The aim of the paper is to draw attention to risks and challenges faced by the national grid infrastructure both in the area of transmission and distribution. The study presents the characteristics of the network grid in the area of transmission and distribution. The threats concerning the transmission and distribution infrastructure were also discussed. Both the national transmission and the distribution grids are adapted to presently occurring typical conditions of the demand on electricity and to the execution of internal tasks in normal states, but they may pose a potential threat to the security of the energy supplies. In the context of the forecasted future growth of the electricity demand, the insufficient capacity of the National Power System in domestic sources and sources available through interconnections, the uneven distribution of sources and customers with the lack of adequate grid transmission capacity, the necessity to improve the quality and reliability of energy supply to end users and to intensively develop renewable energy sources, the current grid infrastructure in the area of transmission and distribution will be insufficient. It will be necessary to expand and modernize the 400 and 220 kV transmission grid, the 110 kV distribution grid, in large urban agglomerations in particular, the MV distribution grid in rural areas in particular, and to implement investments aimed at increasing the export and import capacities of the National Power System. The paper presents challenges faced by transmission and distribution system operators. They mainly concern the field of investments and the area related to the preparation and implementation of investments in the grid. These challenges result from national legislation which is inappropriate and imposes many legal and administrative barriers substantially limiting the speed and effectiveness of the investment process.

On May 7, 2010 the act dated March 4, 2010 on the spatial information infrastructure was published which transposes the European Parliament and the European Council Directive No 2007/2/WE dated March 14, 2007 established the spatial information infrastructure (INSPIRE) in the European Community. This act introduced basic changes to the binding Act, i.e. the Law of Geodesy and Cartography and, as the consequence, the demand to develop various administrative decrees occurred. The authors of the paper present the analysis of the existing conditions of the cadastre, the task of governmental and public government administration, related to demands concerning the cadastral reforms, following the act on the spatial information infrastructure and they discuss possibilities to perform such reforms at the local and national scales.

Sufficient national fossil resources and an independent water supply system are indispensable elements of the security structure of any state. Energy independence, as a factor in determining self -sufficiency, is now a basic requirement for countries or regions wishing to develop independently and freely. The purpose of this research is to identify the specifics of the European energy strategy in the Central Asian region by considering the basic areas of cooperation between the parties in this sector of the economy. This research paper has been prepared primarily using the following methods: historical, statistical, prognostic, synthesis, comparison and system analysis methods. The research delves into the intricate dynamics of foreign policy activities of European Union members concerning energy resources, particularly in a historical context. Analyzing the collaboration between Brussels and Central Asian nations, both positive and adverse facets of this alliance in the energy domain have been pinpointed. Special attention is paid to the relationship between the European Union and the Republic of Kazakhstan, emphasizing its role within the broader security framework of the region and the continent. The study offers practical recommendations for enhancing state energy strategies and fostering productive bilateral and multilateral energy partnerships.
The results and conclusions of the presented work can be used as a foundation for the development of practical recommendations to establish and improve the energy strategies of the states, and for planning bilateral and multilateral mutually beneficial cooperation in the energy sector.

Circular economy – a new approach in the understanding of the human–environment relationship. The work presented the assumptions of the circular economy as a new concept of the economy functioning with the method of production “from cradle to cradle” constituting the opposition to the commonly used linear economy approach (take, make, dispose). Work discussed also the impact on the quality of human life and the management of environmental resources. Functional assumptions of the circular economy and its territorial dimension were presented, especially in urban areas where the green economy and sharing economy mechanisms are used. The potential for economic growth and the creation of new jobs was also emphasized due to the implementation of circular economy in the EU countries.

Expenditures Related to Technical Infrastructure. The aim of the study is to answer to the question what is the economic (financial) scale of expenditure and local investments related to the technical infrastructure and to what extent the investment processes are correlated with the planning coverage. The study is based on data used in the annual reports of the Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization of the Polish Academy of Sciences on the state of planning work in communes. A detailed analysis of municipal budget expenditures was carried out, demonstrating large diversity of water and sewerage services, road construction and renovation, investment expenditures, etc. The research showed that a significant part of the investment is located outside local plans based on the decision on building conditions. This creates a serious risk of irrationality of spatial management and leads to increase of infrastructure service costs.

