Abstract
The protection of larger built-up areas that constitute sections of actively functioning urban zones is a challenge, even under favourable political and economic conditions. The case of Krakow’s historical town centre, which is protected as a historical site by national law and it was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List in 1978, clearly demonstrates how difficult it is to reconcile the passive character of current conservation doctrines with the demands of the free market and growth-oriented economy, when developer pressure is not sufficiently balanced out by public opinion and urban activist movements, when planning tools are incomplete or insufficient, and the criteria according to which strategic decisions are made are of a quantitative rather than a qualitative character. Apart from commonly encountered problems that are associated with the gentrification of town centres or the negative impact of mass tourism, Krakow must also face a growing flood hazard that stems from its specific and unfavourable hydrological and hydrogeological conditions that are compounded by the uncontrolled and uncoordinated expansion of urbanised areas, the decay of the natural environment, and the consequences of climate change. This article presents the multi-aspect site-specific conditions of the historical centre of Krakow, as well as the analysis of its protection as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the context of flood protection, while taking into consideration the environmental, economic, and social dimension of heritage. The critical conclusions that are featured in the work indicate both areas of possible immediate remedial action and the potential directions that new integrated protection strategies would take.
Highlights
When civilisation development and climate change combine, they bring along an increase in water-related risks
This article is a critical review of the flood risk management solutions that have been employed in Poland in the context of protecting heritage areas, presented in the example of the Old Town complex in Krakow, which was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites List in 1978, and it is protected under national law
Two trade routes intersected here, forking in the direction of two fords on the Vistula—one near Wawel Hill, which led towards Bohemia and Moravia, and one that led across an island that formed by two branches of the Vistula, on which the town of Kazimierz was to be founded later
Summary
When civilisation development and climate change combine, they bring along an increase in water-related risks. In the case of cities and urban areas, these are, in particular, an increased risk of the occurrence and the severity of water-related events: torrential rains, flooding caused by inappropriate infrastructure, urban flooding, river flooding, pluvial flooding, high soil dampness, and a shallow groundwater table [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. The Thames Barrier, which protects London against tidal and fluvial foods, built in the years 1974–1984, was used two times per year during the twentieth century, while in the years 2000–2018 it was used more than six times per year [10]. Substantial evidence indicates that the Thames Barrier can become insufficient to protect global heritage sites, like the Westminster Palace or the Tower of London, against a thousand-year flood in as early as 2025 [3]. Around 1.3 billion euro is spent yearly on maintaining this infrastructure, while rising sea levels will require additional investment and increasing maintenance costs, if not a complete overhaul of the protection paradigm [13]
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