite of appearances,
it is not because of bee products, which provide direct
economic benefits, but because of the so-called ecosystem service. Bees
, as one of the most important and best adapted group of pollinators,
are responsible for the pollination of crops. The last decade has definitely increased
our knowledge of not only the benefits, but also the economic
value of pollination of agricultural crops. According to statistics, approx. 75% of crop
plants rely on pollination to a greater or a lesser extent. This applies to
plants that obligatorily require pollination by insects, as well as
those that are partially dependent on them, the crops of which do not only increase, but also improve
its quality (taste and chemical composition). Interestingly,
honeybees, contrary to popular opinion, are often not the best
and the most effective pollinators. Therefore, to guarantee high crops of pollinated plants
, it is not enough to focus
only on the honeybee. Most crops are more effectively pollinated by wild bee species.
Strategy of Cracow development until
2030
On November 21 2016, the Rector of the School of Management and Banking
in Cracow together with the PKE Council organised a Debate on the Strategy of
Cracow development until 2030.
During the meeting the topics of territorial approach,
the smart city concept, the concept of second tier cities and
benchmarking were discussed.
The basic intention of the Strategy is to strengthen the position of
Cracow as the second city
of the Republic of Poland in the following aspects:
- economic
- social
- population
- cultural
The debate concluded that it is necessary to develop a network
of international cooperation, oriented primarily towards other
second-tier European cities. At the same time, these cities are a natural benchmark
for assessing the development processes taking place in Cracow.
The development paradigm according to
SRK 2030 may be summarised as follows: “Cracow – a modern
metropolis teeming with culture, open, rich, safe and friendly, proud of
its historic heritage, co-created by its inhabitants.
The new Mission of Cracow’s local government is: “to create an intelligent metropolis, ensuring a high quality
of life, building a creative economy, shaping the spatial environment
and developing culture, through the cooperation of entities from different sectors and the partnership of
its inhabitants.”
Waste in Poland and Lesser Poland (Malopolska). Facts and myths.
On November 7 2016, another
EKODEBATA was held at WSZiB. The meeting started with a speech by Janusz Mikuła, entitled: “Waste – the Polish Gordian knot.” After the transformations that took place in
Poland, waste management has remained a very neglected aspect. In
Cracow, this led to a blockade of the Barycz landfill by local residents and the
consequent implementation of the policy outlined in the early 1990s, which
culminated in the opening of an incineration plant. Waste management, on the other hand, is not improving despite
technological and organisational changes. If we take a closer look at the
real statistics, we will notice that the level of recovery, and
in particular recycling, is tragically low in comparison with other
European Union countries. Official documents, including the waste management programme
adopted in 2016 by the government, state that the basic
problems in the field of municipal waste management are:
- insufficient share of selectively collected waste
at source, - Poor quality of collected
waste due to the lack of
uniform standards of selective collection
of municipal waste in the country, - The possibility of flat-rate billing to companies
collecting municipal waste from residents, which makes it difficult for municipalities to control
the municipal waste stream, - limited supervision of the municipalities over the
proper management of municipal waste due to the selection of a joint
tender for waste collection and management, - too high ratio of
municipal waste landfilled in relation to the waste generated, - high ratio of mixed
municipal waste in the stream of municipal waste collected, - The current system of fees
for landfilling waste is still not sufficient to motivate
municipalities and other entities participating in the municipal waste management system
to manage waste by methods other than landfilling, - insufficient number of stationary Points of Selective
Collection of Municipal Waste, - Cases of dumping selectively collected biodegradable waste
despite the ban to do
so, - the occurrence of landfilling of mixed municipal waste
without any processing, - Insufficient education related to waste
management, - the use of illegal practices by contractors selected in the
tender, in particular those operating collectively in the field of
waste collection and management services, - insufficient number or lack of controls
concerning the fulfilment of entrepreneurs’ contractual obligations
regarding the proper management of waste collected
from communes.
Henryk Kultys, the President of the Municipal Cleaning Company in Cracow, said that
industrial waste differs from municipal waste in that it is homogeneous, so it is easier to
process it to obtain something from it. The smelter heap can be an example of this
. The municipal waste includes pretty much everything, so it is important to remember that there are
a lot of technologies that are needed to properly
process and recover the most valuable things from waste, or to return them to the proper
cycle. They require many activities, including a lot of self-discipline on the part of an
individual. The system cannot operate separately from the residents. It is
a social task and cannot be carried out institutionally.
Protection of beauty in Cracow – project:
Nowa Huta Cultural Park.
