Land Management Using Land Reserves to Alleviate Emergencies on the Example of Warsaw

Abstract

Some of the most important contemporary threats to the population are global emergencies, such as pandemics, refugee waves, and climate disasters. Urban areas with high-density housing and limited access to services have been primarily affected. There is often a lack of time, resources, and space to develop primary services available near places of residence. In the face of progressing urbanisation and the expanding pandemic, it is necessary to rationally manage urban space, ensuring the use of unused, post-industrial areas, on the one hand, and minimise the negative effects of crises—the spread of a virus, the occurrence of an urban heat island, or the relocation of refugees. One beneficial solution in cities is effectively managing empty, undeveloped urban areas to develop cities in a way that is future-proof from new emergencies. In this study, we aimed to search for optimal solutions which can help to alleviate the negative effects of emergencies in the city using the decision-making model of field reserve management. Two districts of Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, were chosen for this study: one was typically urbanised, namely, Mokotów, and the other had large undeveloped areas for construction, namely, Białołęka. We analysed the land reserves of these districts. Spatial analyses of the data made it possible to identify optimal locations that constituted land reserves that can be used for essential services. Based on the analysis results, planners can effectively create a set of recommendations for local governments. Thanks to these recommendations, municipalities can manage their land reserves and eventually adapt them for the abovementioned purposes. As a result, it is expected that the effective management of land reserves using publicly available spatial data will improve preventive actions in an emergency, such as a pandemic. In addition, the proposed design solutions are universal; since they are based on the data on available field reserves and their statuses, management in emergencies will be possible.

1. Introduction

Today, cities are facing multiple crises. In this era of great acceleration, the global pace of urbanisation is faster than ever [1]. We are witnessing intensive changes in cities all over the world. Each of them is currently facing a number of crises: from the COVID-19 pandemic to armed conflicts, climate catastrophe, and many more. An urban crisis is, on the one hand, a difficult time and, on the other, an opportunity to find new solutions.

One of the biggest threats to populations and cities today is the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe. The latest figures show that several hundred million people have become ill due to the pandemic since the beginning of 2020. The most affected are urban areas with a high housing density and limited access to health services and facilities, which have recently struggled to serve patients of different health and age groups [2]. There is often a lack of time, resources, and space to develop hospitals that are explicitly dedicated to infectious diseases or frontline services that are available near where people live.

Additional challenges facing the world today are the armed conflicts in, for example, Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa. Apart from the war losses, one of the most noticeable effects is the upsurge in refugees [3,4,5]. Receiving them in a dignified manner in countries that are safe for them is often a major logistical challenge [4]. It is necessary to provide both medical facilities and, above all, accommodation for the duration of the emergency until a place of residence is eventually found. Unused shopping centres, factories, or sports stadiums are beginning to serve as temporary accommodation sites.

Citing information from the latest IPCC report, climate change is one of humanity’s most significant challenges today [6]. One important driver of global carbon emissions is intensive urbanisation and associated land-use change [6,7], which has a direct impact on poorer ecosystem services [8]. Extreme weather events as a consequence of climate catastrophes are becoming more frequent. The effects of extreme weather events, e.g., population migrations and the hospitalisation of many people simultaneously, require specific tools for urban space management. The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events caused by human-induced climate change is a challenge to progress in urban sustainability. However, we can accelerate actions to make cities more resilient [9,10]. The effective management of land reserves undoubtedly contributes to this goal [11]. Emergencies need solutions that allow for an immediate response, and the management of land reserves in a city offers such opportunities.

In the face of increasing urbanisation and the occurrence of various types of crises, e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to rationally manage urban space, guaranteeing, on the one hand, the use of unused, post-industrial areas and, on the other, minimising the spread of the virus, improving the health of the population, or providing assistance to refugees or other people in an emergency. One solution that can benefit cities is the efficient management of vacant, undeveloped urban areas and the practical introduction of greenery through the design of green infrastructure.

