We cordially invite you to read the latest special edition of the MAZOVIA Regional Studies, Special Edition 2025, published entirely in English. It is a review of the most interesting articles from the past year, prepared with an intent to promote the periodical abroad.

In this issue you will find captivating studies on aviation security in the context of national security, health care system functioning, as well as ecology and nature.

We bid you a pleasant reading experience.

In this issue:

The dilemmas of healthcare system functioning under conditions of the civilizational turning pointAviation clusters and state and regional securityGolden algae (“killer algae”) as a threat to Poland’s economy and natureModernisation of the Japanese garden in Silesian Park in Chorzów – case studyReport from 10th Baltic–Adriatic Transport Corridor Forum (19 to 20 October 2023)22nd European Week of Regions and Cities, Brussels 2024

Spatial Science Colloquium 2025, Berlin

A representative of the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw took part in Spatial Science Colloquium 2025, which took place in Berlin on 26–27 June 2025. It is a recurring event organised by Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography (Leibniz-Institut für Länderkunde), a German research centre focusing on regional geography. This year’s edition, titled Excessive change? New departures and old contradictions in socio-ecological transformation, pertained to transformation towards sustainable and climate-neutral development.

The conference brought together representatives from the worlds of science, public administration, planners and social activists. The main speakers were: Dirk Messner, President of the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt); Anna Lisa Boni, Deputy Mayor of Bologna for EU Funds and Climatic Mission 2030; and Andreas Novy, Professor of Socio-economy at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, co-author of the Second Austrian Assessment Report on Climate Change (AAR2) – a comprehensive scientific paper on climate change in Austria.

The conference focused on the thesis that the current progress of the transformation is unsatisfactory. Attempts were made to identify the barriers behind this. The social dimension of the transformation process was strongly emphasised by analysing social trends and political environment, challenges related to radicalisation of views, populism and disinformation. In this context, the need to change the narrative was emphasised in order to reach communities for whom climate issues are not a priority, but with whom it is possible to build a dialogue rooted in a real context and focused on universal values.Attending the conference was an opportunity to learn about the progress and barriers Europe is facing on the path to the transformation. All speeches shared understanding of the need to take action in the face of climate change, but also agreed that the scale of the challenges had initially been underestimated. The initial assumptions require revision so that they better respond to social needs, taking into account the local context and emotions. These are certainly universal conclusions worth considering in the process of shaping development policy.

Representatives of the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw took part in the annual meeting of the PLUS Change project partners, which this year took place on 13–15 May in Riga. The aim of the event is to integrate the partners and strengthen cooperation between them, assess progress and plan the next actions.

The first day included a workshop to identify the opportunities and benefits of study visits between practice cases. It was pointed out that both host and guests could obtain useful knowledge, experience and contacts from them. The day ended with a visit to the Kaigu peat bog, during which representatives of the peat extraction company discussed the importance of peat bogs in Latvia, peat extraction, the environmental challenges of peat extraction and the prospect of development of the area after the extraction is finished towards the zone of innovation and clean industry.

For the second day, a workshop was planned aimed at broadening partners’ knowledge on the actions of other project participants and sharing thoughts as to their needs and expectations, as a result of which it was decided to put more effort into the dissemination of the project deliverables and their implementation. In the afternoon, a trial simulation was carried out using the backcasting method to define the goal, identify obstacles to it and find solutions to achieve it. This simulation, once suitably tailored, is to be carried out by each practice case among the stakeholders.

On the third day, tools for creating and publishing maps and managing spatial data, which may be used by decision-makers in regional development planning, were presented. The next session included a presentation of the conclusions of a meta-analysis-based sociological study on the change of behavioural pattern. The final session was conducted in the spirit of dissemination and exploitation of project deliverables and identification of synergies with other projects.

More information on the project is available on the below websites.

PLUS Change: https://pluschange.eu/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/plus-change-project?trk=public_profile_experience-item_profile-section-card_subtitle-clickX: https://x.com/PLUSChangeEUInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluschangeproject/

Representatives of the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw took part in a conference titled ‘Mazovia in numbers – perspectives and challenges’, organised by the Marshal’s Office of the Mazovian Province in Warsaw and Statistical Office in Warsaw on 21 May 2025. The list of participants included representatives of self-governments and public institutions, experts analysing the socio-economic processes of the region, as well as representatives of scientific community. The meeting addressed the current socio-economic processes and challenges, which are standing before the self-governments of the Mazovian Province in a context of global trends.

The conference was opened by Ms. Agnieszka Ajdyn, Director of the Statistical Office in Warsaw and – on behalf of the Marshall of the Mazovian Province – Ms. Elżbieta Kozubek, Ph.D., Director of the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw. Thereafter, Mr. Tomasz Zegar, Deputy Director of the Statistical Office in Warsaw, presented detailed statistical data on the Mazovian Province, including demographic structure, labour market, education, healthcare and the economic situation of the region. Statistical tools and products developed by the Statistical Office in Warsaw, which may support local self-government units in decision-making, were also presented. These included regional reports, databases and interactive dashboards to analyse the socio-economic situation at a local level.

As an introduction to the second part of the meeting, the conclusions of the demographic forecast for the Mazovian Province until 2060 were presented, which showed that nearly two thirds of the communes in Mazovia will experience a decline in their population, presenting local authorities with new challenges in terms of pursuing development policy. Attention was drawn to the problem of population ageing and internal population migrations, which will significantly affect the planning and implementation of development activities in the long term.

One of the items at the event was an expert debate titled ‘How to live well in the conditions of less numerous, older and more dispersed communities’, moderated by Ms. Monika Stanny, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development, Polish Academy of Sciences, with the following panellists: Mr. Wojciech Dziemianowicz, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the University of Warsaw, Ms. Aneta Kowalewska, Ph.D. (Union of Rural Communes of the Republic of Poland) and Mr. Marcin Wajda, Ph.D. (Marshal’s Office of the Mazovian Province in Warsaw).

The discussion focused on the key challenges and needs of self-governments in the context of current demographic processes. The debaters considered whether it is possible to implement effective instruments to counteract the negative effects of the population ageing and depopulation of many communes, assuming that adequate quality of life is maintained despite dwindling human and financial resources. Particular attention was given to the need to give the problem of the demographic crisis a high priority, both in the sphere of public debate and political actions.

The session, prepared by the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw, focused on changes to the settlement network and spatial demographic transformation in the Mazovian Province since 2000. Attention was drawn to the ongoing process of metropolisation, intensifying polarisation between the urbanised Warsaw Capital Region and the less dynamically developing Mazovian Provincial Region. Ms. Elżbieta Kozubek, Ph.D., Director of the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw, presented the conclusions from the analysis titled ‘Categories of spatial changes in the Mazovian Province’, depicting the diversity of the dynamics of socio-economic development in the local arrangement. The classification of the communes was carried out using the entropy index, which enables the assessment of the degree of complexity and heterogeneity of spatial structures and their changes over time.

The analyses and expert discussions presented at the conference ‘Mazovia in numbers – perspectives and challenges’ contributed to better understanding of the challenges standing before the region and indicated the directions of action necessary for its sustainable development. The event showed that an effective response to the demographic challenges requires a long-term, integrated approach, based on cooperation between all levels of public administration and the expert community, while harnessing the potential of public data as a basis for rational development management.

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