Urban and Territorial Aspects of the Development of the Recreational System of Lithuanian Seaside

Abstract

During the period of 1991-2013, the Lithuanian Baltic seaside suffered very intensive, often unsustainable processes of privatisation and urbanisation. These processes took place in the resort of Palanga and other areas such as Giruliai, Melnragė, Karklė, Šventoji, etc. The result contributed to the loss of recreational potential there. During the spontaneous formation of the Lithuanian maritime metropolis, the state of the quality of environment and landscape resulted in the loss of sustainability. Consequently, brand new seaside territorial problems emerged.The following methods were used: system analysis, comparative analysis, visual inspection of the recreational green spaces and environmental assessment studies of the structures, including the methods of spatial structure analysis of recreational landscapes. The study is based on the results 2001-2013 in Lithuania. According to the solutions of the general plan of the territory of Lithuania, the seaside territory is attributed to high to very high potential recreational areas of national importance. The general plan of the territory of the Republic of Lithuania provides the guidelines for the development of recreational seaside region. Thus, the medium and high quality infrastructure for accommondation and base of recreational services must be created. Long-time environmental monitoring leads to the conclusion that in recent years, instead of improving, the environmental quality of many Lithuanian seaside areas have lost the important qualitative components, resulting in the deteriorated quality of public spaces, and the increased urban and architectural chaos. In this study, the authors examine the impact of changes on the quality of the recreational territorial system on the recreational potential of areas. The study provides particular suggestions on how to improve the quality of the recreational environment using the design and installation tools. This paper presents suggestions for the implementation of measures for planning public spaces and recreational areas of coastal settlements, and improving the recreational potential of the areas.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.8.3.7498