The Settlement System of Poland: Patterns of Change. Poland’s settlement system has become a scene of accelerating metropolitan development over the last few decades. The trends observed and their policy implications are discussed in the article by focusing on sub-spaces, settlement structure components. Special reference is made to the formation of city networks and their role in spatial organization at the national level. A possible future course of the metropolization phenomena, together with some factors of their evolving intensity, is outlined against the background of selected European urbanization scenarios.

The excavation of adjacent pits following the initial foundation pit excavation can significantly influence ground settlement. Using a foundation pit excavation project in Changzhou as a prototype, this study employed the numerical simulation method in conjunction with the HSS model to analyze the settlement deformation characteristics of the original excavation and compare them with the recorded monitoring values. In this study, the analysis focused on the ground settlement between two pits by varying the spacing between them at different excavation depths. The findings revealed that the ground settlement does not exhibit a significant increase when the new pit is excavated at a shallow depth. However, it rapidly increases when the excavation depth of the new pit surpasses that of the existing pit. Furthermore, an increase in the distance between the two pits causes the maximum settlement position to shift towards the edge of the new pit. The maximum ground settlement is found to have a linear relationship with both the maximum horizontal displacement of the two pits and the spacing between them.

The article presents the urban layout, which is a best-preserved example of industrial estates in northern Italy. The subject of the research is a public space of the Crespi d’Adda settlement in the Province of Bergamo in Lombardy. Particular attention is paid to green areas occurring there, and their current use. Program of the public areas was very varied. The main role, besides the factory, held the public park, which is an important compositional and ideological. element of the layout. Research task was to show on example of Crespi, the current situation of former settlements in northern Italy, which are for the author reference material for settlements analyzed in Poland.

The article applies the concept of anchoring, defined as the process of searching for footholds and points of reference which allows individuals to acquire socio-psychological stability and security and function effectively in a new environment, to explore complex, multidimensional and flexible adaptation and settlement processes among migrants from Ukraine in Poland. Based on 40 in-depth interviews and questionnaires with migrants resident in Warsaw and its vicinity, we argue that the traditional catego-ries employed for analysing migrants’ adaptation and settlement such as ‘integration’ or ‘assimilation’ are not always adequate to capture the way of functioning and experience of contemporary Ukrainian migrants. Rather than traditional categories, we propose to apply the concept of anchoring which ena-bles us to capture Ukrainians’ ‘fluid’ migration, drifting lives and complex identities as well as mecha-nisms of settling down in terms of searching for relative stability rather than putting down roots. The paper discusses the ambiguous position of Ukrainian migrants in Poland constructed as neither-strangers nor the same, gives insight into their drifting lives and illuminates ways of coping with tem-porariness and establishing anchors to provide a sense of stability and security. This approach, linking identity, security and incorporation, emphasises, on the one hand, the psychological and emotional as-pects of establishing new footholds and, on the other hand, tangible anchors and structural constraints. Its added value lies in the fact that it allows for the complexity, simultaneity and changeability of an-choring and the reverse processes of un-anchoring to be included.

For many centuries, Upper Silesia was the scene of intensive language contact between a continuum of West Slavic dialects (or the Polish and Czech languages) and German colonists, mainly in the 13th century. The process of colonisation under German town law led to the establishment of hundreds of new towns and villages, some with German names. The oldest historical sources for Upper Silesia are Liber fundationis episcopatus Vratislaviensis (Book of endowments of the Bishopric of Wrocław), dating back to c 1305, as well as registers of such endowments from c 1325. German medieval place names in Upper Silesia are a minority, and no such town names can be found in many areas. This article is an analysis of the percentage of German place names in relation to all place names [in Upper Silesia]. It defines the areas with the largest number of such names and contains a linguistic analysis of the names. Interestingly, the area with the largest number of German place names is the Duchy of Teschen, with the castellany of Oświęcim (which was once part of the Duchy of Teschen), the neighbouring part of the Duchy of Racibórz and the western part of the Duchy of Opole. In the Duchy of Bytom (the Siewierz part of which no longer belongs to Upper Silesia), German place names were not very common. For the areas covered by the Diocese of Kraków, the names of parish priests are known as well. The presence of the German name of parish priests in towns and villages with German place names half a century from their establishment indicates that German people may have lived there, especially because it is certain in some cases that they did.

