The need for a dwelling is one of the basic needs of every human being. The housing policy, which belongs to one of the pillars of the social policy of the state, is responsible for satisfying this need. It is carried both at the central and local level. The report aims to show the evolution of this policy in Poland from 1989, when the burden of providing housing to the society was largely shifted to the private sector, to the present times, when the state is starting to take action to solve the problem of housing shortages for the less prosperous part of society. First, housing resources are characterized in terms of their ownership and function. Then, the housing policy, its objectives and instruments are described in theoretical terms. The competences of communes in the fi eld of housing economy are characterised in further part. The diagnosis of housing condition in Poland is presented in the regional context and compared to other countries. The last parts of the report deal with the assessment of housing policy in Poland after 1989 on the national and local level. Based on this assessment, recommendations have been made regarding the directions of activities at the local and supra-local level in the area of improving the condition of housing in Poland. Special emphasis in recommendations is placed on the need for an integrated approach to the implementation of housing policy.

Homeownership rates are very different across European countries. They range from below 50% in Germany to over 80% in Greece, Spain or Ireland. However the differences lie not only in the overall homeownership rates but also in its structure, and this is the focus of this paper. Its aim is to study the impact of microeconomic factors on household’s tenure choice, using a crosscountry comparative approach. Logit models are constructed for each country using data for year 2000 from the Consortium of Household Panels for European Socio-Economic Research micro-database. The models show that marriage is a significant determinant of the decision to move to homeownership in all analysed countries, while cohabitating households are more likely to rent, except for Denmark. Nationality, income and age proved to be significant explanatory variables in several countries, while staying insignificant in others.

The text comprises the evaluation of relationship between the qualitative planning tools and the Irish housing policy in the pre-crisis period, during the crisis (2009-2013) and the recovery. The tools that affect housing are understood as spatial planning, including governmental regulations on densification of the development and the housing quality as well as the special tools such as the urban design. Those regulatory tools were deployed with aims to safeguard the sustainable and socially viable housing structures. The Irish case illustrates the considerable innovation in introducing new housing standards and challenges with their efficiency. This can be attributed to the lack of integration with other elements that shaped the market – financing and actions of the private market, low efficiency of planning or the lack of the scale effect for the model developments. Despite their drawbacks these tools are continuously being used, as their foundational principles are still valid.

In the article the question about the issue of beauty and energy in Polish architecture is considered in the context of experience in the design of buildings and housing estates collected in the last twenty years by the Warsaw studio Grupa 5 Architekci. The conceptual, urban and architectural assumptions are illustrated by three examples representative of different, key problem issues.

As a result of introduction of the Directive 2010/31/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 2010 on the energy performance of buildings, all of the EU member states are obliged to introduce legal regulations for energy performance of all newly constructed buildings. The key aim is to achieve close to zero energy use starting from the year 2021. Estimating effectiveness of the actions and the new possibilities requires an analysis of the multiple criteria. They comprise both the current conditions as well as the changes that have occurred in the recent years due to new legislation, the eff ects of the subsidies and the development of the housing stock. This paper presents a broad overview and diagnosis of current situation. The development of the energy-efficient and passive housing in Poland is considered in the context of financial incentives, availability of design knowledge and building technology as well as the role of the green building certification.

Housing resources as an element of material infrastructure determine socio-economic development on a local, regional and national scale. Their economic and physical accessibility affects the development of human, social and relational capital, determines the competitiveness of the territory and can be seen as a generator of income both in the individual sense and in relation to the whole society. The article has a theoretical character and its aim is to identify the relationship between satisfying the housing needs of local communities and the development of territorial capital. The article also analyzes factors that allow the qualification of housing resources as a strategic resource for the development of a territory.

Like other harbour cities in Europe, Lisbon has an axial development anchored in pre-existing confi gurations which dot from east, more industrial areas, to the west, a more monumental and urban type. The diversity of fabrics and the overlapping of various time layers become decoded through a functional specialization infrastructural line, which, from rural, becomes increasingly infrastructured as part of the on-going reinvention of the city of Lisbon.

This paper describes an analysis of the effects of both foreign exchange (FX) risk and interest rate risk on installments of the housing FX loan using classic comparative statics approach. By focusing on sensitivity of annuity with respect to infinitesimal changes of parameters it presents the impact of the interest rate and FX rate on installments in terms of their shares of the total outstanding in foreign currency, and illustrates using values, in Polish zlotys, for three example loans extended during the period when Poland saw its most intensive FX lending. This analysis represents an attempt to answer a question frequently raised in this country of late: does the issue of debt servicing housing FX loans matter for borrowers and therefore could affect banks’ loan portfolio quality?

In this study we evaluate the distortion of the ratio of non-performing loans (NPL) caused by rapid credit growth to show that the bias in this ratio (caused by the prolonged credit boom) may indeed be significant. Next, we discuss an adjustment to the NPL ratio based on a theoretical model of a loan portfolio. This adjustment is robust for credit booms and busts; therefore, it can be used to compare credit quality ratios across distinct portfolios and banks as well as to simulate future NPL ratio developments. Our estimates of the portfolio of housing loans in Poland show that the new adjusted index of non-performing loans is robust to different model specifications.

In the paper, the authors present the solution aimed at increasing reliability of the conveyor units. The analysis of technological and operational defects of conveyor rollers is presented. The changes in manufacturing technology have been proposed, which allowed for avoiding welding and provided the required level of tightness.

Computer simulation of the motion of air in the labyrinth seal of the roller was conducted to determine the numerical parameters of possible airflows. It is proved that the airflow is present in the gap of the labyrinth seal due to the roller rotation. It is shown that the reason for the penetration of abrasive particles through the labyrinth seal after stopping is decompression, which occurred as a result of temperature change and push out of airflows during rotation. It is also suggested that the number of stops during the operation should be taken into account when determining the durability of rollers. Practical recommendations are given for preventing the penetration of abrasive particles during conveyor stops and the need for combined seals. The results can be used for the construction of roller conveyor belts in any industry.

Contemporary challenges related to rapid urbanization, migration, deepening inequalities and climate change inspire to contemplate the future of dwelling. The article aims to present particular solutions in housing that use advantages created by the relation to the water. The aquatic neighbourhoods become a field of experience for residential architecture, where traditional systems are enriched with new elements and solutions. Some of these solutions can be brought back to the sys-tem and improve the overall catalogue of answers for the development of traditional dwelling.

The analysis discusses contemporary housing projects 1998–2005 and includes: the program overview, basic numerical parameters, accessibility details and relation to the context. Current water-related examples are accompanied by a reference to standard solutions developed in the modern era. All presented designs use traditional components of dwelling program, grouping day zone elements and separate them from private spaces. In basic parameters development is visible in bigger areas of living space. In terms of accessibility housing on or close to water gives new opportunities, as well as in relation to the context.

The paper presents research on different types of dwelling located by the water, with particular emphasis on functional and architectural advantages, which may be used to improve contemporary housing models. The proposed guidelines can be used in further studies on housing typologies in aim to develop more open and flexible spatial layouts.

Villa architecture after 1914 comprises a diverse and extensive group of buildings. The lack of a system of valuating them leads to their analyses being a time-consuming and complex process. Their justification can refer primarily to architectural and urban planning tendencies, including: the impact on the space of previously built estates, the assessment of the quality of their architecture in the landscape context and the continuity of design traditions, contemporary interventions associated with renovation work. The protection of villas from the interwar period, appears to be particularly important. Their cultural value and the quality of the landscape, that they co-create with their accompanying gardens is highly significant to the identity of the city.