Volume 31 (2013): Issue 1 (December 2013)
CITY

The paper addresses the issue of the origins of the town of Poznań founded in mid-13th century under German law. The birth of the charter town on the left bank of the Warta river is illustrated first and foremost by sources: documents from the mid-13th century, particularly a location charter of 1253, and narrative sources, e.g. The Wielkopolska Chronicle and yearly records written in Wielkopolska. The town was the work of Przemysł I, the duke of Wielkopolska, who sorted out property issues on the left bank of the Warta, made grants and granted privileges, erected his new castle next to the new town, and together with his brother Bolesław issued a location charter in 1253. The duke’s action resulted in the rise of one of the most important urban centers in medieval Poland.

This paper deals with the problem of shaping landscape. The examples of towns of Great Poland from the 13th century were implemented and used. Their layout was not accidental. Towns were created with a substantial dose of accuracy. A market square was precisely laid out; roads were turned straight to the nearby towns, and plots were created for townsmen. It tended to be the final product of human thought and idea. The comparison of towns’ sizes shows that the same measures and similar schemes were used. In a medieval town each and every aspect was carefully planned and wellthought- out, but sometimes it was modified due to the terrain. Subsequent generations interpreted landscape on their own and occasionally changed the layout of a town. The contemporary appearance of towns is a product of thought materialisation in the living space. That is why the landscape of towns can be analysed and read.

Relocating the capital of Kazakhstan from Almaty to Akmola (then renamed Astana) in 1997 has been the subject of an intense debate, particularly within media. The process of creating the new capital of Kazakhstan should consider the broader perspective of historical, political and ideological, social, climatic and geographical factors, and finally to put the matter in terms of architecture and urban planning. The author considers this very broad perspective, finally expressing the hope that the project of “the city of the future” analyzed in the article, will become a permanent part of the Kazakh reality.

Although historians and social scientists devoted considerable attention to issues related to housing in the Polish Peoples’ Republic era, many problems still need further research. The crucial problem of the paper is to find an answer to the question: what did Poles have to do in the period between 1944/45 and 1989 in order to obtain housing? The answer given is the effect of several years of primary source research which encompassed archival material of assorted types and origins

The aim of this study is to determine the current role of trade as a town developing factor. The analysis was made on the example of a middle-size town - Leszno. During only the last few years a lot of have taken place in Leszno concerning the quality and quantity of trade as well as location of it in the town space. This study contains the analysis and assessment of changes in Leszno retail trade in the years 2010-2012. The survey was the basis for the assessment of the town prestige as a subregional trade centre, appraisal of the trade system, the arrangement of trade points in the town, the appeal of the town and its centre as a result of building new shopping malls.

This article presents a multinational and multireligious character of St. Petersburg since the founding of the city to the collapse of the Soviet Union. An ethnic and cultural mosaic was also an important feature in other centers of Russia, including Moscow and Odessa, as well as forming part of the national capital of the Russian Empire in Warsaw, Riga and Tallinn. St. Petersburg is a city but of a symbolic and unique character. It is the subject of literary impressions and creative inspiration for generations of artists. In addition, St. Petersburg - Petrograd - Leningrad was the capital of a multinational and multireligious Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and since 1918, it was the second most important city of the Soviet Union. The author’s intention is also to present the history of St. Petersburg - Petrograd - Leningrad, as seen through the prism of the history of national minorities living in it.

The article applies to three autobiographical novels written in the 1980s and 1990s by citizens of France, second generation Algerian immigrants. The authors of these novels widely relate to their own experience of life in the suburbs of French cities. The protagonists are young people who on the one hand feel French and demand acceptance, and on the other experience acts of discrimination. Moreover, their relationship to traditional Algerian culture is also ambivalent. The place with which they identify themselves is not France, in spite of the citizenship, nor Algeria, in spite of the origin, but their own district, which is a place where they live their everyday life. The author of the article analyzes the chosen novels through the perspective of the republican model of integration which excludes recognition of ethnic origin of the citizens. The article, referring to M. Foucault’s theory of heterotopia, argues that although the novels in question sensitize French readers to the various social questions, they, paradoxically, support the typical thinking of the republican model.

This article will present an analysis of a psychological reaction which may occur in people living in big cities, the so-called urban stress. The paper will concentrate mainly on describing the influence of strong sensory input (e.g. noise and pollution), which is characteristic of a big city, as well as social issues on the cognitive, emotional and behavioural functioning of individuals. What is more, various consequences of the emergence of stress will be discussed. The summary of the article includes conclusions drawn from a review of research and theories.