The Study of the Landscape of Populated areas for needs of the Development of the Concept of Greenery

Abstract

Thematic planning of the blue-green infrastructure is increasingly incorporated in development plans of European cities, within which the qualitative green structure is implemented at various scales – of the county, of the populated areas and locally. European experience shows that it is important to divide several levels or scales of planning (national, regional, county, city, local level) in the planning of green structures, defining the objectives and tasks to be achieved in each level, and the hierarchy between them. The methodology for developing the concept of the greenery is based on the planning of a three-level / scale greening system, based on widely used in Europe approaches for the development of green infrastructure, green network (green grid, etc.), basic principles of ecological design and urban acupuncture (the activation of urban space with punctuated public outdoor objects, elements, territories).The aim of the paper is to present the linkage between the theory and practice in the development of the concept of greenery for small scale populated areas. It is written that the structure and elements of the landscape of the populated area of Ikšķile (Latvia) and its villages have been studied and analysed as the pilot area. The levels included in the landscape study, as well as in the concept of the greenery of Ikškile municipality – city, neighbourhood or village, landscape units and object levels – form a hierarchical system in which each subsequent level details the previous one. Similarly, the study of the existing greenery structure of the populated areas is based on a multi-level study which is linked to a future planning. The most significant natural and cultural historical elements of the city have been identified and analysed at the town level of Ikšķile, dwelling on the cultural historical structure of the populated area, as well as the day-to-day important objects and areas designated as “nodal points” in the town. The “nodal points” and the “linking elements” at the town level are analysed in two directions – objects and territories of daily importance and important for the development of tourism. At the level of neighbourhoods and municipality villages, the elements forming the identity of the place and the existing structure of greenery are more analysed. At the level of landscape units and objects, the existing greenery elements in specific functional zones and situations of the town (street greenery, greenery of residential areas, etc.) – their diversity, typology, quality and usability, accessibility are analysed. As a result, the existing image of Ikšķile, the forming elements of the identity and the existing greenery and spatial structure are obtained, as well as problematic situations at each level of the study are defined. The elaborated research serves as a basis for the development of the greenery concept of the populated area of Ikšķile and its villages.