Urban structure is an important factor that shapes the process of urban ventilation and pollution dispersion. With proper planning of the urban spatial layout, city breathability can be effectively regulated, contributing to urban air quality improvement. This paper investigates the development and current management of urban systems of green and open spaces in four Polish cities: Gdańsk, Warsaw, Poznań and Wrocław, with a particular focus on the planning aspects of urban ventilation and air quality management. The initial GIS-based comparison of historical plans and the current spatial layouts of the cities show that these systems, consciously shaped at the beginning of the twentieth century, remain clearly identifiable. However, in some locations, the continuance of these systems was interrupted by later investments. The next step was to develop GIS procedures to effectively map the spatial distribution of selected urban form indicators that are related to urban ventilation, especially the frontal area index. The results made it possible to determine the main features of the current ventilation systems and to identify some of the local problem areas. The last phase of the study was to conduct a local-scale analysis of these problem areas. With this study, the applicability of various analysis and simulation tools for the purpose of improving city breathability by appropriate integrated planning and design decisions was demonstrated. The presented approach, taking into account the city- and micro-scale interactions, should be used in current planning practice to preserve the historically developed ventilation systems.

This article states that the philosophical nature/ambiguity/controversy of the issue of authenticity undermines its usefulness as a tool in conservation practice. The main drawback is the inability to objectively define the notion of authenticity. In conservation philosophy, the meaning of authenticity relativizes along with the widespread consent to the reproducibility of cultural heritage, whereas the recognition of its intangibility negates the sense of authenticity. In the World Heritage (WH) policy and practice, the uselessness/counterproductivity of authenticity as a necessary requirement is visible in the inconsistency of this system in the treatment of the commonly realized reproducibility of cultural heritage, and in relation to heritage with a prevailing intangibility, which is illustrated by the example of Gdańsk as a potential WH site. Although the article provides many arguments for departing from the concept of authenticity in the WH system, authenticity introduces the socially beneficial element of discretion (it cannot be considered binarily), as it forces a discussion that raises cultural awareness in an increasingly homogenized world. Finally, to reduce some inconsistencies in the WH system, this paper recommends restoring autonomy to criterion (vi) in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention.

The decommissioning of cemeteries noticeably transforms the urban fabric. The purpose of this article was to determine what impact the decommissioning of cemeteries has on the urban ecosystem. For this purpose, it was necessary to assess the value of cemeteries within the urban ecosystem. Cemeteries are classified as urban green spaces, and their value as preservers of flora and fauna in local ecosystems has been proven. However, numerous decaying bodies in one place could have adverse effects on the environment. In order to assess the impact of transforming cemetery areas for other uses in the context of sustainable city development, it is necessary to define what these other functions might be. This article presents the main reasons for decommissioning cemeteries and links them with subsequent land use. The history of cemetery locations in five major Polish cities was analyzed to determine the extent to which cemeteries were decommissioned. In the two cities with the highest number of decommissioned cemeteries, further research was carried out in order to establish the typical land use of these former cemeteries, whether this usage is related to the size or type of the former cemetery, and whether change in land use is an advantage or a disadvantage for the urban ecosystem.

The article is aimed to answer the question how, depending on the historical heritage, the collective memory, the physical space of the city and their images were shaped, through the politics of memory. All known cultures and languages distinguish the ‘self’ and the ‘other’, ‘us’ and ‘them’. Neither do we know cities which wish to differ in some particular way, although they can have numerous identities. Their multitude and diversity may be a source of conflicts or contradictions in a creating their coherent image. From a sociological perspective, all identities are constructed. The real problem, however, is how, with what, by whom, and for what? Although identities are not time-proof, in favourable circumstances, they legitimize and rationalize dominant institutions of authority and culture. The public discourse on memory and identity of the modern Gdansk is dominated by multiparadigmatism, going beyond the authenticity of the material and cultural heritage and the state of knowledge presented by historians. Metaphoric and discursive ideas, already encoded in the language, such as: Gdansk is a multicultural city; the city of freedom and the city of solidarity are used to demonstrate the multiparadigmatism. Analysis has proved that the identity narrations were built mainly on myth-making constructions, especially on the myth of ‘the Golden Age’. Nowadays, the selections of architectural forms, used as a base for the Gdansk's identities, have been extending with buildings from the Polish People's Republic (1945-1989) period. Their aesthetic and historic values were, until recently, almost completely negated. It was an unwanted heritage

The difficult heritage. The reuse of former prison buildings