The international Cittaslow movement brings together towns that promote the slow life philosophy. The concept has been developed in response to the increasing pace of life and the adverse effects of globalization. According to the members of Cittaslow, the organization contributes to the sustainable development of their regions and to improvement of the quality of life. In view of the benefits of Cittaslow membership confirmed by research studies, the question arises whether the concept of Cittaslow could also be introduced in rural areas. This paper seeks to answer the above question. The study involved an analysis of the Cittaslow membership criteria (Cittaslow goals) and a survey conducted among the inhabitants of the Warmian village of Żabi Róg. The results of the study were used to test the research hypothesis and to assess the quality of life in the analyzed area.

Revitalization is a set of urban and planning activities, coordinated by local self-government administration, aim of which is a social, architectural, planning and economical advantageous transformation of the specific area of the municipality, being in a state of crisis resulting from economic and social factors. Whereas, the renewal of the countryside is understood as shaping the living conditions of people in rural areas, with the local community as an animator and subject. The combination of revitalization and renewal of rural areas is a particularly important and urgent task, connected with rural and architectural chaos, decline of cultural context and local tradition. The aim of the article is to examine information needs for the renewal and revitalization of rural areas, and the possibilities of satisfying these needs using available spatial information systems. The first part of the paper contains an analysis of information needs in the field of renewal and revitalization of rural areas, created on the basis of literature and valid legal provisions. The created information resource illustrates the scope of data necessary for proper planning of renewal and revitalization of rural areas. In the second part, specific information needs were compared with the capabilities of existing spatial information systems. The possibility of obtaining free of expense information necessary for renewal and revitalization of rural areas was analysed. Systems which may be useful in the implementation of related activities are also indicated.

The main purpose of data mining in private and public sector institutions is to process and analyse data with the aim of generating reliable information for decision-making. Decision-making performance is determined by the availability of the relevant data and the user’s ability to adapt that data for analytical purposes. The popularity of spatial statistical tools is on the rise owing to the complexity of the analysed factors, their variation over time and their correlations with the spatial structure. Popular models should be applied in demographic analyses for the needs of the spatial planning process. The availability of high-resolution data and accurate analytical tools enhances the value of spatial analyses, and the described models can be universally applied to support the decision-making process. The aim of this study was to present the applicability of selected spatial statistical models for analysing demographic data in the planning process and to identify the main advantages of these models.