Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The fact that in the European Union the majority of citizens (ca. 75 %) occupy
cities, with the highest urbanization rate in the EU15 rather than in the new
member states is a big advantage. That is because cities have always played a key
role in the socioeconomic development, they are reservoirs of ideas and innova-
tion. As well as that, they allow for more effective resource and energy use, espe-
cially cities with densely developed cities than rural areas or areas of urban sprawl.
At the same time, they emit much less greenhouse gases or other types of pollu-
tion (Calthorpe 2013 ; Owen 2011 ). What is more, it is in medium-sized or large
cities where effective public transportation systems can be created (Suzuki et al.
2013 ), bicycle paths can be built or various other solutions can be introduced, such
as 30 kph zones, low-carbon emission zones—the German Umwelt Zone , no-entry
zones in the city centre, parking policies, toll-entry to the city centre and others).
All these solutions contribute to the lowering of vehicle ownership levels among
inhabitants and the duration of time spent in the car.
7 Energy Intensity of Passenger Transport in Pozna´
Agglomeration
The urbanization level in Poland is only 60.6 % and is decreasing (GUS 2014b )
as inhabitants of cities move out to the suburbs which are not too distant from the
metropolitan area. This makes it difficult to provide these areas with efficient pub-
lic transport service. Therefore, catering for most of transportation needs is via
individual vehicle transport.
Poznan is, too, going through the process of suburbanization. The number of
population fell from 582.2 thousand people in 2000 to 548 thousand in 2013. And
the population in the Poznan district has increased from 260.5 thousand to 352.4
thousand (GUS 2014a ). The processes of suburbanization create new, additional
costs and phenomena which result in higher energy consumption. They can be
classified as:
• economic
- higher costs of infrastructure development,
- growing congestion,
- growing cost of individual transport (cost of petrol use and other supplies, the
cost of time wasted etc.),
- growing risk of real estate market speculation,
- growing costs of providing urban transport,
- metropolitan area becoming less competitive, lower quality of life for the
inhabitants of this area;
• ecological
- appropriation of farm and forest lands,
- habitat fragmentation,
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