Ground settlement during and after tunnelling using TBM results in varying dynamic and static load action on the geo-stratum. It is an undesirable effect of tunnel construction causing damage to the surface and subsurface infrastructure, safety risk, and increased construction cost and quality issues. Ground settlement can be influenced by several factors, like method of tunnelling, tunnel geometry, location of tunnelling machine, machine operational parameters, depth & its changes, and mileage of recording point from starting point. In this study, a description and evaluation of the performance of the arti?cial neural network (ANN)was undertaken and a comparison with multiple linear regression (MLR) was carried out on ground settlement prediction. The performance of these models was evaluated using the coefficient of determination R2, root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). For ANN model, the R2, RMSE and MAPE were calculated as 0.9295, 4.2563 and 3.3372, respectively, while for MLR, the R2, RMSE and MAPE, were calculated as 0.5053, 11.2708, 6.3963 respectively. For ground settlement prediction, bothANNandMLRmethodswere able to predict significantly accurate results. It was further noted that the ANN performance was higher than that of the MLR.

Development of the transport infrastructure in Poland has contributed to the implementation of various technologies of construction of bridges and their components. Use of reinforced soil for construction of embankments, retaining structures (RSS walls) and abutments is one of the solutions which has been frequently used for the past twenty years. Shortly after its development, the technology proposed by Henri Vidal in 1966 also gained appreciation in Poland [4]. Reinforced soil bridge abutments started to be widely used in Poland at the turn of the 20th century. The bridge facilities at the junction of Trasa Siekierkowska route and Wał Miedzeszyński Street in Warsaw, which were built in the years 2000÷2002, are an example of structures from that period. The authors of this paper have been particularly interested in the outermost supports of the reinforced concrete flyovers which were constructed in the form of intermediate reinforced soil abutments. Offsets – the vertical displacements, in the range of 15÷25mm, emerging between the level of the road surface and the steel elements of the expansion joints which separate the flyover’s structure from the embankment – were observed in 2015, in the course of regular inspections. While accounting for the observations which have been made, the surveying measurements and the ground investigation, the paper diagnoses and describes the mechanism which led to the emergence of the offsets. Potential patterns of the occurrence of additional settlements, as the reason for emergence of the offsets, were identified and analyzed. The settlement of the outermost support (abutment), as a result of increase of relative density of alluvial sands due to the dynamic interaction of the roadways of Wał Miedzeszyński Street, was analyzed. Analytical and numeric approaches were used in the course of analysis while relying on PLAXIS and MIDAS software.

The main problem of tunnelling with use of TBM in highly dense urban areas is to assign the range of subsiding trough and the impact of tunnelling works on existing buildings and underground or road infrastructure. The paper presents the results of settlements calculations over twin tube metro tunnel using analytical, empirical methods. The tunnel external diameter is 6,5 m ; the overburden vary from 5 m to 8 m ; the distance between tunnel axis is 14 m. Because of quaternary soils and high water table level the TBM type EBP was chosen as the method of tunnel construction. At the length of 502 m of tunnel the monitoring system was carried out in 22 cross sections. The results of settlements monitoring were compared with the values of analytical calculations.

The impact of TBM EPB tunnelling was assessed with respect to the observed values of settlements as the results of extensive monitoring system of the subsoil and ground surface. The aim of the analysis using empirical methods was to determine the real scale of impact and to determine the formula for the asymmetric subsidence trough observed during the passage of two TBMs in quaternary cohesive soils. Based on field measurements, authors propose the polynomial formulation for the depth and shape of the asymmetric subsidence trough prediction over twin tube TBM tunnel.

One of major design problems associated with shallow tunnelling in urbanized areas is the prediction of ground displacements caused by the construction process. Advanced tunnelling techniques such as shield tunnelling using Earth Pressure Balance Tunnel Boring Machines (EPB-TBMs) allow for significant reductions of settlements observed at the ground surface in comparison to tunnelling methods used in the past. The predictions of these displacements are often based on semi-empirical methods and prior experience. In addition to relative simplicity of such methods, their robustness and decades of validation in many tunnelling projects make them attractive for practical use. The tunnelling-induced settlement trough at the ground surface can be described by inversed Gaussian distribution function. It requires only the assumption of two parameters, namely: expected volume loss (VL) and the distance to the point of inflection (iy ), which is dependent on the empirical trough width parameter (K) and the tunnelling depth (z0). The values of those parameters have a strongly empirical nature; they should be established based on comparable experience obtained from full scale tunnelling projects with similar technique and at similar ground conditions. The paper presents the problem of variability of those parameters and discusses the need for its assessment. As volume loss is strongly related to the tunnelling technique, the study focuses on EPB-TBM tunnelling as the most commonly implemented one in recent years. Variability of parameters observed for different ground conditions in different countries is summarized. Finally, preliminary assessment of variability of settlements observed in Warsaw region is presented.