On October 24 2016, a Debate was held at the School of Management and Banking in Krakow. During the debate, the project of the Nowa Huta Cultural Park was presented. Its principles are presented in the article by Zbigniew Myczkowski “Cultural parks – Cracow’s experience in protecting the cultural landscape” (original title in Polish: „Parki kulturowe – krakowskie doświadczenia w ochronie krajobrazu kulturowego”), which will also be published in the Przegląd Urbanistyczny magazine.
Cultural parks are a new tool used by local governments of large cities to protect and shape the cultural landscape. They are also useful for conducting revitalisation processes. Already 30 parks of this kind have been created in Poland, 5 of them in the city centre areas of Jarosław, Radom, Wrocław, Zakopane and Cracow.
During the Debate, the basic actions for the implementation of the adopted goals in the execution plan for the Old Town Culture Park were discussed in detail. These include.:
• conservative conservation – involving the maintenance of the current state of legible interiors with minimal additions resulting from the progress of historical and restoration knowledge (including administrative, protective, scientific, design, and implementation activities);
• progressive (active) conservation – involving the maintenance and improvement of the current condition of the interiors, with replacements for reconstructed elements, due to the rapid ageing of the building substance and elements of the plant cover (including the above mentioned activities).
• supplementing – based on improving the current state of legible interiors by introducing reconstructed, missing elements, known and confirmed by the results of scientific research (administrative, design and execution activities)
• rendering legible – it involves constant correcting of legibility through the introduction or withdrawal of elements in order to regain clarity and comprehensibility of the original planner’s idea or the traces of natural and cultural transformations recorded in the landscape; the introduced elements do not always have to be faithful copies of the lost historical details and in justified cases they can constitute a contemporary reference to historical forms (including the above-mentioned activities).
• ordering – based on a constant correction of the condition, legibility and homogeneity of interiors through removing or replacing minor, spontaneously appearing, contemporary elements, mainly related to trade, commerce, traffic organization, tourism, etc. administrative, spatial, and design-technical measures, mainly related to facades, shop windows, advertisements, signs, and street lamps as tangible elements of significant durability (including administrative, spatial, and design-technical measures)
• rationalization of urban activity – based on the constant care for the condition of interiors and the quality of living in them through rational shaping of provided services and other forms of urban activity, connected mainly with trade, artistic events, etc. (including administrative and educational activities, as well as promotion of good practices in door-to-door sale, street performances, kinds of vehicles providing tourist services, and elements constituting periodic decoration – of low durability)
• reidentification – restoring the meanings of interiors and their complexes, whose present meanings and social connotation are unfavourable, recovering their former significance in order to increase their recognisability, attractiveness, and bringing out their real value, recovering the historical identity of places, introducing markers in the landscape and changes in the existing functions and forms, and promotion of these features (including activities of a conceptual, strategic, promotional, and design and implementation nature);
• identification (nomination) – assigning meanings to interiors and their complexes, increasing their recognizability, attractiveness, bringing out their real value and promoting these features – in case of illegibility or anonymity of such interiors; also introducing markers in the landscape and new functions and forms, new identity of places referring to historical identity of interiors or their surroundings (including activities mentioned above)
• assimilation – involving inclusion of interiors into urban activity – such interiors might have so far been excluded or used extensively due to their low functional and formal standard, poor accessibility, bad condition, or criminogenicity (involving administrative, planning and economic activities through building a policy of incentives, allowances, and promoting good practices)
• natural renewal • involving improvement or restoration of the form and function of the composition of organized public and non-public greenery compositions in the form of gardens in mid-block and monastery interiors, as well as in squares and fragments of park composition (including administrative, planning and design and implementation activities);
• restoration – involving the improvement of condition, form and function of works and architectural compositions in interiors, particularly in mid-block and other, excluded or used extensively (including the above-mentioned activities);
• merging – based on restoring and achieving uniformity and harmony of form, as well as improving the functionality of interiors and interior complexes through introduction and removal of large elements (as big as entire buildings or their significant parts and groups of greenery) in order to combine secondarily disconnected or deformed and blurred compositional systems; introduced or replaced elements may have forms referring to the historical ones or strictly corresponding to the historical form (involving actions of recompositing or reconstruction direction of the merging process)
• protection and shaping of local active scenic exposition – involving the protection and correction of views from the most important points, sequences and planes of exposition, from which there is a generally accessible view within a local range for the main complex of interiors (including the activities involving the removal of elements that disfigure or obscure the aforementioned places);
• protection and shaping of active supra-local panoramic exposition – involving the protection and correction of views from the most important points, sequences and exposition planes from which there is a generally accessible view within the supra-local range of many interior complexes (including the above-mentioned activities);
• protection and shaping of local passive scenic exposition – protection and correction of views of the most important objects and groups of objects that can be observed from the outside – dominants, sub-dominants and landscape accents within the local scope of the main complex of interiors (including activities that involve taking care of the height and form of possible superstructures, removal of elements that disfigure or obscure the view of the above mentioned valuable landscape elements);
• protection and shaping of super-local passive scenic exposition – based on protection and correction of views of the most important objects and groups of objects, which can be observed from the outside – dominants, sub-dominants and landscape accents in the super-local range of many interior complexes (including activities mentioned above).