Many historically industrial areas are currently unused and represent a city’s land reserve with high potential for emergency use. In the United States, the number of brownfield sites with investment potential is about 450,000 [12]; in the European Union, the estimated number of sites, depending on the source, ranges from approximately 2,500,000 [13] to 2,800,000 [14]. In Poland, undeveloped brownfield sites cover an area of more than 24,000 ha [15]. Unfortunately, sites of former industrial activity constitute a very heterogeneous group that varies in terms of the size of individual areas, the proportion of open land, and the state of preservation of industrial infrastructure [13]. The rational management of such areas is often not accessible due to their problematic conditions, for example, unregulated ownership status, contamination, or risk of flooding [16].

Many solutions have been developed to manage vacant, undeveloped land effectively. These tools were mainly based on brownfield sites. Examples of such solutions include the projects HOMBRE (Holistic Management of Brownfield Regeneration) [17] and TIMBRE (Tailored IMprovement of Brownfield Regeneration in Europe) [18], as well as the CIRCUSE database [19]. Several tools aim to support the process of brownfield development. Examples include SMARTe (Sustainable Management Approaches and Revitalization Tools—electronic) [20] or the Public Access Information Platform—Brownfields and Degraded Sites [21]. The projects cited and the solutions developed are tools that are used in the broader brownfield development field, but no publicly available tools are dedicated to land reserves. Even databases of land reserves are not available, and many cities do not have them.

Given recent emergencies, the rational management of land reserves has become an even more significant challenge for many cities worldwide [22,23,24]. In addition to brownfield sites, green spaces have begun to play a key role in times of emerging crises, as evidenced in the literature [25,26]. They act both as reserves for the construction of new infrastructure facilities, but also as friendly spaces for residents to spend time. They are essential for epidemiological constraints, fulfilling a natural or ecological role [8,24] and, above all, fulfilling a social role [25]. It even highlights the critical role of urban parks during the pandemic from the perspective of the urban built environment and mental health [26,27].

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted functioning at the scale of large urban centres worldwide [28] and smaller suburban localities [25], as well as the lives of individuals [29]. Research showed that cities are more vulnerable to infections such as COVID-19 [30], and there are important patterns of the spatial distribution of COVID-19 that depend on social and economic inequalities [31]. Studies have noted a link between the distance to frontline services and the development of emergencies such as a pandemic; areas characterised by poorer accessibility to services were potentially more at risk of disease [32]. Mitigating the impact of such emergencies can be achieved by combining local policies with spatial monitoring at the neighbourhood/accessibility level of critical primary facilities in large cities [28,33,34]. Such measures can be implemented based on brownfield sites, but this requires an adequate inventory of the land reserves within the unit’s boundaries. The use of modelling methods and spatial analysis allows for the transparent management of urban space and, consequently, the handling of emergencies [35]. However, cities play an important role in crises because they are the places of the most dynamic changes and the places where the power is concentrated as well [7,36]. In times of emerging crises, cities need to build resilience through, among other things, good governance. The authors of the present study set themselves the ambition to find solutions for cities in crisis.

The aim of this study was to search for optimal solutions that can help to alleviate the negative effects of emergencies in the city using the decision-making model of field reserve management:

• To assist in the decision-making process for selecting the location of investments related to reducing the adverse effects of emergencies on the lives of city residents;
• To develop a model for the management of land reserves in emergencies;
• To check the applicability of knowledge of city residents in the model of land reserves in emergencies.

On this basis, it will be possible to develop recommendations and guidelines for municipalities to effectively manage land reserves under conditions of limited social mobility in the long term.

We believe that a decision-making model for the management of land reserves will significantly improve the process of re-development of unused land in emergencies. The model can serve as a tool to be used in the event of pandemics, migration crises, natural disasters, and extreme weather events, which are occurring with increasing frequency due to intensifying climate change. In addition, the model includes a key stage of public participation in its development and the management of wasteland. The proposed solution shows the relationship between society and sustainable development, which can pave the way to a sustainable future.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Research Area

Two districts of the Capital City of Warsaw were selected for the study (Figure 1). The authors’ aim was to select two neighbourhoods for the study, which differed significantly in terms of land use so that the applicability of the model could be tested in the extreme cases found in the city. The first district was typically urbanised (72.0% of built-up and urbanised areas [37]), namely, Mokotów (Figure 2), and the other had large undeveloped spaces (42.4% of built-up and urbanised areas [37]) that could be used for building development, namely, Białołęka (Figure 3).

