Występowanie, rozwój i podstawowe cechy strukturalne zespołów przyrodniczo-krajobrazowych małych miast Polski

Abstract

The landscape-nature complex is one of the few forms of protecting landscape visual assets and the only one created by local governments, which may contribute to the preservation of the aesthetics of small towns. The scope of its application has not been recognised so far. The aim of the research was to evaluate the use of landscape-nature complexes in the protection of landscapes of small towns in Poland. The studies embraced the dynamics of the application of this instrument in the last 30 years, its spatial distribution and representativeness in relation to the landscape zones of Poland, the share and location in the urban space, protection motives, as well as structural features. The results show that complexes in the protection of small town landscapes in Poland are used to a small extent, not exceeding a few percent of the cities. There has not been much interest in using this instrument, particularly in the last 10 years. The occurrence of complexes in areas of high landscape values, especially in mountain, foothill, lake and coastal areas, is insufficient and not representative. The area shares are very diverse, but in most cases, they do not exceed a few percent. Complexes are located mainly on the outskirts of towns, less often in the center. The dominant protective motive is the protection of nature, while parks constitute mainly cultural and historical assets. In a small proportion of the complexes, aesthetic and visual values ​​are explicitly indicated as the purpose of protection. The differences in the landform of the complexes are small, as opposed to the cover forms. It is necessary to improve the legal basis for the protection of the existing complexes and to develop unified methods and procedures for their identification, creation and protection.