Can Zakrzówek be green?
On October 17 2016, a debate regarding Zakrzówek in Cracow was held at WSZiB in Cracow.
During the meeting, the work awarded in the competition for the study project for the development of Zakrzówek was presented by the Design Group CCLA-Creatio Continua Landscape Architects, namely: M.Sc., Eng. landscape Agnieszka Duda, M.Sc., Eng. architect landscape architect Wojciech Kawalec, M.Sc., Eng. landscape architect Laura Klimczak, M.Sc., Eng. landscape architect Sebastian Kochel, M.Sc., Eng. landscape architect Jan Kocieniewski, BEng, PhD architect, landscape architect Miłosz Zieliński.
Zakrzówek – EKO-LABORATORIUM:
An education and recreation park project was presented, which could be a response to the need of balancing the accessibility of Zakrzówek assets to residents with their simultaneous protection.
A large portion of Cracow’s residents want Zakrzówek to remain untouched. The project in the layer of small architecture and the educational centre building contains a formula whose task is to implement the strongest possible form of civic protection. We treat Zakrzówek as a “patient”, and elements of the park equipment will not only tell you about the mechanism of its ecosystem, but will also be a kind of “diagnostic apparatus.” You will be able to check the basic parameters of the “patient,” such as body temperature, level of “body fluids” (ground water), vitality. The learning centre’s labs will help you analyse and read data correctly in an accessible way. We put at your disposal a protection formula that will allow you to become experts in the area of your park, to personally monitor the processes that take place there and to react to threats much earlier than post factum.
We also wanted to
create, to the greatest possible extent, an architecture that is not there, so we kept the interference to a minimum. (Park area: 64 ha, total area of the transformed zones, including playgrounds, swimming areas, games and sports areas, places at pavilions: approx. 3.5 ha). All the Cracow inhabitants who have used Zakrzówek so far in a certain way will still be able to do so, only more comfortably and safely:
Those of you who used to come here simply for a walk, will still be able to do so, only without worrying about being hit by a cyclist. We separated bicycle and pedestrian traffic. The rest of the park’s transportation is almost entirely based on existing paths (mostly limestone ballast) that have been slightly improved so that you can easily pass through them if you are walking with a stroller. Paths are structured in such a way that allows you to take full advantage of the scenic beauty of Zakrzówek and avoid walking the existing greenery.
For those of you who wanted to enjoy the view of the monumental pit landscape, we created special viewpoints and a system of secure handrails. For people who want something more demanding, an extreme path with belay and guide is offered around the lagoon. Enthusiasts of Old Town panoramas can take comfort in knowing that the project’s interference with the mountaintop is limited creating some protection in the form of handrails, which are glass at the most important points and hidden by native vegetation in the remaining areas. For those looking to cool off in the summer, the project has included two swimming areas. One of them is for sports (on the southern side) and there is, among other things, the possibility of jumping into water. The second one (on the northern side) is addressed to families with children; there is a marina and facilities for divers. There is a beach with a birch grove, outdoor showers, and a water playground for kids that also serves as a regulatory manoeuvring area. Under the wooden platform, there are hidden storage compartments for kayaks and other things. Divers have an enclosed area in the form of a two-level floating platform. The top floor of this platform can be used by other users to safely observe the divers. An attraction, also outside the summer season, is a cafe in the immediate vicinity of the reservoir.
The project has also taken into consideration a rich educational offer. At its heart, there is an ecological centre with a café that is actually a lookout room for observing birds and the rest of the fauna. Binoculars are available for rent at the bar, and a real-time view from several cameras mounted in the park at protected organism sites is displayed above the bar. Solutions perfect for rainy days.
SQLSaturday (534)
On October 12, in the Qubus hotel in Cracow, the first Polish
conference within the international SQLSaturday cycle took place. The School of
Management and Banking was a co-organizer of the event and the members of
Database users study group participated in its
preparation.
