World is constantly developing, and new technologies that improve our life are being introduced. One of them was a car which is still present in urban spaces. The driver became the dominant traffic user. Urban interiors are overwhelmed by parking spaces which are present everywhere around. Without them the city could not function, having to adopt constantly increasing number of vehicles.

Paying attention to a healthy, clean environment, free from pollution and noise, makes it worth considering whether there is an alternative to the car in urban space? What changes brings the idea of sustainable transport in a city free of private vehicles? Problematic aspects were discussed on the basis of three significant examples: Oslo, San Francisco, as well as Masdar City.

The article is devoted to the study of the role of Art-clusters in the urban environment, their functions, and main directions connected with their planning. Art-clusters are a modern type of objects that actively influence the transformation of the urban space. The article presents the examples of Art-clusters in different countries. The main urban planning features of placing Art-clusters in the urban environment and a specific set of functions are identified. Based on the analysis of the dif­ferent Art-clusters, a list of the most characteristic functions has been determined.

Today art is not confined to exhibits enclosed in museums. The contemporary image of the city is co-created by colourful murals and graffiti. They are saturated with information and meaning, and thanks to their egalitarianism and ever-presence in public space—everybody becomes affected by them. They can bestow a persuasive function upon urban space, in which information intensely resonates. Murals, using architecture like a canvas, constitute smart, contemporary details in space. Apart from an aestheticising function, they convey information and meanings, entering into relationships with residents. The author investigated various complexes of murals of selected cities and made an attempt at categorising the causes of their creation.

Significant development of monastic construction in the Naddnipryanshchyna (the Dnipro Ukraine), Livoberezhzhia (the Left-bank Ukraine) and Slobozhanshchyna (Sloboda Ukraine) during the time of the Hetmanate had a solid socio-political background, the main of which was the liberation from the national and religious oppression and the formation of statehood. The economic conditions were no less important. The economic power of the monasteries allowed to rebuild the ancient monasteries, which already had brick buildings, rebuilt the ancient monasteries that were entirely wooden to the masonry ones.

The subject of the formation of stone building on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in the 17th -18th centuries is of ex­ceptional interest for research, as it is the only architectural ensemble, united by unique monuments, which has no analogues in the Ukrainian architecture.

The starting point for the reflections in this article is the reference to the manner of shaping the structures of ideal cities to­gether with their infrastructure in relation to the needs of the inhabitants of a given time. Defining a smart city, by providing its important features, will help to identify significant changes that should be taken into account and made in the structure of creating, shaping and functioning of cities in Poland. Based on the reflections presented in the article, the issue of intelligent cities will be introduced. Moreover, based on the given examples and technical solutions, assumptions will be made which can later be used in the planning and urban planning process of Polish cities. The purpose of this publication is to notice the necessary changes that should be carried out in the process of shaping and functioning of the city.

AR technology makes it possible to compare dynamic 3D models with a real-world physical context. The technology has been readily accessible to the wider public since 2015, thus constituting a new and dynamically developing field with significant—in the authors’ opinion—potential for all participants of the construction process. The article familiarises readers with the main principles of the technology’s operation and discusses the tools that it employs. Three main methods of generating 3D models were analysed and their potential for evaluating architectural conceptual proposals in reference to urban context was discussed.

Artificial light, which thanks to new technologies gives us more and more possibilities of enriching and transforming the appearance of the space, unlike the natural and fire light can be recognised as a certain type of pollution of the natural environment. Light pollution seems to be an unavoidable effect of the contemporary urbanisation, hence the need of its effective control, in creative, economic, as well as ecological terms.

Arup is one of companies that try to organise and reconcile the currently undertaken measures with the consequences suffered so far. It has but one goal: synergy of advanced technologies and pro-environmental activity. Due to overillumination in cities, light pollution, and excessive energy consumption at night, Arup started to develop the tactics aimed to turn down the light in the urban space.

Respect for the existing architecture and adjustment of the applied solutions to the existing microclimate of the environment consti­tute ones of the main drivers of success of projects implemented by Arup.

The article deals with the problem of increasing demand for modular buildings as an answer to the construction industry’s current situation and challenges of build environment. The case studies refer to the hospitality and student living sector. The author addresses the following question regarding the near future of the modular construction industry: How would it reflect on urban space, living space and the whole attitude toward modular construction issues? What is the role of the architect during the design-build process? Is it possible to make references to “beauty” in a modular construction context?

The dynamic development of information systems affects the ongoing socio-economic changes, shaping the possibilities of modern management also in the sphere of spatial development.

Against this background, the presented study attempted to answer the question of how the described civilizational progress affects the framework of the functioning spatial policy of Polish municipalities. The study was confined to matters associated with contemporary information transfer and its effects on public involvement in the process of spatial planning, as well as on the legal awareness of municipal government personnel in their individually applied spatial policy.

In light of the collected results, a significant discrepancy was diagnosed between the contemporary IT potential and actual measures taken by municipal governments, leading to the disintegration of planning processes and social conflicts. The work features an outline of proposed necessary reparative measures.

The article familiarises readers with straw-bale technology and justifies the necessity of conducting broad education efforts in this field. The example of a student’s diploma design project shows the possibilities offered by natural construction and points to benefits to health and well­-being, as well as the environment. Apart from discussing the aspect of environmental protection, it also focuses on the economic and social aspect. It is thus in line with sustainable development.