The issues discussed in the study mainly relate to the costs presented by the structure of positions. This study, on the example of the KGHM Polska Miedź SA mining company (three mining plants), examines the position and cost calculation structure relating to technological works, cost settlement and receivables between branches and mining plants. Cost comparisons were also carried out from the perspective of the organizational structure. The cost centers, registration and settlement of costs in the accounting records, i.e. SAPR3 were highlighted. In the course of the examination, a comparative analysis was carried out aimed at determination of common features and differences between the cost of technological works by their function in the technical cost of manufacturing. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that in the years 2000–2017, the cost structure based on the position function underwent changes. The changes occurred as a result of organizational and technical and geological and mining conditions. The cost analysis allows to identify the directions of specialization of the entity in the future. The basic operating activity of the mines concentrates on extraction. Due to copper extraction in the concession areas, the analysis was to evaluate the costs incurred in the KGHM Polska Miedź SA mining plants.

Urbanization has a far-reaching impact on the environment, economy, political and social processes. Therefore, understanding the spatial distribution and evolution of human settlements is a key element in planning strategies that ensure the sustainable development of urban and rural settlements. Accordingly, it is very important to map human settlements and to monitor the development of cities and villages. Therefore, the problem of settlements has found its reflection in the creation of global databases of urban areas. Global settlement data have extraordinary value. These data allow us to carry out the quantitative and qualitative analyses as well as to compare the settlement network at a regional, national and global scale. However, the possibility of conducting both spatial and attribute analyses of these data would be even more valuable. The article describes how to prepare raster data so that they can be implemented into a vector database. It answers the questions whether it is possible to combine these data with databases available in Poland and what benefits it brings. It presents the methods of data generalization and the optimization of time and disk space. As a result of the study, two vector databases with GUF data were developed. The first database resolution is similar to the original (~12 m resolution) database, the second database contains less detailed (~20 m resolution) data, generalized using mathematical morphology. Both databases have been enriched with descriptive data obtained from the National Geodetic and Cartographic Resource.

Drawing on extensive qualitative research into experiences of migration and settlement among Central and East European (CEE) migrants living in Scotland, this article examines the role of intersecting emotional and material (in)securities in migrant families’ decision-making regarding and experiences of longer-term settlement. The article queries fixed or given understandings of either ‘family’ or ‘secu-rity’ and explores the complex and sometimes contradictory relationship between them. In so doing, it makes a number of significant and interconnected theoretical and empirical contributions to existing research in the field of family migration. Through a critical analysis of the relationship between family and (in)security the article offers nuanced insight into the ways in which family processes of reunion, separation and (re)formation link to decisions regarding migration and settlement. The intersecting and sometimes contradictory forms of emotional and material support, obligation and vulnerability which both family relations and processes of migration and settlement entail are critically analysed by bring-ing together theoretical frameworks of social (in)security and understandings of family as ‘made’ rather than ‘given’. Finally, attention given to the temporal aspects of (in)security, as well as the transnational aspects of migrants’ lives, provides new ways of understanding the open-endedness of decision-making processes relating to migration and settlement, especially where these involve multiple decision-makers.

In early 2021, over 5 million European Union (EU) citizens had applied for settled status to secure their right to continue to live, work and study in the United Kingdom (UK) after the country’s withdrawal from the EU (Brexit). In 2018, the Home Office launched a Statement of Intent to implement an application process for EU citizens through its EU Settlement Scheme. In the period leading up to Brexit, the UK gov-ernment assured EU migrants that their existing rights under EU law would remain essentially un-changed and that applying for settled status would be smooth, transparent and simple. However, the application process has resulted in some long-term residents failing to obtain settled status, despite providing the required information. Based on qualitative in-depth interviews with 20 EU migrants living in two major metropolitan areas in Northern England, this article discusses the significant barriers which EU citizens face in the application process. This situation particularly affects the most vulnerable EU mi-grants with limited English-language skills and/or low literacy levels as well as those who are digitally excluded. The study contributes to the growing body of research on the consequences of Brexit for vulner-able EU migrants in the UK, focusing specifically on Central and Eastern European migrants.