Nineteen technical sessions were on databases were carried out –
they touched upon the question of their administration and programming, as well as issues related to
data analysis and Business Intelligence services.
Communication in Cracow –
sustainable and ecological. Boundaries, opportunities, obstacles and prospects.
On September 19, 2016 a debate was held in the Auditorium of the WSZiB in Cracow as a part of the European Sustainable Transport Week and on the eve of the 36th anniversary of PKE establishment (September 23, 1980).
The first to take the floor was Tadeusz Trzmiel, the First Deputy Mayor of the City of Kraków for City Investments. The directions and assumptions of the City’s Transportation Policy adopted in July of this year and the most recent document that provides directions for the development of transportation systems were presented. They take into account the assumptions of the City’s Land Use Study adopted in 2014 and the results of the May 2014 referendum in which residents voted on the question of the subway system and the development of bicycle transportation.
The transport policy was presented by Łukasz Szewczyk, Deputy Director of the Department of Municipal Economy of the Cracow City Hall:
The first transport policy for Cracow was adopted in 1993. The general objective of this policy was to create conditions for the efficient, safe, and economical circulation of people and goods.
The general demand is the priority of public transport in investments and in traffic.
An updated Transport Policy for Cracow was adopted in 2007. Its main objective was to create conditions for more efficient and safer circulation of people and goods, while meeting the requirements of reducing the burden of transport on the environment, and thus improving transport accessibility within the city and in the metropolitan area, the region and the country.
On the other hand, the new transportation policy adopted in 2016 is a new approach to the issue. The general objective is to create conditions for efficient and safe circulation of people and goods, while limiting the harmful impact on the environment and living conditions of the residents and improving transportation accessibility within the city, as well as the metropolitan area, the region and the country in accordance with the conditions of sustainable mobility in the urban transport system.
It is focused on 5 main objectives, i.e.,
:1. Ensuring convenient movement for the transport system users within internal and external connections,
2. Developing and promoting ecological forms of travelling,
3. Improving the condition of the natural environment, reducing the burden of transport for residents and increasing safety,
4. Improving efficiency of spatial management and transport,
5. Improving the city’s image and building its prestige.
Łukasz Franek deputy director of ZIKiT for transport, in his presentation outlined how the city’s transport policy is supposed to be implemented in practice. Guided by various tasks and objectives, the focus was on promoting walking for distances of up to 1 kilometre, cycling up to 4 kilometres, and public transportation for longer trips. Such optimisation of travel behaviour yields the following benefits:
– more walking – health and cost,
-cycling commute – health, time and cost,
-public transportation commute – time and cost.
Renewable Energy Sources (RES).
Small-scale energy in the fight for clean air.
On June 20, 2016. The WSZiB Rector together with the Polish Ecological Club organized a Debate on RES.
Henryk Kozlowski presented a project for the construction of heat, geothermal and geothermal power plants. Then Stanislaw Nowicki (coordinator of the project of installation of renewable energy systems in the municipality of Niepołomice) presented the actions taken by the municipality. In Niepołomice there is a Special Economic Zone, thanks to which it is possible to finance many innovative projects, with the commune budget amounting to PLN 120 million. It is one of the few zones that, due to high investor interest, investors can choose among different projects, and thus environmentally friendly investments can be made there.
In Niepołomice, just like in Cracow, there is high air pollution level. In order to counteract it, Niepołomice joined the elite group of the Convenant of Mayors Office in Europe in 2009, which resulted in the acceptance of the obligation to implement the European Directive 3 x 20, i.e., to reduce CO2 emissions by 20%. A Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) was developed then, and on the basis of these plans, low-carbon programmes are now being developed. A plan of actions, both investment and education ones, has been prepared. One of such tasks is the use of solar collectors, which was possible thanks to a well-prepared project for the Swiss-Polish cooperation programme.
By June 2016, 3920 solar collectors were been installed, 5000 photovoltaic cells, 9 heat pumps and 1850 people were trained through different educational programmes. The speaker then presented a number of implementations of both solar collectors and heat pumps on public buildings.
As part of the programme, the residents were offered the opportunity to subsidise an individual installation. The investment amounted to only 30 to 35 % of the collector value and, in addition to the Viessmann installation, included a 10-year warranty, which includes twice-yearly fluid change and 24-hour service.
Before the implementation of the collectors from the Swiss-Polish project, flat plate and vacuum tube collectors were tested on public buildings in order to have an idea when it comes to the final choice, which one to offer to the residents. The choice fell on flat plate collectors as they proved easier to maintain and more efficient. Although vacuum collectors produce slightly more energy in the summer, their safety system is much more difficult to operate.
