Adaptation possibilities of Poznań’s post-war housing estates to climate change

Abstract

The aim of article is to present examples of housing estates whose urban structures and green structures give various possibilities of adaptation to climate changes. The article presents qualitative analyses (using the case study method) for ten selected housing estates of the city of Poznań in the aspect of adaptability to climate changes. Selected examples of housing estates were characterized taking into account the following features: total area of the housing estate, green area, building area, building volume, number of inhabitants, green area, prevailing green structures within housing estates, number of parking spaces, year of establishing of housing estate. Based on these characteristics, indicators of the intensity of greenery were developed. Then, by the method of linear ordering, a ranking of the considered settlements was made. Housing estates from the mid and late twentieth century are characterized by a much higher share of green areas and high landscape values, which are the result of the application of the old urban normative and the functional, landscape and utility regime in force at that time for housing estates. The results indicate that these settlements have a much greater potential for adaptation to climate changes as opposed to modern settlements. In order to objectify this thesis, it was partially verified by partially analysing the dependence of some quantitative utility parameters of housing estates on the intensity of greenery: its filtration capabilities and air purity, energy consumption of heating buildings and comfort of pedestrian traffic in the spaces between buildings. As it turns out, these parameters (among others) can be largely shaped with the help of appropriate green systems.