The calculations of fuel tanks should take into account the geometric imperfections of the structure as well as the variability of the material parameters of the foundation. The deformation of the tank shell can have a significant impact on the limit state of the structure and its operating conditions. The paper presents a probabilistic analysis of a vertical-axis, floating-roof cylindrical shell of a tank with a capacity of 50000 m3 placed on stratified soil with heterogeneous material parameters. The impact of a random subsoil description was estimated using the Point Estimated Method (PEM). In this way, the number of analyzed FEM models was significantly reduced. This approach also makes it possible to assess the sensitivity of tank settlement and deformation to the changing foundation conditions.

The research paper reviews issues associated with the impact of groundwater flow on soil characteristics and parameters, hence, the entire structure of a building set on it.Water seepage through the ground, building subsoil or structural elements of buildings made of soil affects the soil skeleton and may lead to changes in the arrangement of individual grains relative to each other, i.e., a modified soil structure. Soil solid phase (soil skeleton) deformations resulting from seepage forces are called seepage-induced deformations. The article characterizes typical seepage-induced deformations and specifies a criterion defining the beginning of the phenomenon. The case study involved using data on cracks and deformations in a historic building, as well as water seepage in its subsoil. Seepage was analysed, and zones where the seepage process initiation criterion was exceeded, were determined based on subsoil water level monitoring data. The determined zones coincide with the location of building cracks and scratches and confirm the possible cause behind building damage.

In order to study the ground disturbance and the influence relationship between the two tunnels during the construction of the new shield tunnel undercrossing the existing high-speed railway tunnel, the centrifuge test was used to simulate the construction of the parallel shield tunnel undercrossing the high-speed railway tunnel, and the variation law of the internal force, segment deformation and surface settlement of the existing high-speed railway tunnel undercrossing the shield was studied. It is found that the adverse effects caused by the later tunnel are less than those caused by the first tunnel excavation. For the existing tunnels without settlement joints, the longitudinal settlement of the inverted arch and the vault is U-shaped and anti-U-shaped respectively. The settlement value of the ground surface and the existing tunnel is increased by more than 100%. When the shield passes through the high-speed railway tunnel, the transverse bending strain is larger than the longitudinal, and special attention should be paid at the corner.

An enormous number of structures and roads are put on expansive subgrade soils and may be exposed to the swelling and shrinkage risk. To prevent the expanding weight of the subgrade layer under loaded pavement, one of the following strategies may be utilized are geogrid layer. Reinforced pavement layers have been propagated in the field of civil engineering because of their profoundly adaptable and diversified use. In this study, axisymmetric models of pavement layers have been created by 2-D Plaxis software and all of these models included geogrid layers at various positions concentrated to research the impact of geogrid on the critical pavement responses. Geogrid was placed at the bottom of asphalt layer, bottom of base layer, tope and middle of the subgrade layer. All models are loaded with incremental contact pressure between 50 and 600 kPa. Analysis processes have been made for all models and the obtained investigation results show a significant effect on pavement behavior when the a geogrid layer was used under various tire pressures. Also, there is an increase in the bearing capacity of a model that includes geogrid at the top and middle of the subgrade layer by about 35% and the resistance of the asphalt layer to deformation and cracking failure was improved.

Our aim is to show that numismatics can provide important information about early history of a settlement in the face of a shortage of other types of evidence. We will study the case of Gdańsk. There is a record on the existence of the town (urbs) of Gdańsk from 997, but no sufficiently considerable archaeological traces of this town were found. Therefore, we do not know where the oldest Gdańsk was located. Most likely, the settlement relics from that time were destroyed as a result of fortification works at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. However, the destruction of stratigraphic structures does not mean the destruction of certainly dated historical artefacts, and above all, coins. Registration of early medieval coin finds from the area of Gdańsk provides knowledge of the extent of settlement and functional changes of individual parts of the town complex.

The peninsula projecting into Lake Bnińskie (and called Szyja by archaeologists) was the site of a long-standing settlement three times. At the turn of the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age, people of the Lusatian culture used the natural defensive settlement in its southern part (which at the time was an inshore island). The second period of intensive settlement of the peninsula was the 940s, when a strongly fortified early Piast stronghold was erected – it was used (with a break of 160 years) until the beginnings of the 13th c. In the mid-13th c., a dwelling on a mound was erected at the base of the peninsula to become home to castellans until Bnin was granted a municipal charter based on the Magdeburg rights between 1386 and 1395.