Andrzej Łazęcki, Deputy Director of the Municipal Utilities Department of the Cracow City Hall, emphasized that one of the objectives written in the strategic documents of the city is sustainable development, which is also reflected in strategic sector documents, i.e., the principles of planning for supplying heat, electricity and gas fuels and in the Low-Emission Management Programme. Specific actions are manifested in the installation of renewable energy sources under the Low Emission Reduction Program (in Polish: PONE). The Municipal Cleaning Company uses methane gas generated from landfilling in the aggregate. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Thanks to its reuse, we do not pollute the atmosphere, and at the same time we obtain heat and electricity for the needs of the landfill in Barycz. A thermal waste conversion plant, commonly referred to as a waste incineration plant, has a dual benefit. It is the final stage in the waste management chain, after segregation and separation of the green fraction for composting. The residue could be landfilled as has been done before, but the present regulations prohibit landfilling.
Electric transportation in Cracow.
Current status, evaluation, prospects: buses, cars, and bicycles.
On May 30 2016 at the School of Management and Banking in Cracow, a debate was held on the Plan of Sustainable Development and the prospects of development of electric cars as a future specialisation of the Polish automotive industry.
Daniel Prusak from AGH (University of Science and Technology) presented the mechatronics study programme offered at his university. This was followed by a presentation of the most interesting projects completed by student groups such as the ballbot typing robot, the ball balancing robot, and the five-fingered gripper. An example from the automotive field was also presented, namely an automatic transmission constructed by students from Lego bricks.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of the Hydrocar Premier project, a hydrogen-powered car that was created as a demonstrator of hydrogen storage technology in metal powder. The hydrogen storage project was implemented by the Military University of Technology (in Polish: WAT), by the Department of New Technologies and Chemistry under the leadership of prof. Eng. Leszek Jaroszewicz, then RIOT Technologies became involved in the project with the support of AGH Racing. The initial use of the technology developed at WAT was supposed to be as a UPS maintaining power supply. More appealing to the imagination is a well-presented car that can also showcase the automotive technologies that can be developed and advanced by AGH.
In the diagram of the car’s power system, the engines used are shown with four independent power stages, all of which are water-cooled, as well as the battery pack responsible for running these engines, the hydrogen storage and the fuel cell that recharges the electric batteries. The thermal balance that appears in the car is transported according to the needs. A fuel cell requires hydrogen, which is stored as a powder, or metal hydrides versus uncompressed gas. When such powder is refuelled, the temperature of the tank increases, while when hydrogen is drawn from the tank, the temperature decreases. The tank has been specially designed in such a way that we can cool the powder that is inside, thanks to this solution we can transport heat as well as cold between the hydrogen tank that is working and the rest of the subsystems of the car in such a way that we can cool the components during normal operation. The tank has a capacity of only 20 litres, but by storing hydrogen in the form of metal powder, up to five times more of it can be stored than by storing it as a pressurized gas even with the use of composite cylinders. Of course, you can refuel with hydrogen, or you can charge the batteries directly from the outlet.
In the second part of the speech Łukasz Szewczyk presented the Carsharing project, which is a system of car sharing aimed at increasing the use of vehicles. Today’s most popular use model of a car is to drive it to work and then for 8, 10 hours such a vehicle is not used. If a family have a second or third car, there are times when they are unused for weeks at a time.
The main objectives of the project include:
– Reducing city congestion,
– Reducing the negative impact of vehicles on the environment,
– Freeing up urban parking space,
– Reducing travel time by allowing urban electric vehicles to use bus lanes.
Investments
and the spatial order, weaknesses of the Act on spatial planning
A conference titled “Investments, and the spatial order, weaknesses of the Act on spatial planning” was held on April 18 2016, at the School of Management and Banking in Cracow. Among the participants of the debate, there were: Tomasz Żuchowski, Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure and Construction, Anna Paluch, MP, Vice-Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Environment Committee, Elżbieta Koterba, Deputy Mayor of Cracow, and Jerzy Meysztowic, MP.
Anna Paluch emphasised that spatial order is a very important value that is associated with sustainable development. The Act on spatial planning and development, which has been in force since 2003 and has already been amended in a number of ways, makes it difficult to implement. When talking about the law related to spatial management and the construction law that is tied to it, it must be remembered that these are two synchronous laws, using the same terms and concepts, therefore, they must be taken into consideration in conjunction. Clearly, how easy or how difficult it is to apply this law has an impact on the economic life. We need to make sure that we can make these regulations clear, simple and not overly complicated. Otherwise, it is a significant obstacle to national development.
