Metadata language
The availability and accessibility of green urban areas in Toruń, Poland. Towards a biophilic city
Subtitle:Geographia Polonica Vol. 99 No. 3 (2026)
Creator:
Rogatka, Krzysztof
:
Autor
;
Kowalski, Mateusz
:
Autor
biophilic city ; urban greenery ; availability ; accessibility ; GIS ; Toruń ; Poland
Abstract:
Cities worldwide are confronting numerous problems and challenges that affect the human-nature relationship in urban spaces. The biophilic city concept, proposed by T. Beatley, is a response to improving the quality of life in cities and creating a lasting connection between people and nature. A biophilic city is a place immersed in nature, where residents do not visit nature but live within it. It is therefore a city with good availability and accessibility to green urban areas (GUAs). The aim of the study is to identify the availability (area share) and accessibility of GUAs in Toruń (Poland). We carried out (1) geospatial analyses through which we examined the availability (% area share) of GUAs in the area of city and its 20 urban planning units – UPUs (the threshold value of the indicator was set at 30%); (2) network geospatial analyses; through which we analysed the accessibility of GUAs in Toruń – the share of the 300-metre zone in the area of the city and individual UPUs (the threshold value of the indicator was 50% after excluding the green areas themselves from the area of the city and UPUs). The analyses conducted indicate that a high level of availability does not always translate into the same level of accessibility. The research also shows that, on a citywide scale, Toruń meets the assumptions set out in the article, i.e., records indicators above the established thresholds. However, the city should take action at the individual UPU level to reduce disparities across different parts of the city. The actions should take into account local and even micro-local conditions.
Andrusaityte, S., Grazuleviciene, R., Kudzyte, J., Bernotiene, A., Dedele, A., & Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J. (2016). Associations between neighbourhood greenness and asthma in preschool children in Kaunas, Lithuania: A case-control study. BMJ Open, 6(4). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2015-010341
Barucka, E. (2014). W szkatułach zieleni: europejski ruch miast ogrodów 1903-1930. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
Beatley, T. (2011). Biophilic cities: Integrating nature into urban design and planning. Island Press. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-59726-986-5
Beatley, T. (2016). Handbook of Biophilic City Planning & Design. Island Press. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-621-9
Berg, A. E. Van Den, & Custers, M. H. G. (2011). Gardening promotes neuroendocrine and affective restoration from stress. Journal of Health Psychology, 16(1), 3-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105310365577
Capaldi, C. A., Dopko, R. L., & Zelenski, J. M. (2014). The relationship between nature connectedness and happiness: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00976
Chmielewski, J. M. (2016). Teoria i praktyka planowania przestrzennego: urbanistyka Europy. Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Warszawskiej.
Czapiewska, A. (2017). Interpretacje koncepcji miasta ogrodu Ebenezera Howarda. Neuropsychiatria. Przeglad Kliniczny, 9(1), 24-28.
Davies, W. K. D. (2015). Theme cities: Solutions for urban problems (Vol. 112). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9655-2
European Environmental Agency (2021). EEA geospatial data catalogue Urban Atlas Land Cover/Land Use 2018 (vector), Europe, 6-yearly, Jul. 2021.
Fromm, E. (1973). The anatomy of human destructiveness. Macmillan.
Fuller, R. A., & Gaston, K. J. (2009). The scaling of green space coverage in European cities. Biology Letters, 5(3), 352-355. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0010
Gorzelany, J., Noszczyk, T., Kukulska-Kozieł, A., & Hernik, J. (2023). Urban green spaces management during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experiences from Kraków, Poland. Land Degradation and Development, 34(2), 423-440. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4469
Grahn, P., & Stigsdotter, U. A. (2003). Landscape planning and stress. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 2(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1078/1618-8667-00019
GUGiK (2021). Rozporządzenie Ministra Rozwoju, Pracy i Technologii z dnia 27 lipca 2021 r. w sprawie bazy danych obiektów topograficznych oraz bazy danych obiektów ogólnogeograficznych, a także standardowych opracowań kartograficznych (Dz.U. 2021 poz. 1412) [Regulation of the Minister of Development, Labour and Technology of 27 July 2021 on the database of topographic objects and the database of general geographical objects, as well as standard cartographic studies (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 1412)].
