Lack of Spatial Planning as a Cause of Environmental Injustice in the Context of the Provision of Health Safety to Urban Residents Based on the Example of Warsaw

Abstract

Spatial planning based on environmental justice is a key activity in the process of the provision of equal rights to live in a safe environment and possess the opportunities of using it. Irrational development of land containing historical earth surface contamination constitutes a severe threat to the health safety of residents, and it may consequently lead to slow violence. This paper’s objective is to identify districts of Warsaw where the phenomena of environmental injustice and slow violence in post-industrial areas occur and fill in the indicated knowledge gap in such issues in Poland. The aim is also to answer the question as to whether contamination of the pedosphere and changes in land use in brownfields have a considerable effect on differences related to the health safety of residents of particular districts of Warsaw. The results of analyses of correlations of soil environment risk, health safety of residents, social, and planning conditions show that, in districts with a large share of areas included in the register of historical earth surface contamination, higher-than-average soil environment risk occurs, and it is related to the transformation of brownfields. Wola is a district affected by the phenomenon of slow violence and environmental injustice. According to the research, Wola is an area of accumulation of the highest levels of soil contamination, as well as some of the least favorable indices of health safety of residents and social conditions (in the case of both, Wola takes the second position). It is also a place of dynamic, unplanned transformations of brownfields, resulting in the “discovery” of historical earth surface contamination at the stage of the investment process. As evidenced based on the example of Wola, lack of spatial planning in contaminated areas leads to the exposure of their residents to a higher soil environment risk that may result in reduced health safety and the occurrence of slow violence. Therefore, rational planning of development of land containing historical earth surface contamination, with consideration of the aspects of health safety of residents, is an instrument of provision of environmental justice in terms of access to healthy life and residential environment.