Quaestiones Geographicae vol. 33 (4), 2014
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Item Determinants of the quality of life in the communes of the Poznań Agglomeration: A quantitative approach(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2014) Mizgajski, Andrzej; Walaszek, Marzena; Kaczmarek, TomaszSince the 1990s, large urban agglomerations in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have shown highly dynamic functional and spatial changes resulting from the transformation of their political systems. The aim of this study is to present differences in social, economic and environmental living conditions among the communes of a single agglomeration. This, in turn, allows a discussion, in the first place, of local factors, assuming that national and regional conditions in a given area are uniform. The study focused on the agglomeration of Poznań, which consists of the city of Poznań and 17 surrounding communes (Polish: gmina) forming the district, or ‘poviat’ (Polish: powiat) of Poznań. The analysis of variations in living conditions uses a set of nine indicators reflecting the local level of development in social, economic and environmental terms. The results lead to the conclusion that the development of urbanisation processes in suburban areas over the past 20 years has had a significant share in improving the living conditions of their inhabitants. In some communes they are, in fact, better than in the central city of Poznań.Item German grocery discounters: dynamics and regional impact. The case of Schleswig-Holstein (Germany)(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2014) Jürgens, UlrichGrocery discount stores have long dominated developments in the German food retail sector, and they continue to grow. This paper discusses the reasons for this long-term success based on internal decision-making parameters such as price, adjustment of product range, choice of location, and size of new stores. The result is significant customer acceptance, but also adverse developments viewed critically in various governance constellations. The paper is based on expert interviews and a comprehensive collection of data on grocery discount stores and supermarkets in the German federal state of Schleswig-Holstein.Item Introduction(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2014) Wehrhahn, Rainer; Tölle, AlexanderItem Modernisation of public buildings in Polish towns and the concept of sustainable building(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2014) Chodkowska-Miszczuk, Justyna; Szymańska, DanielaThis article aims to identify the scale of energy efficiency improvements in public buildings in Polish towns as representative of sustainable building. The study area is investigated from the perspective of challenges arising from the current policy in the EU. The article indicates that, given the age of public buildings in Poland, the best way to implement the concept of sustainable building is to improve their present stock. The modernisation of public buildings is discussed in terms of project location, project value, sources of funding (including EU funds), and the use of buildings undergoing modernisation. According to the research findings, the implementation of the sustainable building concept is determined by both, exogenous factors (EU directives and domestic laws, etc.) and endogenous ones (e.g. human resources and their quality).Item On the implications of knowledge bases for regional innovation policies in Germany(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2014) Hassink, Robert; Plum, Oliver; Rickmers, ArneRegional innovation policies have been criticised for being too standardised, one-size-fits-all and place-neutral in character. Embedded in these debates, this paper has two aims: first, to analyse whether industries with different knowledge bases in regions in Germany have different needs for regional innovation policies, and secondly, to investigate whether knowledge bases can contribute to the fine-tuning of regional innovation policies in particular and to a modern, tailor-made, place-based regional innovation policy in general. It concludes that although needs differ due to differences in knowledge bases, those bases are useful only to a limited extent in fine-tuning regional innovation policies.Item Regional government and regional planning in the Hanover Region(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2014) Priebs, AxelThe Hanover Region was created in 2001 as a new type of urban regional body. The article deals with the conditions and goals of this administrative reform. It examines factors that contributed to the success of the reform. It is emphasised that above all the region’s predecessors’ more than three decades of experience with regional tasks were crucial. Also important was the fact that the region was initiated by three ‘doers’ from the local level, starting a bottom-up process. Crucial for the region’s profile is solidarity between the municipalities with their different economic and social structures. This is guaranteed by the contribution that all municipalities pay to the region. The article also deals with the regional planning principles in the Hanover Region, which has attempted to prepare and maintain a comprehensive physical structure. It is pointed out that the main advantage of the Hanover Region is that there is political responsibility at the regional level with directly elected politicians.Item Setting the ground for global city formation: Neoliberalisation and local elites in Frankfurt on the Main(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2014) Mössner, Samuel; Freytag, TimThis paper approaches the global city concept from a local perspective taking into account the political action of local elites in times of urban neoliberalisation. Drawing on the empirical research carried out in Frankfurt (Main), we argue that the very beginnings of the global city formation were less a result of global processes superseding local ones, as is often argued, but rather emerged out of local political action contested by local protests. In the first part, we will revisit the global city concept and contrast it against a critique of urban neoliberalisation. The second focuses on reviewing the history of urban restructuring in the Frankfurt Westend during the 1960s and 1970s. We suggest that the transformation of the Westend into a “strategic site of global control” (Sassen 2011) has been constructed as a narrative in order to legitimise local forms of real estate speculation, marketisation of commodification. Our paper tries to unfold the logics and strategies of such neoliberal urbanisation by critically reflecting upon historical events since the 1960s.Item The challenging task of governing cross-border investment in peripheral regions: Polish investors in northeast Germany(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2014) Kinder, Sebastian; Lis, Kamil; Peiker, Wolfdietrich; Suwala, LechThe article investigates the challenging task of governing cross-border investment in peripheral regions. The main objective is to identify common opportunities and obstacles in the Pomerania Euroregion by taking the case study of Polish citizens/ entrepreneurs investing in northeast Germany. This relatively new phenomenon is accompanied by large uncertainties and risks, and lacks further empirical insights. At the same time it breaks new ground, creates alternatives, calls for the development of efficient modes of cross-border cooperation and addresses mutual governance issues on an inter-regional basis between manifold stakeholders on both sides of the border. The case study summarises findings from fieldwork, elaborates a quantitative and qualitative assessment of cross-border governance measures within formal and informal institutions, and tries to formulate policy recommendations for prospective approaches.Item The making of the Gdańsk metropolitan region. Local discourses of powers, identities and hopes(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2014) Czepczyński, MariuszThe process of metropolitanisation of the Gdańsk area is facilitated by public discourse involving local and regional politicians, media, and inhabitants. The discussion is based upon historical narrations, but also local ambitions, hopes and emotions, as well as infrastructural projects and investment attractiveness. Foucault suggests that modern power is a dispersed set of micro-practices, many of which operate through the normalising gaze of surveillance regimes. Gdańsk metropolitan cooperation, competition and encounters make the core of the paper; local and regional unifying initiatives and processes are accompanied by examples of separatism, identity conflicts, and political disagreements.Item Transnational metropolitan development strategies and governance in a post-socialist setting: The case of Szczecin(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2014) Tölle, AlexanderThe integration of cities and their regions into transnational networks has become a key municipal strategy, with the creation of a metropolitan governance structure being seen in this context as a fundamental element. The Szczecin Metropolitan Area constitutes an example of meagre results in intercommunal cooperation in post-socialist East-Central Europe. This has its repercussions on the task of creating cross-border metropolitan governance structures including adjacent German counties, a task which, in turn, may help to overcome development barriers. This becomes apparent particularly in the process of defining joint development objectives as well as an image for the cross-border metropolitan region.