GUGiK (2024). Geoportal. https://www.geoportal.gov.pl/
Gupta, K., Roy, A., Luthra, K., Maithani, S., & Mahavir. (2016). GIS based analysis for assessing the accessibility at hierarchical levels of urban green spaces. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 18, 198-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2016.06.005
GUS (2024). Local Data Bank of Statistics Poland. https://bdl.stat.gov.pl/bdl/start
Hall, P. (2014). Cities of tomorrow: An intellectual history of urban planning and design since 1880. John Wiley & Sons.
Joye, Y., & De Block, A. (2011). "Nature and I are two": A critical examination of the biophilia hypothesis. Environmental Values, 20(2), 189-215. https://doi.org/10.3197/096327111x12997574391724
Kabisch, N., Strohbach, M., Haase, D., & Kronenberg, J. (2016). Urban green space availability in European cities. Ecological Indicators, 70, 586-596. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.029
Karwińska, A. (2008). Gospodarka przestrzenna. Uwarunkowania społeczno-kulturowe. Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe.
Kasińska, L., & Sieniawska-Kuras, A. (2009). Architektura krajobrazu dla każdego. Krosno: Wydawnictwo i Handel Książkami "KaBe".
Kellert, S. R., & Wilson, E. O. (1995). The Biophilia Hypothesis. Island Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.40831413
Klein, R., Willberg, E., Korpilo, S., & Toivonen, T. (2024). Temporal variation in travel greenery across 86 cities in Europe. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 102, 128566. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.UFUG.2024.128566
Konijnendijk, C. (2021). The 3-30-300 rule for urban forestry and greener cities. Biophilic Cities Journal, 4(2), 2.
Kowalski, M. (2026). Wybrane założenia koncepcji miasta biofilnego - perspektywa mieszkańców Torunia. Przegląd Geograficzny, 98(1), 59-105. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2026.1.4
Krčmářová, J. (2009). EO Wilson's concept of biophilia and the environmental movement in the USA. Klaudyán: Internet Journal of Historical Geography and Environmental History, 6(1-2), 4-17.
Kronenberg, J., Haase, A., Łaszkiewicz, E., Antal, A., Baravikova, A., Biernacka, M., … & Onose, D. A. (2020). Environmental justice in the context of urban green space availability, accessibility, and attractiveness in postsocialist cities. Cities, 106, 102862. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CITIES.2020.102862
Kukulska-Kozieł, A., Noszczyk, T., Gorzelany, J., & Młocek, W. (2024). Greenery in times of crisis: Accessibility, residents' travel preferences and the impact of travel time. Land Use Policy, 141, 107130. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LANDUSEPOL.2024.107130
Loures, L., Santos, R., & Panagopoulos, T. (2007). Urban parks and sustainable city planning-The case of Portimão, Portugal. Population, 15(10), 171-180.
Mazurski, K. R. (2012). Pojęcie krajobrazu i jego ocena. In Mijające Krajobrazy Polski. Dolny Śląsk. Krajobraz Dolnośląski Kalejdoskopem Jest (pp. 11-18). Wydawnictwo Proksenia.
