Landscape changes caused by the construction of the Poznań western ring road – selected problems

Abstract

Development of road infrastructure in Poland is becoming more dynamic due to its underdevelopment in comparison to EU countries. This is due to occupation of the increasing number of new sites and a number of consequences in the natural environment. The change of character of the landscape, surface depletion of natural or semi natural landscape, weakening of the natural linkages between valuable natural areas and natural space fragmentation are all unambiguously negative effects of the development of the road infrastructure. The article presents the processes of spatial transformation of the landscape, associated with the phase of the project and the implementation of the Poznań Western Ring Road as part of the S-11. Attention is paid to changes in physiognomy and perception capabilities of the landscape in the context of the emerging ring road, road junctions and numerous engineering facilities connected with the collision-free road line. The important role of mapping and remote sensing materials, as well as the sequence of ground images capturing the processes of landscape transformation were also highlighted.