Development of Green Areas of the Krakow Metropolitan Area as a Planning Problem

Abstract

Spatial planning is one of the most important instruments that can ensure balance between developed areas and open spaces. Planning regulations define the quality standards of the living space for both people and nature. Creating green infrastructure inside strongly urbanised centres and connecting it with external areas is a problem in urban planning in terms of the integration of local activities and the regional level of spatial policy. The objective of the paper is the presentation, on the example of Krakow, of the problems that exist in the scope of creating a coherent system of green areas on the metropolitan scale, including both the given city and the surrounding, communities against the background of the current planning conditions. The analyses of the effective planning documents at the community level allowed the determining of the main barriers that restrict the continuity of greenery systems. These primarily include the assigning of large areas in neighbouring communities for development, mostly housing, located directly at the border of the city. This applies in particular to the communities located in the southern part of the analysed area. Studies regarding the current condition of the development of community areas in many places indicate potential possibilities of maintaining green corridors or restricting development intensity in a given area. However, the lack of economic benefits for communities and their residents from maintaining agricultural areas greatly affects the spatial policy of local authorities. The attractiveness of the suburban zone for inhabitants of Krakow as a place of residence, increasing prices of suburban properties are additional arguments. The development directions of the Lesser Poland voivodship on the regional scale are vague. They do not define specific rules for the system of connections between areas of greenery that feature varied intended use. The statutorily mandatory metropolitan study, developed as a consequence of the voivodship plan for the voivodship capital city and its functional area includes the components necessary for spatial, social, and economic coherence. These include areas precious in terms of natural qualities and landscapes covered by legal forms of protection resulting from the act on the protection of nature and supraregional and regional ecological corridors. There are no conclusions as to the effect of legally protected open areas on the quality of the condition of the environment in metropolitan centres. The attractiveness of Krakow, bringing in new residents, investors and tourists, is levelled by very unfavourable indicators in terms of environment quality. One of the factors that can improve this situation is the development of the greenery system on the metropolitan scale, combining various forms of use of its individual elements, ensuring better access to open areas and cleaner air for the inhabitants. This requires new methods of delineating green infrastructure and provisions in planning documents. The proposal of its implementation, open to broad consultations, will provide an opportunity for the effective carrying out of the plan.