The Agricultural Property Agency (APA) was founded on 16 July 2003 pursuant to the provisions of the Act of 11 April 2003 on the establishment of the agricultural system. The APA was established for the purpose of managing the agricultural property of the State Treasury in Poland. Its main tasks included the endorsement of ownership and structural changes relating to agricultural land in rural areas as well as the promotion of social goals. This article focuses on the social aspects of the APA’s operations based on an analysis of the data supplied by the Regional Branch of the APA in Olsztyn. The obtained information and materials were analyzed to identify programs and activities initiated by the Olsztyn branch in pursuit of social goals. The results of the analyses were presented in the table format. Community interviews were conducted and photographs were taken during the field study. The results were used to describe the social aspects of APA’s operations in rural areas.

The aim of the research is to find out the causes of emergence of uninhabited dwelling houses, to state the criteria of their defining and identification, to work out possible solutions for improvement of the situation. The information from the Central Statistical Bureau, the data from the census of 2011 and the information about buildings or slums gathered by the local municipalities have been used in the research. As a result, the classification of uninhabited buildings and recommendations have been worked out.

Railway tracks require more thorough maintenance and analysis than regular roads for cars. Defects are here noticed and recorded by using special equipment. Construction of railway roads and their exploitation requires optimal accuracy and monitoring of surveying. It is related to maximum allowed speed of trains, the environment, transport and human safety. In order to highlight complex problems of railway road exploitation, the evaluation of railway roads was conducted. Problem areas of railway maintenance were identified. Their monitoring needs to be improved by applying geodetic devices for surveying. Comparing analogous surveying conducted using EM140 machine with that of geodetic equipment, one can see the advantage of geodetic surveying. Technical gaps in the surveying process, data storage and procession were evaluated as well. It was discovered that maintenance and monitoring works should be pursued more frequently using high accuracy geodetic equipment.

Economic and social problems and emerged threat to human life are the main reasons for abandonment of buildings or even the whole cities in different countries. Mainly abandoned buildings are found in the USA and in the countries of the former Soviet Union. Abandoned buildings in Kaunas city are analysed in the article; their condition is assessed and the ways for handling are proposed. The legal status and the purpose of use of abandoned buildings in Kaunas city are also defined. There are 46 abandoned buildings in Kaunas city. The majority of them are located in Šančiai neighbourhood, but the least amount – in Vilijampolė and Gričiupis neighbourhoods. As regards the purpose of the use, 85 percent of abandoned buildings in Kaunas city are attributed to non-residential buildings, and 44 percent of them are former industrial buildings. Due to the condition of constructions, threat to people and environment, as well as visual appearance, the state of 72 percent of abandoned buildings is poor. 52 percent of abandoned buildings are ascribed to be demolished, while the remaining 48 percent of buildings could be repaired or renovated.