One of the important issues concerning development of spatial data infrastructures (SDIs) is the carrying out of economic and financial analysis. It is essential to determine expenses and also assess effects resulting from the development and use of infrastructures. Costs and benefits assessment could be associated with assessment of the infrastructure effectiveness and efficiency as well as the infrastructure value, understood as the infrastructure impact on economic aspects of an organisational performance, both of an organisation which realises an SDI project and all users of the infrastructure. The aim of this paper is an overview of various assessment methods of investment as well as an analysis of different types of costs and benefits used for information technology (IT) projects. Based on the literature, the analysis of the examples of the use of these methods in the area of spatial data infrastructures is also presented. Furthermore, the issues of SDI projects and investments are outlined. The results of the analysis indicate usefulness of the financial methods from different fields of management in the area of SDI building, development and use. The author proposes, in addition to the financial methods, the adaptation of the various techniques used for IT investments and their development, taking into consideration the SDI specificity for the purpose of assessment of different types of costs and benefits and integration of financial aspects with non- financial ones. Among the challenges are identification and quantification of costs and benefits, as well as establishing measures which would fit the characteristics of the SDI project and artefacts resulting from the project realisation. Moreover, aspects of subjectivity and variability in time should be taken into account as the consequences of definite goals and policies as well as business context of organisation undertaking the project or using its artefacts and also investors.

In the paper methods for conducting Road Safety Inspections (SIs) in Italy and Poland are described and compared. The goal of the study is to improve the quality and efficiency of the safety inspections of road network by using low cost equipment (GPS, Tablet, Camera) and specific software. Particular attention was paid to the need for proper calibration of factors, causing traffic safety hazard associated with road infrastructure. The model developed according to the Italian procedures was adapted to comply with the checklists and evaluation criteria of the Polish guidelines. Overall, a good agreement between the two approaches was identified, however some modification was required to include new safety issues, characteristic for the Polish network for safety inspection of two lane rural roads. To test the applicability about 100 km of regional two lane roads in Poland were inspected with Polish and Italian procedures.

In this paper, selected aspects of the national technical level of electric energy supply security is shown. An analysis and assessment of the electric power infrastructure in area of generation, transmission and distribution in aspects of electric energy security is conducted. The profile of the generation sector and grid infrastructure in the area of transmission and distribution is shown. The present and future situation in a range of operation of electric power infrastructure in the area of generation, transmission and distribution in the frames of the National Electric Power System in the electric energy supply security context is determined. The level of national electric energy supply security in area of generation and grid infrastructure is assessed. Threats of electric energy supply security are described and the catalogue of essential actions for the assurance of electric energy supply security are proposed. In the area of electricity generation, at present there is no danger to the electricity supply security in normal load conditions, but there is a high probability that it will occur in the future (after 2025) when the forecasted increase in electricity demand takes place and the new stringent environment protection requirements (Directive IED, BAT conclusions, Winter Package) enter into force. The network infrastructure in area of transmission and distribution is admittedly adapted for presently occurred typical conditions of electric energy demand and the realization of internal tasks in normal conditions, but can create a potential threat for electric energy supply security. In the context of the forecasted increase of electric energy demand, inadequate power generation sources in the National Electric Power System and available through intersystem connections, their uneven location on the territory of Poland in the shortage of proper network transmission capacities, the necessity of improvement of the quality and electric energy supply reliability to final consumers and the intensive development of renewable energy sources, the present network infrastructure in area of transmission and distribution will be insufficient.

