Wyrobiska surowców skalnych w krajobrazie miejskim Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowskiej Metropolii

Abstract

This article deals with the important issue of the role excavations left after the extraction of rock raw materials play in the landscape of urban areas. Such areas suffer from a considerable deficit of land usable for various purposes. This problem is discussed on the basis of the GZM Metropolitan Area (the Silesian Province, Poland). Extensive fieldwork carried out on numerous excavation sites has enabled the author to analyse and to classify them into several types according to their role in the landscape. The reclamation of surface excavations remains an open issue. Undoubtedly, their present and future role in shaping the landscape of the Upper Silesian Conurbation is crucial, but it still remains under-researched. This study is based on the observation and measurement of numerous facilities (quarries, sandpits, clay-pits and smaller excavations of rock raw materials), analysed on a large spatial scale. A synthesis of the results is shown in numerous maps. This study contributes to the scholarly discussion on the role in the landscape of land devastated by surface mining, which possesses considerable potential and is valuable from the perspective of nature and culture.