Mokotów, which was incorporated into Warsaw in 1916, is a district dominated by buildings, some of which are residential villas and embassies, while others are housing estates. The western part of the district, namely, Służewiec (commonly known as Służewiec Przemysłowy), is a remnant of the industry that once operated there. At the same time, the area is largely primarily occupied by office buildings. The space that remains undeveloped is the eastern part of the district, namely, Siekierki and Augustówka. This is due, among other things, to the flood risk and the constraints imposed by the industrial centres located in Siekierki.

As a fringe district incorporated into Warsaw in 1951, Białołęka is a much more diverse district. It is functionally divided into the following parts:

• Industrial—located in the central, south-western part of the district (Żerań—activities of EC Żerań, Polfa Tarchomin SA, railway areas);
• Predominantly single-family housing estates—northern and central-northern parts of the district (e.g., Pludy, Henryków, Choszczówka), which are areas of gradual suburbanisation;
• Housing estates intermingled with farmland and countryside—eastern part of Białołęka (e.g., Grodzisk, Brzeziny, Kobiałka), which are areas of gradual suburbanisation that are often uncontrolled;
• High-density housing developments (clearly dominated by tall buildings)—central-western part of the district (e.g., Nowodwory, Tarchomin);
• Forest areas in the northern part of the district (Białołęka Dworska).

Figure 1. Districts of Warsaw (source: own elaboration).

Figure 1. Districts of Warsaw (source: own elaboration).

Figure 2. Division of the Mokotów district into its MSI areas (source: https://zdm.waw.pl, accessed on 5 August 2022).

Figure 2. Division of the Mokotów district into its MSI areas (source: https://zdm.waw.pl, accessed on 5 August 2022).

Figure 3. Division of the Białołęka district into its MSI areas (source: https://zdm.waw.pl, accessed on 5 August 2022).

Figure 3. Division of the Białołęka district into its MSI areas (source: https://zdm.waw.pl, accessed on 5 August 2022).

2.2. Criteria Adopted and Selection of Areas to Be Developed

We analysed the field reserves of these districts based on a set of selected criteria:

• Location;
• Current use;
• Legal and ownership status of the site;
• The findings of the local development plan;
• Pollution;
• Neighbourhood.

The criterion for the selection of land reserves was areas marked as unused and non-functional in the study of conditions and spatial development of the Capital City of Warsaw and the BDOT10k database of topographic objects. In addition, the model also considered production and service areas in the study where no economic activity was taking place.

The first key stage of the task was to collect the necessary data and information on the available field reserves in the selected districts of the Capital City of Warsaw. The following data sources were used for this purpose:

• Geoportal 2 for the locations of registered parcels and their areas;
• An orthophotomap to determine the current land use;
• The existing local spatial development plans and the study of the conditions and spatial development of Warsaw in terms of defining the current use of the land and the target anticipated function (local level planning documents in Poland in accordance with the Spatial Planning Act [38]);
• Land ownership maps in terms of determining the legal and ownership status of individual sites;
• Lists of historical land surface pollution of individual districts of the Capital City of Warsaw and the register of historical land surface pollution of the General Directorate for Environmental Protection, in terms of determining potential historical pollution, the impact of which is affected by the analysed areas.

In the procedure for identifying field reserves, the 1:10,000 Topographic Dataset was used as a basis. The following areas were selected from the database:

• PTLZ —woodland and wooded area;
• PTRK—shrubby vegetation;
• PTTR—grassy vegetation;
• PTGN—unused land;
• PTNZ—remaining undeveloped land;
• KUPG—industrial and economic complex;
• KUSK—sports and leisure complex.

The following were then eliminated: forest areas (as defined by the Forest Act) [39], land with a compact area of at least 0.10 ha, selected protected areas whose presence significantly limits the possibility of land development (Natura 2000 areas, nature reserves, national and landscape parks), areas intersecting with roads and directly adjacent to them, and areas unsuitable for development given the carrying capacity criterion (all organic soils) and the humidity criterion (soils of agricultural suitability complexes 1z, 2z, 3z, 8, and 9) [40]. In the next step, areas smaller than 4000 m² were excluded due to the assumption of use for functions of public interest. For the regions selected in this way, the ownership of the land was determined (with a division into State Treasury land, land owned by the Capital City of Warsaw, and private land) and its designation in local spatial development plans, as well as the possible occurrence of historical contamination of the land surface, based on available lists obtained from individual districts and the register of the General Directorate for Environmental Protection.