The activity of territorial self-government shaped institutionally during the development process is characterized by a significant scope of care for the financial situation, which determines the efficiency of its functioning. The general availability of public services is a condition for the assessment of the activities of municipalities (powiats, voivodeships). Institutional economy as a real one, takes into account an integrated point of view. The aim of the study is to present the territorial differentiation of the eff ectiveness of communes’ activities in the context of institutional economics and to present the possibility of using a synthetic measure in this process. The synthetic measure of development fluctuated within the limits of 0.30 – Wąchock (Starachowice poviat, urban-rural commune) to 0.41 – Ostrowiec Św. (Ostrowiecki poviat, urban commune) in 2009, 0.32 – Łączna (Skarżysko poviat, rural commune) to 0.40 – Starachowice (Starachowice poviat, municipal commune) in 2015. The results of the analysis confirm the existence of small differences in the assessment of development communes of the Kamienna Basin. This approach allows the assessment of municipalities using one size and allows you to organize the analyzed objects in terms of the considered phenomenon.

With the increase in the mass of municipal waste generated, the demand for facilities dealing with their development is increasing. The aim of the research was to determine environmental and anthropogenic factors affecting the location of waste management facilities and an attempt to indicate potential locations for selected waste management facilities in the communes of the Sądecko-Gorlicki region. The scope of work included: a review of existing waste management facilities in the studied region, acquisition of geodatabase for digital data, analysis of the distance between the waste management facilities and environmental or anthropogenic elements, and analysis of potential locations designated in the GIS based on the developed criteria.As a result of spatial analyzes, it was found that in the study area, there are 3 places of potentiallocations for installation of municipal solid waste treatment facilities.

The process of designing and creating an integrated distributed information system for storing digitized works of scientists of research institutes of the Almaty academic city is analyzed. The requirements for the storage of digital objects are defined; a comparative analysis of the open source software used for these purposes is carried out. The system fully provides the necessary computing resources for ongoing research and educational processes, simplifying the prospect of its further development, and allows to build an advanced IT infrastructure for managing intellectual capital, an electronic library that is intended to store all books and scientific works of the Kazakhstan Engineering Technological University and research institutes of the Almaty academic city.

Particular diligence in the preparation of documentation and conducting a tender procedure for construction works must be made by public contracting entities, who are subject to additional restrictions. In Poland, the largest public contracting entities are the sectoral ones. These are the entities (defined in Art. 3 of the Public Procurement Law Act) operating in the sectors of water management, energy, transport and postal services. The paper presents the analysis of tender offers for the execution of construction works or design and execution of construction works related to the reconstruction, construction and revitalization of railway lines, announced after the amendment to the Public Procurement Law on June 22, 2016. The considered examples are selected tender procedures covering the scope of construction and assembly works on railway lines throughout the country. The authors paid particular attention to the tender criteria applied and the requirements for the potential contractors for works in the field of railway infrastructure.

Water distribution systems at KGHM S.A. are of great importance for the efficient production of copper and environmental protection. For failures leading to perforation and leakage, the corrosion processes are responsible. This paper aims to assess corrosion on the basis of the analysis of the exposure of the Hydrotechnical Plant pipelines. To this end, the system of transfer and deposition of post-flotation waste as well as the circulation of industrial water in the process of copper ore enrichment are described. Water sources as well as inflows and outflows in the water system are indicated; corrosion hazards are determined. Water is obtained from mines; it is often contaminated during the copper ore mining process. The chemical analysis of industrial (technological) water and sludge water resulting from the sedimentation of post-flotation waste showed a high concentration of inorganic salts which are responsible for the corrosive processes. Furthermore, tests were carried out to determine the corrosion rate.Additionally, possible methods to reduce corrosion have been proposed, i.e., a corrosion monitoring system has been described as a tool for reducing production interruptions and environmental pollution.

The aim of the study is to present cycling as an active form of tourism in the context of the motivation of people cultivating it – in particular residents of the Municipality of Radom. The work indicates the essence and importance of cycling tourism, taking into account its types and infrastructure. Factors and trends influencing the development of cycling tourism – promoting a healthy lifestyle were discussed. Also presented are the results of research on the motivation of moving residents of the Municipality of Radom using the bike in individual age groups.