Elżbieta Koterba addressed the clash between investment and spatial order. In 2014, the Study of Conditions and Directions of Spatial Development for the City of Cracow (in Polish: SUiKZP) was developed. It was an innovative document because it was based on the idea that the main goal was not to make the city grow, but to take care of its growth. Therefore, a strict boundary between developed and unoccupied areas has been drawn and it must not be crossed. In addition, a number of analyses concerning the natural environment has been performed. These analyses answer the question of which areas can be designated for development and which should be kept free from it. Moreover, they made it possible to identify areas where investment conditions should be less restrictive than in naturally valuable areas.
Jerzy
Meysztowicz stated that it was not a good thing, and it was not just a case of Kraków, that the spatial development plans were repealed, but at the same time no procedure was prepared to quickly replace them with the new ones. The solution has become decisions on development conditions, which is a problem especially in cities, where the presence of developers and their pressure on the speed and intensity of investment is the greatest. In the face of attempts to change the planning and development act, it would be good to advocate for correction of these negative provisions, but also to allow more time for public consultation. The draft Building Code will cover the whole of Poland and will operate differently in different regions of the country. So, it would be good to include the specifics of the cities there. The new law should also address the problem of protecting ventilation corridors that are developed, without any control based on the decision of the land development decisions.
Quo Vadis Cracovia
The conference was chaired
by Adam Markowski, with Dr Zygmunt Fura being in charge of the discussions.
The conference “Quo Vadis Cracovia? ”
organised by the Cracow branch of the Polish Ecological Society i
WSZiB on March 14, 2016. It referred to a now historic standpoint and document of the ecologists
presented to the authorities exactly 35 years ago. Dr Zygmunt Fura
reminded the participants what the main arguments of that standpoint were. Most of them remain relevant
until today, despite the changes social and geopolitical conditions. The
following statements can be found in that report: Cracow is a city of tradition,
science, history, culture, patriotic inspiration; the need to stabilise the population
at 750 thousand was indicated. They stressed the need for low-rise boulevard
housing instead of housing estates with blocks of flats. Residential buildings should be built on
uncultivated land, respecting the agrarian enclaves already existing in
the city, preserving the historic urban layout. The document
emphasised the need to reorganise car traffic and promote bicycle commutes
.
The next speaker was Deputy
Director of the Development Division of the City of Cracow, Jacek Woźniak, who in his speech
pointed out that the primary objective of the city’s development must be to provide
better access to public services, which are intertwined with the well-thought-out
policy of development of Cracow as a metropolitan area; indeed,
on a different scale. It is of great importance for the city to cooperate with its immediate surroundings, especially
given that 300,000 people come to the city from the vicinity of Cracow
every day. The speaker pointed out that the alliance with Warsaw, controversial
at first sight, is also important for Cracow.
In turn, the floor was taken by the Director
of the Department of Spatial Planning, Bożena Kaczmarska-Michniak, who
described how the development of the city is visible in planning documents.
The director focused on the problem of the target vision of Cracow and its direction
of development. This vision presents Kraków as a European metropolis – a modern
centre of economy and high technologies, science, culture and tourism, as well as
a resident-friendly city, attractive for living and visiting.
The leading planning document is the “Study of Conditions and Directions
of Spatial Development of the City of Krakow” resolution of July 7, 2014. and
the earlier “Development Strategy for Krakow” of April 13, 2005.
The planned goals are supposed to be achieved through development (not expansion) taking into
account the value of the natural and historical environment, the transportation system
as the backbone of the city, modern infrastructure, and at the same time
raising the standards of public space. The river front should
become the compositional axis of the city. In her speech, Director
Kaczmarska-Michniak showed the balance of the land area, where almost 28% is
unmanaged greenery. Effective as of 2003, The Act on spatial
development allows for investments on the basis of permits, as the existing
development plan shave been suspended until new ones are drawn up; according to
planners, this is a clear legal error, which has created a gate for uncoordinated
activity of developers, as shown by the comparison between the Local Plan
and the decision on land development. There are currently 137 plans that cover
49.5% of the city’s land area (as of July 9, 2014), many with spatial visualization, which allows for the
evaluation of the height of structures and the ventilation of the city, (in 2002 they constituted only
1.5%). The approval of the spatial development plan involves numerous
obstacles, including those created by lawyers and courts, which seems incomprehensible for the city
development policy.