The following parameters were introduced to remove areas with a large territorial extent that were very elongated and related to traffic routes and their surroundings at the time of data selection for the model:

• The ratio of the perimeter to the area;
• The ratio of the area to the perimeter of the area;
• The ratio of the square of the perimeter to the area;
• Extension of the plots.

Based on the criteria adopted and the database obtained, a procedure was implemented to select areas that could serve as potential locations for points of interest for the construction of the necessary infrastructure, e.g., field hospitals, single-site hospitals, and temporary housing. For this purpose, the following selection was formulated from the available areas and performed in ArcMap software (Figure 4):

• An area of no less than 13,000 m² (this is the average area of a single development quarter in Warsaw; the areas given are estimates calculated on the basis of similar investments in Warsaw; however, the authors do not aim to generalise the area needed due to the different specifics of each city and the needs of local authorities);
• Owned by the Capital City of Warsaw or the State Treasury (only in this case is immediate management possible in the event of an emergency);
• Designation in local development plans as residential, commercial, industrial, or several of the above (e.g., mixed-use—residential/service and commercial/industrial);
• Sites that were not on the historical land surface contamination register (the threat of historical land surface contamination prevented the immediate use of the land reserve).

Figure 4. Data selection procedure performed in ArcMap software (source: own elaboration).

Figure 4. Data selection procedure performed in ArcMap software (source: own elaboration).

In addition, the following criteria were developed:

• Distance of the site to the nearest residential, community, or tourist building—these facilities constituted places of permanent residence or, in the event of an emergency, temporary residence.
• Transport accessibility of the area—time (according to Jakdojade service, on 25 July 2022 at 10:00 a.m.) from the nearest railway station (Warszawa Zachodnia, Centralna, or Wschodnia) to the nearest bus stop, tram stop, or local train station + time of walking access to the area (based on the analysis of isochrones within 5, 10, or 15 min). If the site could not be reached within 15 min from any tram stop/train station, the attribute was given the value NULL (Figure 5).

Then, to verify the correctness of the proposed model, another selection was made. However, this time, space was sought to locate recreational areas and public open spaces, such as parks, town squares, or city squares.

Based on the criteria adopted and the database obtained, a procedure was implemented to select these areas. For this purpose, the following selection was formulated from the available areas and performed in the ArcMap software (Figure 6):

• An area of no less than 9000 m² (this is the average area of a square in Warsaw);
• Owned by the Capital City of Warsaw or the State Treasury (only in this case is immediate management possible in the event of an emergency);
• Designated in local development plans as public green areas or sports and recreation areas (and mixed designation taking into account the above);
• Sites that were not in the historical land surface contamination register (the threat of historic land surface contamination prevents the immediate use of the land reserve);
• The distance of the site to the nearest residential, community, or tourist building was no more than 500 m;
• The distance from the nearest bus stop was no more than 500 m.

Figure 6. Data selection procedure performed in ArcMap software (source: own elaboration).

Figure 6. Data selection procedure performed in ArcMap software (source: own elaboration).

3. Results

From the collected data, a database was created to gather comprehensive information on the land reserves located in the selected districts. A total of 756 such areas were classified, with 517 in the Białołęka district and 239 in the Mokotów district (Figure 7).

The refinement for points of interest for the construction of the necessary infrastructure, e.g., field hospitals, single-site hospitals, and temporary housing, resulted in 14 areas located in the Białołęka district (Figure 8) and nine areas located in the Mokotów district (Figure 9). Their exact distribution is shown on the attached maps. It is worth noting that in both cases, a similar number of areas meeting the adopted criteria were distinguished. This meant that, regardless of whether it was an urbanised district or a district that was just developing, it was possible to find areas that could be used in a crisis, either for the location of a temporary aid station or for a permanent development resulting from an emergency.