McEachan, R. R. C., Prady, S. L., Smith, G., Fairley, L., Cabieses, B., Gidlow, C., … & Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J. (2016). The association between green space and depressive symptoms in pregnant women: Moderating roles of socioeconomic status and physical activity. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 70(3), 253-259. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2015-205954
Oh, K., & Jeong, S. (2007). Assessing the spatial distribution of urban parks using GIS. Landscape and Urban Planning, 82(1-2), 25-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.01.014
OpenStreetMap Wiki. (2026). Accuracy. https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Accuracy
Orians, G. H., & Heerwagen, J. H. (1992). Evolved responses to landscapes. In J. H. Barkow, L. Cosmides, & J. Tooby (Eds.), The adapted mind: Evolutionary psychology and the generation of culture (pp. 555-579). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195060232.003.0016
Pastor, A. B., Canniffe, E., & Rosa Jiménez, C. J. (2023). Learning from Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City: Garden cities' policies for the development of existing settlements in the contemporary world. Land Use Policy, 132, 106759. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LANDUSEPOL.2023.106759
Przewoźna, P., Inglot, A., Mielewczyk, M., Maczka, K., & Matczak, P. (2024). Accessibility to urban green spaces: A critical review of WHO recommendations in the light of tree-covered areas assessment. Ecological Indicators, 166, 112548. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ECOLIND.2024.112548
Rogatka, K., & Ribeiro, R. R. R. (2015). A compact city and its social perception: A case study. Urbani Izziv, 26(1), 121-131. https://doi.org/10.5379/urbani-izziv-en-2015-26-01-005
Rogatka, K., Środa-Murawska, S., Biegańska, J., Grzelak-Kostulska, E., & Chodkowska-Miszczuk, J. (2015). Środowisko przyrodnicze a planowanie przestrzenne. Nierówności Społeczne a Wzrost Gospodarczy, 43(3), 302-312. https://doi.org/10.15584/nsawg.2015.3
Rogatka, K., Kowalski, M., Starczewski, T., & Masoumi, H. (2025). Biophilia in Polish spa towns from spatial planning perspective. European Planning Studies, 33(7), 1104-1127. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2025.2488339
Senetra, A., Krzywnicka, I., & Mielke, M. (2018). An analysis of the spatial distribution, influence and quality of urban green space - a case study of the Polish city of Tczew. Bulletin of Geography. Socio-Economic Series, 42(42), 129-149. https://doi.org/10.2478/bog-2018-0035
Shanahan, D. F., Franco, L., Lin, B. B., Gaston, K. J., & Fuller, R. A. (2016). The benefits of natural environments for physical activity. Sports Medicine, 46(7), 989-995. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0502-4
Starczewski, T., Rogatka, K., Kukulska-Kozieł, A., Noszczyk, T., & Cegielska, K. (2023). Urban green resilience: Experience from post-industrial cities in Poland. Geoscience Frontiers, 14(4), 101560. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.GSF.2023.101560
Municipal Office of Toruń (2018). The concept of development of green areas in Toruń.
Ulrich, R. S. (1983). Aesthetic and affective response to natural environment. In Behavior and the natural environment (pp. 85-125). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3539-9_4
Ulrich, R. S. (1984). View through a window may influence recovery from surgery. Science, 224(4647), 420-421. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.6143402
UN-Habitat. (2022). World Cities Report 2022: Envisaging the Future of Cities. https://doi.org/10.18356/9789210028592
Warchalska-Troll, A., & Pistelok, P. (Eds.). (2023). Zieleń w centrach polskich miast. Stan, Funkcje i Wyzwania. Badania Obserwatorium Polityki Miejskiej, Instytut Rozwoju Miast i Regionów. https://doi.org/10.51733/opm.2023.11
Wilson, E. O. (1986). Biophilia. Harvard University Press.
Woźniak, M., Radzimski, A., & Wajchman-Świtalska, S. (2025). Is more always better? Evaluating accessibility to parks and forests in 33 European cities using sustainable modes of transportation. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128656
Yokohari, M., & Amati, M. (2005). Nature in the city, city in the nature: Case studies of the restoration of urban nature in Tokyo, Japan and Toronto, Canada. Landscape and Ecological Engineering, 1(1), 53-59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11355-005-0012-2
Zhong, W., Schröder, T., & Bekkering, J. (2022). Biophilic design in architecture and its contributions to health, well-being, and sustainability: A critical review. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 11(1), 114-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FOAR.2021.07.006
Zwierzchowska, I., & Lupa, P. (2021). Providing contact with nature for young generation - A case study of preschools in the City of Poznań, Poland. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 65, 127346. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.UFUG.2021.127346
0016-7282 (print) ; 2300-7362 (online) ; 10.7163/GPol.0334
Source:CBGiOS. IGiPZ PAN, call nos.: Cz.2085, Cz.2173, Cz.2406 ; click here to follow the link
Language: Language of abstract: Rights:Creative Commons Attribution BY 4.0 license
Terms of use:Copyright-protected material. [CC BY 4.0] May be used within the scope specified in Creative Commons Attribution BY 4.0 license, full text available at: ; -
Digitizing institution:Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Original in: Projects co-financed by:European Union. European Regional Development Fund ; Programme Innovative Economy, 2010-2014, Priority Axis 2. R&D infrastructure
Access: