Przestrzenna analiza poziomu komponentów rozwoju zrównoważonego i ocena stopnia ich zrównoważenia na obszarach wiejskich Zielonych Płuc Polski

The main aim of the study is centred on defining a synthetic indicator for the evaluation of substantial development components, followed by examining the degree of their sustainability. The main issues of the paper include the following questions: What is the spatial distribution of the level of substantial development components? and What is the sustainability degree of those com- ponents? Spatial range of the analysis covers the compact area of the Green Lungs of Poland (341 local government units), NTS level 5, with the exception of urban areas. Such delineating of the area posed a problem in the choice of variables that would describe the issue undertaken in the paper, since the methodology employed for collection of data from all units participating in the study had to be unified. Multiple aspects presented by the subject of the research enforced the use of diverse data sources. Time period covers the years 2002-2006. The analysis of the level of substantial development components consisted in building three synthetic measures for each aspect (environmental, economic and social) separately. The environ- mental aspect defines condition of the environment and consists of three subcomponents, each of which is characterised by some empirical indicators. The framework for the set of environmental indicators is outlined by the PSR model (pressure-state-response). The economic component includes characterisation of economic structure of municipalities done through analysis of agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, as well as characterisation of the labour market and level of wealth within local government units. Further aggregates comprise social aspects (includ- ing characteristics of human and social resources, and living conditions). The collected material was subject to range standardization: the values of each variable were contained within the range [0,1]. This has made them relatively comparable to each other. A non- reference method of standardized sums has been employed for the evaluation of the development level of each of the components. Obtaining synthetic indicators for evaluation of the development of the three components within municipalities was made possible by the application of multi- criteria taxonomy method. Next, the analysed territorial units were grouped into classes of similar level of development. An ordering relation was introduced among the selected classes, describing which units fit better or worse within the assumed criteria of rural area development. The next stage of the study, where the sustainability level of the development components was evaluated, was based on a prepared parametric equation algorithm and general and intercept equations of a plane. The values of synthetic variables obtained for separate municipalities in the previous stage described the location of development points in three appropriate spatial dimen- sions (3D) – environmental, economic and social. As a result of a normalization process, the space was limited to the first quarter of the coordinate system and all objects-municipalities were placed within the range of [0,1]. With a given dispersion of objects in space, the task was to find a plane that reflected "the ideal level of sustainability of those components" and arrange the units accord- ing to their proximity to the ideal state. A "super line" was introduced as a plane of reference that reflects this "ideal level of sustainability". The distance of every point from the "super line", ad- justed to the location of each component in the set is the evaluation of the level of sustainability of those components. The main generalizations presented by the study: 1/ the highest level of economic and social development is displayed by rural areas of suburban municipalities (center-suburbs arrangement); 2/ municipalities displaying highly developed environmental component are characterized by a high degree of development sustainability (quasi-ideal proportion of components); 3/ a quintile of the lowest-sustainability units comprise 90% of municipalities where there are no NATURA 2000 network areas. 4/ the higher the level of development component sustainability, the higher the attractiveness of natural environment and its preservation and the lower the level of living conditions.