After weighing each criterion, a ranking of the selected areas was created, from the best to use to the worst. In this way, decision-makers can quickly choose which of the proposed locations is most in line with public expectations and demand due to an existing emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Examples of selected areas (Figure 10 and Figure 11) include areas currently serving as undeveloped squares, overgrown car parks, and areas of unmanaged green space, among others. These are presently undeveloped areas. Ultimately, the local plans aim to locate residential or commercial development in this area. Therefore, they can be developed relatively easily in the event of an emergency without the need for complex administrative procedures or the removal of existing users.

Then, to verify the correctness of the proposed model, the selection of recreational areas and public open spaces, such as parks, town squares, or city squares, resulted in six areas located in the Białołęka district (Figure 12) and 39 areas located in the Mokotów district (a total of 45 areas) (Figure 13). Their exact distribution is shown in the following maps.

Optimisation of the Model

To optimise the model, we proposed to use the weighting of the individual criteria based on a survey conducted among the inhabitants of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. The survey participants were selected since they were potential users of future investments in the area of land reserves.

The resident survey used for this publication addressed the need for inclusive planning to include contemporary and future users with a pillar of sustainable development [41]. Inclusive planning is a response to the challenges of today’s world, such as climate change [10], the COVID-19 pandemic [42], and other crises. Research suggests that in the face of crises, there are more opportunities to involve the local community in the planning process [43]. Furthermore, interactive tools will create better opportunities for inclusive planning [44]. Taking this into account, the attempt to involve potential users in the design process of a model for the management of field reserves in emergencies demonstrated the validity of such an assumption in the first place and also offers opportunities for improvement.

The survey involved 100 Warsaw residents aged between 20 and 60 years and was carried out electronically using Mentimeter software. The survey looked at the importance of individual factors in the choice of location for three different investments: (1) services of first necessity, such as a pharmacy or grocery shop; (2) large infrastructural investments, such as single-use hospitals or places for temporary housing; and (3) recreational areas and public open spaces, i.e., parks and squares. Based on the survey, it was possible to identify needs and determine which factors were dominant for residents when deciding on the location of a particular facility. The resulting values representing the importance of each criterion were added together, and then each value was divided by the sum to obtain the percentages and, thus, the normalised weights. On this basis, a ranking of the importance of the criteria was created. The results are presented in the table below (

Table 1. Results of the survey (source: own elaboration).

Criterion	Essential Services			Major Investments			Recreational Areas
	Average Survey Score	Value (%)	Ranking	Average Survey Score	Value (%)	Ranking	Average Survey Score	Value (%)	Ranking
Public transport accessibility	4.4	18.18	2	4.1	16.80	3	3.9	16.05	4
Area	2.7	11.16	6	4.4	18.03	1	4.2	17.28	3
Current usage	2.6	10.74	8	2.8	11.48	8	3.1	12.76	6
Purpose in the local plan	3.4	14.05	4	3	12.30	5	3.3	13.58	5
Ownership	2.7	11.16	6	2.9	11.89	6	2.8	11.52	7
Pollution	3.1	-	5	3.3	-	4	4.3	-	1
Walking distance to residential areas	4.5	18.60	1	2.9	11.89	6	4.3	17.70	1
Availability of technical infrastructure	3.9	16.12	3	4.3	17.62	2	2.7	11.11	8
Total	27.3			27.7			28.6

).

Summarising the results of the survey, for the location of frontline services, the walking distance to residential areas was found to be the most critical factor (4.5). This was followed by the public transport accessibility (4.4), the availability of technical infrastructure (3.9), purpose in the local plan (3.4), pollution (3.1), and ownership and total area (2.7); the least important factor according to the respondents was the current usage (2.6). In the situation of the location of large infrastructural developments, e.g., single-use hospitals or temporary housing, the most crucial criterion was found to be the area (4.4), followed by the availability of technical infrastructure (4.3), public transport accessibility (4.1), pollution (3.3), purpose in the local plan (3), ownership and walking distance to residential areas (2.9), and lastly, current usage (2.8). For recreational areas and public open spaces, the most significant importance was given to the two factors of the walking distance to residential areas and pollution (4.3), followed by the area (4.2), public transport accessibility (3.9), purpose in the local plan (3.3), current usage (3.1), ownership (2.8), and the availability of technical infrastructure (2.7).

