Konrad Łukasz Czapiewski was born on 24 April 1979 in Warsaw, Poland. He was a human geographer and an associate professor at the Department of Rural Geography and Local Development at the Stanisław Leszczycki Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences. His scientific interests were focused on rural geography (mainly success areas, sustainable development of rural areas, functional structure of rural areas, and local development), socio-economic geography (human capital, education, knowledge transfer, endogenous potential, and intra-regional differentiations), and the methodology of geographical research.
In 2003, he graduated from the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies at the University of Warsaw, specialising in socio-economic geography. His master’s thesis supervised by prof. M. Durydiwka was entitled Living conditions of rural population in Poland in the period of socio-economic transformation. In 2010, he defended his doctoral thesis in geographical sciences in the field of economic geography. The thesis was titled Concept of socio-economic successful rural areas and their identification in the Mazovia Region and it was supervised by prof. Jerzy Bański. In October 2021, he was awarded the degree of habilitated doctor.
Konrad Czapiewski, thanks to his scientific and organisational activities, was well known both in the Polish and international fora. He was one of the most active members of the Polish Geographical Society, a national representative of the Association of Geographical Societies in Europe EUGEO; he was known by many and liked in the international geographic community. Since 2003 he has been an active member of the Main Board of the Polish Geographical Society and its Commission for Rural Areas. Since 2019 he has been a member of the Main Board of Committee for Spatial Economy and Regional Planning, Polish Academy of Sciences. In 2013, he became editor-in-chief of Studia Obszarów Wiejskich (Rural Studies journal), published by the Polish Geographical Society in cooperation with the Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences. He was a partner leader in the ‘SPOT – Sustainable Spatial Planning of Tourism Destinations’ project.
He published more than 100 scientific publications, participated in nearly 120 conferences (including 25 as a guest or keynote speaker), and was involved in the implementation of 57 research projects (including 10 international).
Konrad was a very good friend to numerous researchers. He was always cheerful and optimistic about life. He talked a lot and beautifully about traveling, which was his greatest passion. Nothing was impossible for him, so he willingly offered advice in many spheres of daily life and work. We will all remember his brilliant comments in ongoing scientific discussions during our meetings. Konrad was a person with an extraordinary geographical sensitivity to the surrounding world, which he was able to observe closely. He died during a trip to Mexico on 25 August 2022.
We have shared dreams, ideas, already started publications, projects, and initiatives that we will have to implement and develop, unfortunately, without his participation.
Rest in peace our dearest Friend!
CZAPIEWSKI, K. (2005), ‘Living conditions and functional structure of rural communes in Poland’, Geografický časopis, 57 (1), pp. 23–42.
CZAPIEWSKI, K., BAŃSKI, J. and GÓRCZYNSKA, M. (2016), ‘The impact of location on the role of small towns in regional development: Mazovia, Poland’, European Countryside, 8 (4), pp. 413–426. https://doi.org/10.1515/euco-2016-0028
CZAPIEWSKI, K. and JANC, K. (2006), ‘On Human Capital and Agrarisation in Poland’, Rural Areas and Development, 4, pp. 53–68.
CZAPIEWSKI, K., MAZUREK, D., TRACZYK, A. and WÓJCIK, M. (2020), ‘Waste material flow analysis in the Łódź Metropolitan Area’, European Spatial Research and Policy, 27 (2), pp. 95–114. https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.27.2.07
FLORIAŃCZYK, Z., JANC, K. and CZAPIEWSKI, K. (2012), ‘The importance and diffusion of knowledge in the agricultural sector: the Polish experiences’, Geographia Polonica, 85 (1), pp. 45–56. https://doi.org/10.7163/GPol.2012.1.4
HRUŠKA, V., CZAPIEWSKI, K. and KOVÁCS, Z. (2015) ‘Rural economic development in the post-agricultural era: policy recommendations’, Studia Obszarów Wiejskich/Rural Studies, 39, pp. 129–144. https://doi.org/10.7163/SOW.39.8
JANC, K., CZAPIEWSKI, K. and WÓJCIK, M. (2019), ‘In the starting blocks for smart agriculture: The internet as a source of knowledge in transitional agriculture’, NJAS-Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 90, art. no. 100309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2019.100309
OBERSTEG, A., ARLATI, A., ACKE, A., BERRUTI, G., CZAPIEWSKI, K., DĄBROWSKI, M., HEURKENS E., MEZEI C., PALESTIONO M. F., VARJU V., WÓJCIK, M. and KNIELING, J. (2019), ‘Urban regions shifting to circular economy: Understanding challenges for new ways of governance’, Urban Planning, 4 (3), pp. 19–31. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v4i3.2158
WÓJCIK, M., JEZIORSKA-BIEL, P. and CZAPIEWSKI, K. (2019), ‘Between words: A generational discussion about farming knowledge sources’, Journal of Rural Studies, 67, pp. 130–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.02.024