The cadastral data, including land parcels, are the basic reference data for presenting various objects collected in spatial databases. Easy access to up-to-date records is a very important matter for the individuals and institutions using spatial data infrastructure. The primary objective of the study was to check the current accessibility of cadastral data as well as to verify how current and complete they are. The author started researching this topic in 2007, i.e. from the moment the Team for National Spatial Data Infrastructure developed documentation concerning the standard of publishing cadastral data with the use of the WMS. Since ten years, the author was monitoring the status of cadastral data publishing in various districts as well as participated in data publishing in many districts. In 2017, when only half of the districts published WMS services from cadastral data, the questions arise: why is it so and how to change this unfavourable status? As a result of the tests performed, it was found that the status of publishing cadastral data is still far from perfect. The quality of the offered web services varies and, unfortunately, many services offer poor performance; moreover, there are plenty services that do not operate at all.

New research trends in energy grids and water networks push toward ICT solutions for allowing remote metering of consumption. In the paper, after an introduction to the European Standards on smart metering, two visual sensors thought to solve typical metering problems in water public networks are described. Particular detail is given hardware and software solutions and the perspective of integration with analog gas and electric energy metering devices.

Polish energy security is currently one of the key elements affecting the national security system. Maintaining operational efficiency and the permanent modernization of both, power plants, as well as transformer stations and transmission networks is a starting point of ensuring energy security in our country. This is a significant challenge, taking into account the age of the energy critical infrastructure elements in Poland, as well as the permanent increase of the demand for electricity. This implies a systematic growth of the importance of the issue the country’s energy security. The numerous events and anomalies that accompany our everyday life, such as the storms that passed over Poland on the night of August 11–12, 2017, indicate the considerable sensitivity of the critical energy infrastructure on the impact of various negative factors. The security of Polish critical infrastructure connected with the distribution of electricity is particularly at risk. Therefore, it is desirable not only for current repairs and the modernization of the power system elements, but also for the work related to adapting the infrastructure to current and even forecasted needs, challenges and threats. In the face of the presented research results, the reconstruction of the Polish power system, as well as the implementation of innovative solutions in the production, transmission and distribution of energy seems to be unavoidable. Therefore interdisciplinary research and analyses are recommended, allowing the level security of the critical infrastructure to be increased through the best possible diagnosis of factors that may even slightly threaten this security.

Blue infrastructure is not only an element related to rainwater retention in a city but also a factor shaping urban space. As a result of the impact of blue infrastructure on form, function and character of urban space, a unique space is created – an urban blue space. The subject of the article is associated with the blue infrastructure on shape and character of urban spaces, as well as water-land spatial relations within urban blue space. Author of the article analised spatial relations occurring in port cities between aquatic and terrestrial space from perspective of the land, but also water, which is an equally important part of city’s area. As a result models of two-dimensional water-land relations have been recognised and described.

The paper concerns a risk assessment and management methodology in critical infrastructures. The aim of the paper is to present researches on risk management within the experimentation tool based on the OSCAD software. The researches are focused on interdependent infrastructures where the specific phenomena, like escalating and cascading effects, may occur. The objective of the researches is to acquire knowledge about risk issues within interdependent infrastructures, to assess the usefulness of the OSCAD-based risk manager in this application domain, and to identify directions for further R&D works. The paper contains a short introduction to risk management in critical infrastructures, presents the state of the art, and the context, plan and scenarios of the performed validation experiments. Next, step by step, the validation is performed. It encompasses two collaborating infrastructures (railway, energy). It is shown how a hazardous event impacts the given infrastructure (primary and secondary eects) and the neighbouring infrastructure. In the conclusions the experiments are summarized, the OSCAD software assessed and directions of the future works identified.

