Environmental & Socio-economic Studies DOI: 10.1515/environ-2015-0017 Environ. Socio.-econ. Stud., 2013, 1, 3: 35-44 © 2013 Copyright by University of Silesia ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Social investment conflicts related to the construction of the A1 motorway in the Silesian voivodeship (Southern Poland) Adam Hibszer Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland E–mail address: [email protected] ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Motorway construction poses various problems, both in green fields, mainly because of concerns about the natural environment, as well as in brown fields, for technical reasons and due to disturbing residents. The Silesian voivodeship is one of the particularly problematic areas. The construction of the A1 motorway is not an easy task there. It is not only because of the potential changes in the environment or difficulties in conducting construction work in mining areas, but also because of the highly urbanised area, requiring both the compulsory purchase of land, as well as demolition of housing infrastructure. The aim of the study is to present the most serious conflicts related to the construction of the A1 motorway in the Silesian voivodeship. The method used in the study was the analysis of documents related to its construction from the websites of the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (Generalna Dyrekcja Dróg Krajowych i Autostrad – GDDKiA), the Voivodeship Office in Katowice and evaluation of information from the websites of communities in which the motorway investments were carried out. Moreover, voivodeship electronic editions of magazines and daily newspapers from the years 2006-2013 on the disputes arising from the construction of the A1 motorway were reviewed. As a result of the study it was found that for different sections of the motorway social conflicts occurred. They were diverse in nature, extent and the course. The analysis of the results shows that the implementation of this type of investment requires not only financial expenses and studies on the environmental impact, but also activities involving their social environment. KEY WORDS: motorway, social conflict, risk of road investments ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Introduction (ZUZIAK, 1995). As the subjects of the conflicts are changes in the use of space, hence planners and Communication investments, like any kind of geographers call them spatial, functional-spatial infrastructure investments in the environment, or localisation conflicts (GROCHOLSKA, 1980; usually arouse protests of the population (BONILLA, KOŁODZIEJSKI, 1982a). Among the many definitions 2010; FRIEDMAN-RUDOVSKY, 2010; HABER, 2007; of conflicts of space, including KOŁODZIEJSKI (1982b), MATCZAK, 1996; NEW PUBLIC ROAD, 2010; NOWAK, 2001; KWAŚNIEWICZ (2000), SZTUMSKI (1987), ZUZIAK TEISTER, 2012; ZIELIŃSKA, 2009). The antagonistic (1995), the one that captures well the essence of relationship between stakeholders is often the cause the issue is the definition proposed by SŁABOŃ of violent conflicts (DEUTSCH, 1998; DEUTSCH & (2008). According to this author, the process of COLEMAN, ed., 2005). They are the result of actual interaction between stakeholders (parties), or alleged conflicts concerning the investment’s which are aware of the actual or imaginary function (BAŃSKI, 1999; GROCHOLSKA, 1980) or incompatibility of objectives and interests that objectives (KOŁODZIEJSKI, 1982a; ZUZIAK, 1995). seek to force a change of taken or intended action of Consequently, they lead to differences in social the other party and/or to harm the opponent, is behaviour in relation to specific changes in spatial called a social conflict. A conflict can be a useful planning, as well as to assessment of the impact provocation to clarify positions, and sometimes of these changes in the values of the environment the lack of clarity is a more important cause of the 35 dispute than the cause itself (PAWŁOWSKA, 2008b). of the meridional course, of the planned length of A conflict triggers ingenuity, which can be used about 600 km in the area of Poland. At the Stryków not only to fight, but also to achieve a new better Junction north of Łódź it will cross the A2 solution (CHEŁPA & WITKOWSKI, 1999). The disclosure motorway, while at the Sośnica Junction in Upper of the unadmitted or ignored conflict opens the Silesia – the A4 motorway. way towards its solution (MCKAY ET AL., 2001). The section of the motorway going through the In this study collisions of interests and Silesian voivodeship (Fig. 1B) is to have a length misunderstandings between stakeholders and, of over 230 km. At the moment (as of June 2013) consequently, social conflicts caused by a new in the Silesian voivodeship there exists, and is investment in the area – the construction of the fully operated, the middle 79-kilometre stretch motorway – are called social investment conflicts. between Świerklany near Żory and the Pyrzowice The demarcation of new routes (especially the A1 Junction. The southern part of the motorway motorway and expressways) in the area of the (about 17 km), i.e. from the border with the Czech Silesian voivodeship creates many problems. Republic to the Świerklany Junction, is officially Natural hazards associated with both the road "in progress" (Fig. 2), i.e. starting from December construction phase, as well as with the later phase 2012 cars can drive on it, with the exception of of their operation (FAJER, 2005; RAPORT..., 2007; about 11-kilometre fragment of the route near the SZCZYPEK & WACH, 1996), are accompanied by defectively constructed bridge in Mszana (Fig. 3). problems arising from the presence of the mining The bypass of the closed section of the areas and the fact that the area is covered with motorway is routed along the voivodeship roads. densely-built housing estates (blocks of flats or It is planned to complete this section is June detached houses). In addition to interfering with 2014. In contrast, the missing stretch of more the natural environment, such investments require than 120 km north from the Pyrzowice Junction the compulsory purchase of land, often demolition to Tuszyn in the Łódzkie voivodeship is in the of buildings and, as a result, the population preparatory phase. A tender for its construction displacement. The scale of these difficulties is is to start in 2013. It is planned to complete its confirmed by many years of studying variants of construction in 2016. individual roads. Each of the proposed variants of The construction of the A1 motorway across such an investment, because of the clash of the Silesian voivodeship is among the priority interests between investors and owners of the investments performed in stages in the licensing land through which they are to be routed, may system. Both at the stage of designing the road cause potential conflicts. route, as well as the construction in its southern The work on determining the course of the sections of Sośnica – Bełk, Bełk – Świerklany and transportation routes across the Silesian voivodeship Świerklany – Gorzyczki did not go without the (especially roads of national or even European disputes with the inhabitants of the towns and importance, as is the case of the motorway) is villages through which the motorway passes. actively participated by the local authorities from the Local Government Council of the Silesian 3. Characteristics of conflicts Voivodeship, the heads of towns, cities and communities, as well as the Silesian Voivode as a 3.1. Conflict about the Żory – Rowień route of the representative of the government. The voice is A1 motorway also taken by the State Forests, environmental organisations and, increasingly, active local According to the GDDKiA data, the route of the communities, mainly through associations formed Sośnica – Gorzyczki section follows the variant in order to fight for a change in the route or of the project which causes the least collisions. complete blockage of the project. The location indications were issued on 31 December 1999 by the Minister of Internal Affairs 2. The course of the A1 motorway across the and Administration. They imposed a requirement Silesian voivodeship for establishing the detailed course of the motorway due to the needs of the mining The A1 motorway is part of the international industry as well as the arrangements with the route E75, starting in the northern part of Directorate of the Landscape Park "Cistercian Norway (in the town of Vardø) and goes across Landscape Compositions of Rudy Wielkie". These Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, conditions were met in the documentation for the Serbia and Macedonia to Greece (to the town of location decision of the A1 motorway at this Sitía on Crete) (Fig. 1A). It is a European motorway section. 36 Fig. 1. The A1 motorway in Poland as a part of the international route E75 (A); The A1 motorway in the Silesian voivodeship (B) 1 – motorway open; 2 – ferry; 3 – motorway construction; 4 – places of social conflicts caused by construction of the A1 in the Silesian voivodeship (numbering in the figure corresponds to the description in the text) Fig. 2. The A1 motorway at the border of the communities Fig.