The walking distance to residential areas is an essential factor for services and recreational areas. In a situation where significant investment is to be located, the size and availability of technical infrastructure become more critical. In the case of the location of recreational areas, contamination of the area was given significant importance. However, this criterion was not included in the weighting because it was considered a barrier at the first selection stage. This was because a contaminated site requires a great deal of time and money for effective clean-up (remediation) and, therefore, cannot be used immediately in an emergency.

A key element resulting from the resident survey was also the accessibility of the areas to potential buyers and the demand at the site. In addition, for the already selected area, it is recommended that a set of guidelines be created that will guide how to develop the area, e.g., guidelines that take into account the adopted share of biologically active sites or solutions to minimise the negative impact on the surroundings. Depending on the situation, the crisis development may only be a temporary element of the city space. They should be planned so that their effects will not be visible for many years.

The model algorithm was divided into three stages: (1) the stage of initial site selection presented above; (2) the stage of selecting sites for specific functions, which was based on a set of subsidiary criteria; and (3) the stage of weighting the criteria based on the results obtained in the survey presented above.

Table 2. Weights of the selected criteria (source: own elaboration).

Criterion	Highest Rated Value (1)	Lowest Rated Value (0)	Weight
Public transport accessibility (K1)	Distance from the public transport stop is less than 500 m; the less, the better	Distance from public transport stop is greater than 500 m	0.18
Area (K2)	Area greater than 10,000 m2	Area smaller than 10,000 m2	0.20
Current usage (K3)	Undeveloped green areas	Brownfield sites	0.14
Purpose in the local plan (K4)	Green areas Sports and recreation service areas	Residential and service areas	0.15
Ownership (K5)	One owner: city or state	Two owners: the Capital City of Warsaw and the State Treasury (land in perpetual usufruct—0.5)	0.13
Walking distance to residential areas (K6)	Distance from residential areas is less than 500 m; the closer, the better	Distance from residential areas is greater than 500 m	0.20
Availability of technical infrastructure (K7)	Not applicable		-

shows the supporting criteria for the location of recreational areas and public open spaces. A medium-sized park was chosen as an example.

Each selected area under each criterion could receive a value from 0 (worst case) to 1 (best case). These values were then multiplied by the criterion weights to produce a summary suitability index value and a final ranking (Figure 14). Areas with values close to 1 should be considered first as a suitable designation for the location of recreational areas and public open spaces.

The graphical distributions of these areas in the two districts analysed are presented below (Figure 15 and Figure 16).

Figure 14. Procedure for creating a summary suitability index and ranking in ArcMap software (source: own development).

Figure 14. Procedure for creating a summary suitability index and ranking in ArcMap software (source: own development).

4. Discussion

The rationale for this study was partly due to the existence of similar studies on the use of a decision-making model for the rational management of urban land reserves conducted for other major countries, including China [45,46] and the United States of America [47]. They suggested using surveys and modern technology to analyse data on integration and safety assessments in the city with the aim of further refining and ultimately creating a model for managing land reserves in the city [46,48]. The research highlights the need for proposing a city land reserve decision-making model under the condition of limited reserve funds based on a market-oriented operation pattern of the city land reserve [11,45]. Land-use models are used to combine different aspects of the complex land-use system and, therefore, enable researchers to study the dynamics of this system [49].

As part of this task, a decision-making model was built based on a multi-criteria analysis of the site’s suitability for rapid development for single-site hospitals and other facilities that provide services related to pandemic mitigation and other emergencies. It fulfils the stated aim of the work, which was to search for optimal solutions which can help to alleviate the negative effects of emergencies in the city. The data for the above analyses come from the database created earlier. Its wide range allowed for the identification of suggested locations, depending on the set of criteria adopted. On this basis, it was possible to create a set of recommendations aimed at helping municipalities manage their land reserves so that they can be adapted for the purposes mentioned above as soon as possible.

