Development of The System of the Green Areas of Krakow from The Nineteenth Century to The Present, In The Context of Model Solutions

Abstract

The shaping of green areas with varying degrees of arrangement and different forms of use, as well as of their structure in the form of a system within cities, are tasks that are aimed at, among other goals, the protection of the environment and nature, the integration of urban structure and the improvement of the quality of life. In modern cities, which develop in a multi-central manner, it is often impossible to develop model systems of green areas featured in literature, such as the belt, wedge, radiant or ring type. Currently these are most often mixed systems, to which terms like open, irregular and distributed are most often referred to. What is important is the continuous layout of areas of greenery, an appropriate access range and a hierarchical structure of use, ranging from the housing estate parks, that are the closest to our homes, to regional parks.The article discusses the example of Krakow – a historical city, the second-largest in Poland. Krakow occupies a prominent position among cities that are both beautiful and picturesque, which have outstanding spatial qualities and a genius loci. The placement of the city in the Vistula River Valley, a diverse topographic layout, in addition to varied land cover all constitute its unique natural and landscape values. Conceptual designs and the implementation of plans of the shaping of areas of the greenery of Krakow have been compared with model solutions.The contemporary spatial structure of Krakow’s areas of greenery has been shaped by natural conditions and the development of its urban structure. A particular role in this process has been played by: the campaign to embellish Krakow, when many streets were given the character of avenues, the founding of urban plantations in the place of former fortifications and the Trzech Wieszczy Avenues upon the embankment of the circumvallation rail and the the Planty Dietla park in place of the river bed of the Old Vistula. A key role was also played by the successive spatial development plans, starting in 1910, as well as concepts of the development of greenery and municipal policies. The most well-known model scheme of a wedge and ring system of areas of Greenery for Krakow was developed by A. Ptaszycka and J. Bogdanowski (the 1950’s). It was based on the hydrographic system and the rocade roads of the Krakow Fortress. This concept, ideal in its expression, was not transferred onto spatial development plans, with the following factors being responsible: the territorial expansion of the city, its contemporary multi-centrality and changing geometric shape. In 1996, a greenery system was developed featuring so-called river parks, based on the hydrographic system (wedge model). A conceptual design was developed in 2017, showing the contemporary network of green areas in Krakow with the greatest level of detail. An integrating model was proposed - a mixed network model with legible wedges in the form of river parks and compact afforestation. The author participated in the development of the last two concepts.