Spatial redistribution of the population in Poland results in migration outflow from some units and migration inflow to others. The uneaven spatial distribution of this process results in different migration characteristics of communes in Poland. In the literature this issue has often been the subject of research and works in this area were based on traditional research methods, based on statistical data analysis. In the paper below the author describes the possibilities of conducting migration studies using spatial autocorrelation methods. The commonly used coefficients of migration turnover and migration efficiency were analysed using Moran’s global and local I statistics. The results obtained by the author lead to the conclusion that the application of spatial autocorrelation tools allows for a new perspective in the study of internal migration, making it possible to determine the spatial distribution of the phenomenon under study in spatial units, taking into account the situation in neighbouring units. The analysis with the use of spatial autocorrelation tools may replace or supplement the research methods used so far, mainly with regard to indicating clusters of high and low values of a given variable, which allows to identify clusters of a specific migration character. It also allows to unambiguously determine whether the similarity of municipalities in terms of migration behaviour is statistically significant or random. Additionally, the juxtaposition of the results with the conclusions drawn from the literature search also allowed for comparison with traditional methods of studying migration processes.

The idea of sustainable development is recognised as a basic concept for the development of communes. Its essence is based on the balance and sustainability of its three basic dimensions, namely social, economic and environmental. From the point of view of shaping the further development of territorial units, it therefore seems important to examine possible imbalances between the various dimensions, since it is recognised that sustainable development can only be achieved if there is a balance between them. The aim of the article is to identify the dominant dimension of sustainable development in rural and urban-rural communes in Poland. Special emphasis was placed on presenting differences in the distribution of these dimensions between units with a high share of protected areas (at least 50% of the area) and other units. The level of development of communes in individual dimensions was determined using the TOPSIS method based on statistical data made available in the CSO Local Data Bank for 2019. The analysis showed that there were disproportions in the level of development of communes in individual dimensions and in the spatial distribution of the dominant dimensions. Large differences were observed between the eastern and western parts of the country. Throughout Poland, the environmental dimension most often prevailed, followed by the economic dimension and least often by the social dimension. In the case of communes with a high share of protected areas, it was the environmental dimension, while in the case of the rest of the communes, it was the economic dimension. The study also showed a low correlation between the level of development of the communes in the economic dimension and the share of protected areas. However, there was no linear relationship between the share of protected areas and the level of development of the communes in other dimensions.

The implementation of autonomous vehicles in cities is the future that is now and will change the urban landscape, although it is associated with a number of ethical, social, technical, and economic dilemmas. Additionally, the problem of designing and transforming public spaces with the application of AV is a huge challenge for contemporary urban planning. The following will change: mobility, transport accessibility, space functionality, places for recreation or using micromobility. Conscious identification of significant changes in the city related to the implementation of AV and preparation for the redesign of a part of the city infrastructure provides greater opportunities for the safe coexistence of AV, normal vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. An attempt was made to identify important research aspects and international trends in urban transformation in the context of the application of AV. The aim of this research is to determine what the main areas of impact of the introduction of AVs in urban transformation are. The types of autonomous vehicles dedicated to public transport were identified as well as the general characteristics of the solutions implemented around the world. The above research can be used to create a design, and then test and implement the above activities related to the safe use of the areas served by AV, taking into account the new civilization needs. Research will have an implementation value and may form the basis for further considerations on the impact of AV on the urban transformation of the city.

The article presents ways to use renewable sources of energy in the 19th and early 20th century in the Zagożdżonka River basin (left tributary of the Vistula River). The river basin is located in central Poland, in the south of the Mazowieckie Province Physico-geo- -graphically, it is located within three mesoregions: the Vistula Central Valley, the Kozienice Plain, the Radom Plain. The aim of the study is to reconstruct the location of the renewable energy source receivers. Special attention was paid to the terrain conditions and settlement network. Archival sources were used to perform detailed analyses. The most important sources include archival maps: Topographic Chart of the Kingdom of Poland, Karte des westlichen Rußlands, the tactical map of WIG, The Geographic Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and Other Slavic Countries. Thanks to GIS tools, it was possible to reconstruct the location of linear (watercourses), surface (mill ponds, forests), and point objects – water wheels and windmills. Several spatial analyses (density of water wheels and windmills, geomorphological position, density changes) were performed using GIS software. The wind potential (Wind Effect) was also calculated, to which the location of windmills was related. The population density in the water basin was reconstructed, which gave a picture of the socio-economic space. The results of the analyses indicate the dynamic development of milling in the 19th and early 20th century. The reconstruction of the then existing settlement network provided a basis for relating the location of mills to the socio-economic conditions in the river basin. The highest densities of mills were found near the largest towns, e.g. Kozienice, Czarnolas, and Policzna.

Research on the spatial distribution of high technology industries has been the subject of geographers’ studies for a long time. However, in recent years there has been a lack of analyses in Poland which would allow to determine the spatio-temporal variability of advanced economic activities and to verify the determinants of their occurrence. On the basis of GUS data and variables describing transport accessibility, principal component and regression analyses were carried out to identify the location factors of the high-tech industry at the local (commune) level. It is still significantly concentrated in the areas of large cities. Nevertheless, the number of enterprises of the analysed industries in suburban areas increases significantly, which indicates the processes of economic suburbanisation of advanced economic activities. Unfortunately, apart from historically shaped centre of the high technology industry and limited number of new centres, the analysed industries do not develop in medium and small towns and their surroundings. Due to strong emigration, underdeveloped human capital and insufficient transport accessibility, high technology industries have so far generally not appeared in non-metropolitan areas, too. The analysed high-tech industries are concentrated in areas with high values of the entrepreneurship index, high living standards and relatively good transport accessibility. The key variable determining the development of the analysed industries is the situation on the labour market, both in terms of the level of professional activity of the population, the sought-after qualifications of the staff, as well as the level of inter-firm mobility of the staff.

This article raises the issue of potential possibilities for an establishment of the district with the capital in Miastko, which is the town of ten thousand residents, located in Bytów district. Miastko was already a capital of the unit in the past, but this function was not restored in 1999 or later. Based on assumptions from the period of shaping the current administrative division and the functions of the centres in the rank of the capital of the district, distinguished in the literature, in confrontation with the contemporary role of Miastko in the settlement network and its range and strength of functional and spatial relations with surroundings, the level of provision of services for the local community (including administration) was determined as well as the strength of connections between this centre and the surrounding communes. For the purposes of the article, the indicator of communication linkages was constructed, which was used as one of the measures of the size of functional connections between neighbouring communes and Miastko. All the considerations are set in the context of the demographic potential of the possible unit and the regional distinctiveness of the Middle Pomerania, including administratively as the Middle Pomerania Province. The undertaking of this topic is related to the constant need to discuss the shape of the administrative division in Poland and the willingness of the scientific community to formulate recommendations for decision makers in this regard.