Due to their nature and the accompanying ownership, planning, and environmental conditions, the areas identified as a result of the analysis can be successfully developed for the construction of infrastructure needed in emergencies, e.g., field hospitals, one-stop hospitals, and temporary housing. Thanks to the model created, a limited number of possible locations (from a few to a dozen areas out of several hundred indicated in the initial database) were identified in each district. This way, decision-makers can quickly and easily find the optimal location for investment and start implementing it as soon as possible.

The rationality of the research undertaken and the model developed stems from the lack of a publicly available solution for local authorities to use when managing field reserves in an emergency. This model fills an existing knowledge gap. In addition, the use of a survey provided an opportunity to apply the knowledge of city residents in the model of land reserves in emergencies.

As a result, it is expected that the effective management of field reserves will contribute to improved preventive action in the event of an emergency, such as a pandemic, as well as influence a higher standard of living and health of the population. There is a strong demand for such solutions, which is evident in the extensive literature on the subject [30,34,50]. In addition, the proposed project solutions are also universal, as management in other emergencies will be possible based on data on available field reserves and their status. Such a model can also be easily applied to different planning scenarios and emergencies by setting appropriate weights and cut-off values for individual model criteria [51].

It should be remembered that this model is only a tool that can help to improve the process of urban space management in crises. It should not be the only source of knowledge. After the initial selection of potential areas suitable for investment, it is important to identify each of them individually. In addition, decision-makers should seek the opinion of the local community, which should actively participate in the entire process [48]. Only when social participation and other special cases are taken into account is informed spatial management possible. The research confirmed the enormous importance of public participation in the city, which will encourage a shift towards a new model of using existing land reserves, facilitating access to affordable housing, and giving priority to citizens rather than developers and businesses [52,53]. In this context, the rational management of land reserves represents an opportunity to address sustainability through an urban planning approach [54].

5. Conclusions

Given the challenges facing modern societies and the crises occurring, sustainable development is a crucial strategy for building a sustainable future for our planet. The rational management of space, with a particular focus on land reserves, and the social decisions taken in this regard have a significant impact on the achievement of sustainable development goals and, consequently, on the improvement of living conditions today, as well as in the future.

The analysis methodology proposed in the article, which indicated the possibility of using land reserves to prevent unforeseen emergencies, represents an innovative and interdisciplinary approach to spatial planning that takes into account the importance of social responsibility, public awareness, and the concept of the common good.

The shaping of the space of modern cities should take place with the strong participation of contemporary society in achieving sustainable development goals. This is reflected in the model created based on a survey conducted among the inhabitants of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship.

As part of the implementation of the study, a database of land reserves within the two analysed districts was created. The primary data sources included the database of topographic objects that were available to the Capital City of Warsaw and lists of potential historical land contamination obtained from the district offices. Using this information, prospective areas were selected that could serve as reserves and be developed in crises; these areas included post-industrial areas, disused areas, sports facilities, agricultural areas, and green areas. Data on historical land surface pollution for the Capital City of Warsaw area were also acquired. In addition, data collected from these databases were supplemented with data from the land and building register concerning ownership and the findings of decisions on land development conditions and location of public purpose investments. The database created in this way formed the basis for the decision-making model described above.

Thanks to the implementation of the survey, it was possible to identify the needs of the respondents and take them into account in the process of optimising the model. This inclusive approach allowed for tools to be developed that take into account the needs of residents and users of the planned investments. The criteria adopted in the present analyses and the model were given their weights, based on which it was possible to valorise the selected areas. The adopted methodology makes it possible to use the model in the adaptation of land reserves for different types of emergency use, such as document checking, testing, vaccination, and other first contact points for people in an emergency; reception points, e.g., for refugees or people affected by a natural disaster (flood, extensive fire); and recreation areas, which are crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rapid scientific progress is generating new research methods and observations that can facilitate the discovery of new relationships between society and sustainability and pave the way to a sustainable future. The model created in this work is the practical realisation of the aforementioned methods. The inclusion of the key role of public participation in the structure of the model emphasises the importance of contemporary society in the process of achieving sustainable urban development goals. Given the challenges facing modern societies, sustainability is a key strategy, if not the only strategy, for building a sustainable future for our planet. Current societal attitudes and decisions undoubtedly influence the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the model created aims to facilitate this task.