In the authors’ view, the existing urban planning system is not favourable to the temporality and variability of urban wastelands, which complement traditional urban greenery through a range of functions such as; gardens, meeting spaces, places to walk the dog etc. Consequently, the aim of the paper is to investigate functions and possible scenarios for the development of urban wastelands in Poland. The methods used in the research include a comparative assessment of wasteland case studies from Warsaw and Tarnów and a comparison of possible development scenarios based on case studies from different cities across Europe. Wastelands were researched to establish their location, their functions, the distance from inhabited areas and the types of other green areas located within a 5 min. isochrone from the surrounding housing area. Case studies of development scenarios were researched to establish their changing functions, the continuity of design and the algorithm of creation. The authors conducted qualitative interviews, mapping, inventories of territorial marks (makeshift benches or other constructions made by users showing the way they ‘own’ the area), investigation of local development plans and literature reviews to gather the data used. The collation of results has led to the creation of a ‘wastelands toolkit’ – a tool dedicated to urban planners and decision makers.
Abstract. Urban wastelands may often be perceived as dysfunctional and unattractive, however they always seem to have environmental and sociological values, which encourage people to act spontaneously in their use. Undeveloped areas are important places in the structure of inhabiting landscape as a substitute for "natural" landscape. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to describe residents' aesthetical preferences for urban wasteland according to the image (type of scenery) and function of this kind of urban greenery. The survey was carried out on 13 selected case studies of brownfields, neglected greenery and undeveloped areas in Warsaw. The users' aesthetical preferences as well as the behaviour of residents, which have been treated as a neighbourhood greenery, were examined and compared. A basis of the comparison was differences in the image of the visiting landscape, perceived as different types of scenery. The methods used included Visitor Employed Photography and territorial markers and a physical traces inventory. The results show the various recreational uses, thus the great potential of wasteland green areas. It also confirms the growing acceptability of free vegetation aesthetics, while also presenting differences in the choice of a particular scenery by different groups of users.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.