In the next speech, Stanisław
Albricht of Pracownia Projektowania i Planowania Systemów Transportu (Transportation Systems Design and Planning Studio) discussed the city’s development forecast plan
in the so-called new areas, which included the activity nodes
: Balice, Płaszów-Rybitwy, and Nowa Huta Przyszłości. A disadvantageous
phenomenon is the dispersion of the office spaces (outsourcing) without
taking into account these nodes. The speaker provided interesting information on
the interaction between public transport and cars, and was
concerned about the 1:1 ratio; in Berlin, for example, 15% of transport
is provided by bicycles. In the end, the speaker enthusiastically referred to
the subway project, which, in his opinion, can solve the city’s
transportation problems.
Maciej Górnikiewicz from Pracownia Projektowania i Planowania SystemówTransportu (Transportation Systems Design and Planning Laboratory
)
continued the topic and in his interesting presentation he showed the traffic intensity
in the east-west direction, which corresponds to the previously presented activity nodes.
The growing share of individual transportation, which
was only 12% in 1975, was confirmed. The solutions related to the Fast Agglomeration Railway,
tramway subsystem, metro and, above all, the system of wheel transport are
.
The following people spoke in a lively discussion: Zofia
Rachalska-GoudaZ PKE (Polish Ecological Club), prof. Janusz Majcherek from the
Pedagogical University, Jan Friedberg, Barbara
Bartkowicz President of the Polish Association of Town Planners, Alfred Król, the League for Nature
Conservation and prof. Janusz Mieczkowski, Krzysztof Bień and others. The discussion
emphasized the need for pro-ecological education of the society, without which it is
impossible to imagine a shift from car to bicycle, even when covering
1 km distance within the city.
In conclusion, Tadeusz Koptawy
distinguished 5 topics that require further work of the Polish Ecological Club
team. He listed: actions for clean air, actions
for deconcentration of settlements, short-distance cities in commute –
shortening travel time, limiting car traffic and controlling the quality
of fuel, increasing pro-environmental behaviour such as increasing the use of bicycles.
Conference of PKE Scientific Council
On February 15, 2016
another meeting of the Scientific Council of the Polish Ecological Club took place in the auditorium of the School of Management and Banking in Cracow. It was attended by the
MPs Lidia Gądek
and Bogusław Sonik.
During the meeting, Krzysztof
Kozak of the Institute of Nuclear Physics gave a speech entitled “Radon in housing
and Its effects.” Attention was drawn to the sources of radiation, as well as to
the consequences and tasks resulting from the European Union directive. Dr Z. Fura, the host of the debate,
took advantage of the presence of MPs to ask them the question “Does Poland
protect the health of Polish people?”
L. Gądek’s statement about placing emphasis on educating the society in the field of preventive
health care, also by the rural housewives’ associations, voluntary fire departments, seniors’ clubs, community centres,
etc. seems interesting. In turn, B. Sonik presented the activity of
MPs in the creation of health and environmental protection laws.
The statements sparked a lively discussion, during which it was pointed out that it is time to
move “from talk to action.” A very constructive voice on this issue was the speech by prof. PK Andrzej
Szarata with a specific proposal to increase parking fees to
PLN 10/hour. on days when the acceptable air pollution
standard is exceeded in Krakow (in Krakow it is 210 days). This seemingly off-topic issue can
contribute to the reduction of urban emissions as a consequence of the reduction of
car traffic.
The next debate will
deal with the issue of development of Cracow as a city.
ECO DEBATE with Parliamentarians
January 11, 2016 the first debate in the
series of monthly discussions was held in the auditorium of the WSZiB in Cracow. Participants include MPs,
local government officials, professors from Cracow universities and NGOs interested in
ecology and health care.
The first meeting was attended by Anna Paluch, Deputy Chairwoman of the Parliamentary
Commission for Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, and
Dorota Niedziela, former Deputy Minister of Environment.
The parliamentarians answered dozens of questions from the audience during the two-hour discussion. Representatives of various scientific communities – foresters, physicians, transporters, NGOs – presented many, often conflicting opinions and suggestions. A concrete result of the debate is the position on the subway system in Cracow – the position is included in the attached letter.
Subway system in Cracow – PKE standpoint
QUAESTI 2015 International Scientific Conference
On December
7-11, 2015 the International Interdisciplinary
Scientific Conference QUAESTI 2015 was held. Its co-organiser and scientific partner
was the School of Management and Banking in Cracow. The
conference was attended by 50 scientists from various academic centres in
Europe. WSZiB staff served as reviewers and as
Chair of the Economics Section of the Conference.
