Landscape Urbanism in Europe: From Brownfields to Sustainable Urban Development

Landscape management on post-exploitation land using the example of the Silesian region, Poland

“…Ecological functions are in line with social expectations. The development of these lands has been water-sports and tourism-oriented (NITA & MYGA-PIĄTEK, 2005, 2006. The most common example of the development of former spoil heap areas is the forest-oriented recultivation consisting of planting trees for the purposes of a new recreational function.…”

“…Apart from its agricultural function, this place also serves a leisure and recreation function. Another example is the Biville Quarry in France where following a landscape study architects decided to create a completely different type of landscape -a new value was given to the degraded area that is currently comprised of cascading waterfalls and ponds incorporated into rock cliffs (NITA & MYGA-PIĄTEK, 2005, 2006. Near Milan, in a quarry left behind after the exploitation of gravel, a Cava Nord Public Park, encompassing an area of 37 ha and a system of lakes with the length of 700 m and width of 150 m, was developed.…”

“…By utilising cutting edge ideas, methods and management strategies, this approach aims to reclaim "lost areas" for cities and their inhabitants, secondary development of brownfield type areas as well as degraded and damaged lands (SPAID, 2002;DONADIEU, 2006). The transformation of these lands occurs through their adaptation into various public-purpose forms, such as educational institutions (educational and didactic centres), technology parks, picnic areas, museums and openair ethnographic museums, cycle paths, sports areas, operas, amphitheatres, parks, botanical gardens, rockeries, geosites for geological as well as mineralogical didactics and tourism (MYCZKOWSKI, 2003;PIETRZYK-SOKULSKA, 2003;ROSTAŃSKI, 2012;TOKARSKA-GUZIK, 2003;ZACHARIASZ, 2003).…”

“…land depressions of at least 2 m deep, formed as a result of open-cast mining of energy, chemical, building or metallurgical resources) and waste heaps as important cultural and scenic elements (MYGA-PIĄTEK & NITA, 2008). Special forms of planning and landscaping have been introduced for these sites (CHAPMAN & WALKER, 1988;DETTMAR, 2007;DONADIEU, 2006). Economy and industry have been the causes and factors of development in post-socialist cities.…”

Agricultural Land and the New Urban Paradigm: Coexistence, Integration, or Conflict?

“…Additionally, urban agriculture is consistent with, and is being bolstered by, new approaches to urban design and development, which emphasize diffuse, informal, community-based initiatives, open space, green space and "soft edge" interventions for the overall quality and sustainability of the urban environment [53][54][55]. At the same time, urban areas represent a relevant experimental opportunity to stimulate innovative practices (such as multifunctional agriculture, urban gardening, and urban agri-farming) to be exploited in relation to the need to supply public services and products for the city [56]. The role of urban agriculture practices and related activities can actually be articulated on the basis of the spatial context within which they are implemented.…”