Small towns are an important element of settlement network. They change their status depending on, among others, the development of industry, and changes in the transportation system. Some of them lost civic rights, then regained them, and sometimes were incorporated into the neighboring agglomerations. Some small towns have merged together to create new structures in the settlement network. This article investigates this phenomenon on the example of south-west of Poland. It was also found that in several cases, a small town subsequently separated from the urban area and created a separate urban unit of its own.

Prediction of soft soil sub-grades settlement has been a big challenge for geotechnical engineers that are responsible for the design of roadbed embankment. The characteristics of low strength, poor permeability, high water contents, and high compressibility are dominant in soft soils, which result in a huge settlement in the case of long-term loading. The settlement prediction in soft soil subgrades of Jiehui Expressway A1, Guangdong, China, is the focus of this study. For this purpose, the necessary data of settlement is collected throughout the project execution. The numerical analysis is conducted by using the Richards model based on Linear Least Squares Iteration (LLS-I) method to calculate and predict the expected settlement. The traditional settlement prediction methods, including the hyperbolic method, exponential curve method, and pearl curve method, are applied on field settlement data of soft soil subgrades of Jiehui Expressway A1. The results show that the Richards model based on Linear Least Squares Iteration (LLS-I) method has high precision, and it has proven to be a better option for settlement prediction of soft soil sub-grades. The model analysis indicates that the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) can be minimized as compared to other soft soil sub-grades settlement prediction methods. Hence, Richards's model-based LLS-I method has a capability for simulation and settlement prediction of soft soil subgrades.

The paper presents the idea of a prosumer energy cloud as a new service dedicated to electricity prosumers. The implementation of the cloud should generate a number of benefits in the following areas: settlements between prosumer and electricity supplier, the development of distributed energy sources in microprocessors and the development of e-mobility. From the prosumer point of view, the proposed idea of a prosumer cloud of energy is dedicated to the virtual storage of energy excess generated in the micro-installation. Physical energy storage in the cloud means recording the volume of electricity introduced into the electricity system from the prosumer’s microprocessors. It is assumed that the energy equivalent to the volume registered in the prosumer cloud can be used at any time at any point in the network infrastructure of the National Power System. Any point of network infrastructure shall be understood as any locally located point of connection of an electricity consumer provided with access authorization. From the point of view of the power grid operators, the idea of a prosumer energy cloud is a conceptual proposition of a service dedicated to the new model of the power system functioning, taking future conditions concerning the significant development of prosumer energy and e-mobility into account. In this concept, electricity would be treated as a commodity only to partial physical storage and above all to trade. In this model a key aspect would be virtual energy storage, that is, the commercial provision by the cloud operator (trading company) of any use of the electricity portfolio by its suppliers. It should be stressed, however, that in the prosumer’s energy cloud functioning, a significant factor would be the cost of guarantees of the use of energy by prosumers at any time and point of connection to the network. This results in the need of taking the presence of certain market risks, both volumetric and cost incurred by clouds operator, which can be minimized by passing a portion of the accumulated volume of generated energy to the cloud operator into account. It should be emphasized that this article presents the first phase of the development of the concept of prosumer energy cloud. However, it is planned to be expanded by the following stages, which include the possibility of controlling and supervising the operation of prosumer installations such as: sources, receivers and physical energy stores, e.g. home energy storage or batteries installed in electric vehicles. Ultimately, it is assumed that the proposed prosumer energy cloud will be outside of the storage of energy (virtual and partly physical) and that aggregation of prosumer resources will create new possibilities for their use to provide a variety of regulatory services, including system ones.

Resettlement programmes in riverbank areas remain an alternative solution to overcoming the problems of urban flood-ing, the addressing of which can also lead to reducing slums. Such programmes have many weaknesses, but even so, several countries continue to implement them. This paper will elaborate: 1) an understanding that reductions in flood risk and en-hancements to environmental quality along riverbanks can be realised, without the need for resettlement, as a result of co- operation between local communities, governments and businesses; 2) the socio-economic benefits of improving the riverbank environment in Tridi Kampong, Malang City, Indonesia. This study employed qualitative and quantitative methods. The results of quantitative analysis and of interviews and direct observation indicate that collective action by the community has the greatest influence on the construction of that community’s commitment to improving the environment. Environmental improvements have resulted in significant socio-economic benefits by making the kampong a domestic and international tourism destination and drawing increased numbers of visitors to the region.