EIIC Scientific Conference 2015
August 10-14, 2015 International
Interdisciplinary Scientific Conference EICC 2015 was held. Its
co-organiser and scientific partner was the School of Management and
Banking in Cracow. The conference was attended by 47 scientists from
various academic centres in Europe. The conference was held in
English. The primary objective of the Conference was to disseminate the results of
scientific research conducted and to promote the scientific achievements
of individual researchers and the scientific centres they represent.
Staff members of the WSZiB served as Reviewers and as Chair of the
Economics Section. The commitment of the School’s employees is another proof of
WSZIB’s scientific activity.
Conference of the Polish Ecological Club and the University of Life Sciences and Humanities “Think globally – solve in Krakow”.
On Wednesday, September 23, at the school auditorium on al.
Kijowska 14, a conference of the Cracow Ecological Club was held on the
35th anniversary of its establishment. The conference was attended by
61 members and supporters of the environmental movement for Cracow.
Those distinguished for the development of ecology received Honoris
Gratia awards and medals. The presentation was made by the President of the City Council, Bogusław Kośmider and
the Mayor’s Advisor for Air Quality, Witold Śmiałek. Nine substantive
papers were presented, which provoked a heated discussion. It was found that
most of the projects have been proposed by KKE for many years and they are not
understood. The need to educate the public
about environmental hazards comes to the forefront.
Topics of the papers:1) City Hall paper ”
Ecological challenges of the City of Cracow “2) BEng, PhD Tadeusz Kopta, expert
of communications: “Automotive hazards in the light of air
pollution.”
3) Prof. BEng, PhD Marek Brzeżański (PK – Cracow University of Technology, Director of the Institute of Motor Vehicles and Internal
Combustion Engines
): “Emissions of toxic engine exhaust fumes in the light of binding
regulations”
4) Dr Marek Bauer (PK Department
of Traffic Systems): “The effects of privileging public transport vehicles
in traffic”
5) M.Sc., Eng. Urszula Duda (PK
, Department of Transportation Systems): “Park and Ride in the context of environmental protection
”
6) M.Sc., Eng. Jan Friedberg (Polish Ecological Club expert
on the topic. of communications, a former Vice-President of the City of Cracow: “Sustainable development in
Poland – an idea or a meaningless phrase”.
7) Prof. Mieczyslaw Pasowicz,
Institute of Innovative Medicine: “Diseases of civilisation in areas of environmental
contamination”
8) Prof. Jan Dobrowolski AGH:
“The Cracow concept of ecological education”.
9) Dr Krzysztof Borkowski AWF:
“Tourist movement and ecology”.
Non-neoliberal concepts of economic development
On June 16, 2015 an interesting debate took place on Non-neoliberal concepts of economic development. The conference was chaired by professors from the Cracow University of Economics, prof. Jan Czekaj and prof. Stanisław Owsiak, as well as a famous columnist writing about economy-related topics, Rafał Woś from
Gazeta Prawna, where he writes weekly economy-related commentaries
and presents various chapters of the “New textbook of economy”. The debate started with a presentation of the book “The Childhood Disease of Liberalism”, published by Studio Emka
in 2014
. written by Rafał Woś, where he critically
analysed the reforms carried out in Poland in the last 25 years. The debate was moderated by Adam Jaskow, its participants
– prof. Jan Czekaj and prof. Stanisław Owsiak, and
R. Woś presented individual standpoints, answering questions from the moderator
. These answers did not disparage the achievements of the Third Republic of Poland, yet they were accompanied by
a deep economic reflection.
The participants came to several common
positions, namely:
- The
transformations created too much stratification in the society,
which was inevitable, among other things, as a result
of the transfer of ownership. However, the current stratification is too high and from the point
of view of further economic development it may be a threat. - The past
25 years were a period when we uncritically imitated the developed, neoliberal Western
countries. It was noted that in the period of transformations after 1989. We entered the
situation of being burdened with a huge foreign debt, which limited the freedom of full
transformation. - Neoliberalism
resulted in low tax policies, the withdrawal of the state from many of its
functions, the growth of bureaucracy, a belief in the inevitability
of the market. In the near future, the theses of neoliberalism must be thoroughly
revised in the direction of a social market economy, a term that appears
in our Constitution (Art. 20 of the Polish Constitution of 2 April 1997
). - Discussing
the privatisation process, the participants of the debate noted that it brought an inflow of
external capital into the economy so that there was no need to transfer the
consumption part of GDP to the investment part, which would have provoked social revolts. - referring
to the opinion of R. Woś, expressed at the beginning of the debate, the participants agreed that
“The end of the 20th century was a time of economists fascination with small state and big
business. Today, there are growing indications that in the 21st century this imbalance must be
corrected.”