Selected Aspects of Revitalisation in the Land Development of the City Moat in Jeziorany

Abstract

Historic town quarters, as an area often referred to as the Old Town, used to be and still are perceived as playing the role of the town centre. This is almost invariably true about small towns, as there the Old Town is associated with the site where the town was established and is a manifestation of the town’s historic identity. Therefore, the functional and spacial problems in many small localities face tend to concentrate in their historic centres, where they are compounded by the high density of buildings. The complexity of elements which compose the structure of historic town centres calls for such actions that will ensure a more prominent exposition of the Old Town against the backdrop of the other urban areas. This entails the necessity to solve numerous problems, not only spatial but also economic and social ones. Every town is a living organism, and a place where people live. The key to solving the above problems to by developing revitalisation programmes to improve the quality of space and to ensure sustainable development of centres in historic towns. An example is the historic quarter in Jeziorany, a town with medieval roots which lies in Warmia, a historic region situated in north-eastern Poland. This paper is devoted to a revitalisation project carried out in Jeziorany. Selected aspects are presented of a land development plan designed to revitalise the former moat in Jeziorany, a historic town in Warmia. The moat lies within the Symsarna River Valley Protected Landscape Area. Until recently, it had looked like a belt of untrimmed greenery stretching around the town’s centre. Part of the programme for revitalisation of Jeziorany’s centre, it was the first accomplished stage on the way of giving the town centre a new quality. Once reorganised and improved, this area now contributes to the centre-forming character of the Old Town, enables a better exposition of the Old Town’s historic buildings, has a positive influence on the public urban space and attains a social dimension by improving the local community’s life quality.Revitalisation of the moat in Jeziorany is an example of implementation of some positive spatial solutions in the centre of a small historic town. The process of renewing this area with respect to its functional and visual assets demonstrates that the execution of programmes dedicated to the improvement of urban structures produces a positive impact on the functions performed by town centres and on towns’ economic and social growth. Analogous actions in other towns may have a profound influence on the atmosphere (genius loci) of certain areas in urban landscapes, which can considerably strengthen the bonds within local communities.