Abstract
Almost five thousand allotment gardens divided into one million plots are used by roughly 10% of Polish society. Several studies have emphasized their social importance and significance for enlargement of the area and the integrity of urban spatial greenery systems. However, the area of allotment gardens in Polish cities has been decreasing since the changes in the post-communist country in the 1990s. There is a lack of a simple method of classification and valuation of allotment gardens in relation to their significance in urban green space systems that could be used by officials and city planners. Hence, this study aims to examine the significance of allotment gardens in the spatial development of the green space system of Poznań and classify them with a simple and universal method of valuation which could be used in urban planning. The location of allotment gardens in the urban green space system in Poznań was examined with the classification method elaborated here. It was based on the valuation of several internal and external features of individual allotment gardens. The results showed that allotment gardens are important areas and spatial elements of the green space system in Poznań. Over 30% of allotment gardens are of high significance in the green space system of the city. Nevertheless, according to urban planning documentation, there are plans to reduce the area of allotments in Poznań. Even gardens indicated in the research to be of high significance to the integrity and enlargement area of the urban green space system are planned to be liquidated. Use of the developed classification could influence the decision-making process regarding the liquidation of allotment gardens and preserve the most valuable objects.
Highlights
Providing adequate areas of well-functioning green space systems is a basic way of developing the urban spatial structure [1]
The main objectives of this study were (1) to examine the significance of allotment gardens in the spatial development of the green space system of Poznań and (2) to elaborate a classification of allotment gardens in the urban green space system as a universal and simple method of their valuation which can be used in urban spatial planning
The area of allotment gardens in Poznań is more than 50% larger than that of all green spaces managed by the Municipal Greenery
Summary
Providing adequate areas of well-functioning green space systems is a basic way of developing the urban spatial structure [1]. An urban greenery system is an arbitrary conceptual unit covering green spaces in a city It is arranged in a certain organizational system, usually referring to the urban composition; it is contractual because it is characterized as (and should be) a reference to the natural structures of the neighborhood. Urban green spaces provide numerous ecosystem services for city inhabitants such as cultural services by giving people opportunities to experience nature in the city [2] These are areas of high social significance used for leisure and recreation [3,4,5]. They provide regulating services, reducing air pollution and improving the local climate and quality of the natural environment in cities [6,7,8] They regulate surface runoff [9] and contribute to the protection of waters and soils [10]. They provide shelter for various organisms, helping to maintain biodiversity, which is a habitat service [11,12,13], and provide provisioning services such as food supply via allotment gardens and other urban gardening (urban agriculture) examples [14,15,16]
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