The article deals with the subject of the real property taxation system currently in force in Poland and in Latvia. The current basic real property taxation rate in Poland applies per 1m² of the estate's total area and additionally depends on the manner in which the property is used. Real property tax income becomes part of the budget of the commune in which the property is located. The forest tax and the agricultural tax are established separately. For many years there have been plans for changing the tax system used in Poland to the cadastral tax, which uses the cadastral value, resembling the market value of the real property, as the basis for real property taxation. Cadastral assessment in Latvia is mainly used for calculating the real property tax. To calculate the cadastral value of a particular object, five assessment models have been developed. They are: assessment model for building land, assessment model for rural land, assessment model for buildings, assessment model for apartments and assessment model for engineering technical objects. Real property tax and the amount of objects are determined by the law in Latvia.

The development of GIS technologies, of Earth remote sensing methods, improvement of the legal basis, as well as differences in approaches of creation and functioning of the cadastral systems puts on the agenda the task of using a unified methodological approach for the creation of the cadastral systems. It is particularly relevant during the period of integration and globalization of economic, sociopolitical, scientific and cultural, educational and other programs of different countries and, especially, of the countries of the European Union. The purpose of this research is to attempt to improve the structure of cadastral system with regard to land parcels registration outlining the main directions of scientific and practical research meant for the modernization of the cadastre. The results of the research are suggestions and recommendations about the possibility of creating a unified register of cadastral objects, land parcels in particular, as well as the list of scientific tasks aimed at the modernization and improvement of the cadastral system. The conclusions show that the cadastre should be regarded as the state informational and registration system of geospatial position of the objects, their quantitative and qualitative assessment and legal status at this stage of development of technical, techno-logical and legal trends. In a scientific sense, the cadastre is a branch of science which studies the patterns and principles of formation, functioning and preservation of cadastral objects, information about them and their register.

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.

According to the fast development and distribution of GNSS technologies all over the world, the large numbers of reference GNSS stations have appeared in Ukraine. These stations are included in the state and several private networks. The permanent GNSS observations gathered within these networks are processed and analysed by the Centre of Lviv Polytechnic National University. A cumulative solution (coordinates expressed at the specified epoch and velocities of all stations) was estimated by using the GAMIT-GLOBK software. The authors made several numerous tests using certain configuration of fiducial stations which belong to the EPN A class to transfer ITRF08 frame into Ukraine area and choose the best strategy of alignment of the Ukrainian national GNSS network to the EPN. Three different solutions with cretin tolerance set for Ukrainian GNSS network were estimated and each time the different set of coordinates was obtained. The differences reached several millimetres. Also for verification, our solution was compared with EPN solution. Received coordinates and velocities could have a geophysical interpretation and provide very useful information for local geodesy tasks.

The subject of the paper is the change trends in the trade in undeveloped land and real properties designated for agricultural and forestry purposes in Poland with respect to the value and surface area of real properties sold. Another aim of the study is to present the differences between average transaction prices of undeveloped real properties designated, among others, for residential, industrial, agricultural and forestry purposes. The research covers the period starting from the accession of Poland into the European Union structures. The Polish real property market has been very active in the analysed period. The analysis of tendencies in real property sales transaction values in Poland in the time period from 2004 to 2015 demonstrates that the increasing trend prevailed from 2004 to 2008. Then, in 2009, the value of transactions decreased in comparison to the preceding year.

Accessibility is a popular concept in many research areas, including spatial planning, where it denotes the possibility of reaching a specific location. Accessibility is not a characteristic feature of a single location: it is always measured between at least two locations (places), and it is strictly determined by the mode of transport. Subject to the evaluated parameter, accessibility falls into different categories, including physical accessibility which is defined by distance (meters, kilometers), temporal accessibility which is expressed in minutes and hours, and economic accessibility which is denoted by cost. In highly urbanized areas and their rural outskirts, spatial policies need to be coordinated to guarantee the effective distribution of functions and services. The optimization of accessibility should be the key goal of spatial policies adopted at both local and metropolitan level. The aim of this study was to analyze the applicability of public data sources and GIS tools for analyzing and improving spatial accessibility. A wide range of tools and data supports detailed evaluations of the spatial coverage and effectiveness of services (public and commercial), multi-objective optimization of planned locations and determination of the optimal service areas (with the use of gravitation and potential methods). Spatial planning is a process of selecting the optimal and rational functions for the existing space. A very wide variety of analytical tools can be deployed to acquire and process public data and research data. The results of multi-objective analyses can be support the planning proces.

The changes in the ownership structure were to be implemented by the Agricultural Property Agency of the State Treasury, which, under the Act of Law of 11 April 2003 on the structuring of agrarian system (i.e. The Journal of Laws of 2012, item 803, as amended), on 16 July 2003 became the Agricultural Property Agency with eleven local branch offices. For the purposes of this article the monographic method was used for the overview of relevant literature and legal provisions, whereas the statistical analysis was employed in the data of the Central Statistical Office and reports on the activities of the Agricultural Property Agency. Until the end of 2015 the main objective of the Agricultural Property Agency was to restructure and dispose of the assets within the Agricultural Property Stock of the State Treasury. Since its foundation, the Agency expanded the Stock by 4.74 million ha. Over time, the operating conditions for the Agency were in a state of flux – they were being adjusted to the changing socio-economic situation. At the beginning, leasing was the basic form of disposal of the Stock land. After Polish accession to the European Union an increased interest in the acquisition of agricultural property was observed. By the end of 2014, as a result of land sale, free-of-charge land transfers or other transactions, approximately 3.2 million ha were disposed of, i.e. about 70% of the whole land which was taken over. Currently, according to the legal provisions, long-term lease is the basic form of disposal of the Stock land.

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 study discusses the problem of financial impact on Wroclaw Municipality exerted by the costs of implementing decisions resulting from the selected local spatial development plans. Currently in Poland, at the stage of local spatial development plan establishment, a forecast of financial consequences is prepared. The expected own revenues and the costs of financial impact exerted on the municipal budget are presented in this document. The study facilitates making decisions about the final version of the local development plan. Taking into account the planned spatial development in the area of Wroclaw city, the urbanization costs exerting financial impact on the municipal budget were identified. The study analyses only the cost of implementing investments within the scope of the municipality own tasks, including the cost of constructing municipal roads, sanitary sewerage system, water supply system, public greenery facilities and land purchase for public investments. The analyses covered two selected areas of the city, located in its different parts. These are largely uninvested areas, predominantly constituting agricultural land, and such land development requires the construction of technical and social infrastructure facilities. The anticipated costs of implementing local development plans in force in various parts of Wroclaw indicate significant expenses to be covered by Wroclaw Municipality in order to build sewage systems and municipal roads. Taking up new development sites is also correlated with taking over the real properties by Wroclaw city, on which the implementation of public goals is planned.

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.