In the article publications have been analyzed and summarized on this topic: studied the experience of implementing building information models and geographic information models for administrative and economic management of transport infrastructure facilities on the example of the regional airport activity. After the stage of collecting geospatial data from various sources and sensors, the data is imported into CAD-systems or GIS-systems. Different software products are used to work with both of these models. The processes of data organization in the process of creating building information models and geographic information models differ to some extent. The issues of integration of such models are not yet fully addressed and need to be addressed. In the process of integration of spatial data, solutions to the integration of semantics, topology, formats and standards of geospatial data are needed. An important task is to develop and study the experience of creating software modules that allow you to integrate BIM-models into geographic information systems. Based on the research, it is established that the current area of research is the development of technologies that allow the generation of information from BIM and GIS to create a more interconnected infrastructure. The integration of BIM and GIS information to create a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) is a perspective direction.

Green walls, along with green roofs, parks, and vertical gardens, belong to the green infrastructure of cities, which will encompass the majority of humanity in the coming decades. Green infrastructure benefits both urban residents and nature in the urban landscape, although there is no scientific consensus on the extent to which green walls, especially green facades, impact biodiversity in cities. This study examined the influence of green facades on the richness of mammals, birds, and invertebrates, considering the species and age of the plants comprising the green facade in a medium-sized city located in southwestern Poland. It was found that the implementation of green facades significantly enhances species’ biodiversity compared to non-vegetated walls. Four synanthropic bird species were nesting on green facades: Eurasian collared dove ( Streptopelia decaocto), blackbird ( Turdus merula), house sparrow ( Passer domesticus) and woodpigeon ( Columba palumbus). For the beech marten (Martes foina), the green facades are a hunting ground for birds and their eggs. This simple and effective method of creating green walls provides benefits to local wildlife by creating habitats, shelter, and foraging opportunities for selected species. However, it is difficult to determine whether green facades contribute to the formation of ecological corridors in urban environments. The study also examined the social aspect related to the establishment and maintenance of green facades on the surveyed buildings.

The paper presents the main issues of the management of electrical grids. Selected information technology tools supporting electrical grids maintenance are presented. In electrical infrastructure maintenance of power companies, geographic information systems are increasingly used to support the management of their resources. Their functionalities in terms of creating comprehensive databases for the electrical infrastructure of the power sector are described. The important information technology tools regarding spatial systems for supporting maintenance and operation management electrical grids and the conditions of their implementation are presented. This paper also attempts to present an innovative multidimensional evaluation of the technical and economic benefits resulting from the use of modern information technology tools for the management of energy infrastructure.

The paper presents a concept of the vehicle/road infrastructure in vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication for tagging and informing vehicles about the surrounded environment. A frame analysis and the influence of the data packet size on Ultra-wideband (UWB) were investigated. The authors have determined the distance that could be traveled by a vehicle at the given speed in relation to the amount of data that has to be transmitted during the ranging procedure. The authors propose a data frame format (using the IEEE 802.15.4a protocol) for coding/encoding the information about the road infrastructure efficiently during the positioning procedure. It affects to minimum the time that is required to exchange messages during the ranging and communication process. The whole system is an efficient and reliable element that enhances/extends the existing components of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), which will facilitate validation of the information obtained from devices such as lidar, radar or video. The impact of the transmitted payload to the distance traveled by car opens the door to future research on the possibility of implementing efficient vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication for autonomous driving or and other smart city solutions.

The implementation of public-private partnerships has become one of the effective models of cooperation between the public and private sectors in the development of infrastructure in Vietnam. This model has been adopted in Vietnam for many years and is intended to help governments build infrastructure and provide an opportunity to reduce government debt profiles. This study aims to identify the most critical factors that could determine the success of these projects. A questionnaire was conducted based on the participants’ experience in the implementation of public-private partnerships projects and a total of 216 respondents were received. A regression analysis shows that six critical success factors, including factors relevant to public sector, factors relevant to private sector, factors relevant to selected process partnerships, factors relevant to risk management systems, factors relevant to project information, and factors relevant to natural environment. The findings indicated that the most effective development projects could be carried out via PPPs if the government could focus on these important factors in the implementation process. The results will influence political development towards PPP and guide partners in developing public-private partnerships projects.