River parks in Cracow

In 1996-1997 on the initiative of the Municipal Office of the City of Kraków the Institute of Landscape Architecture of Cracow University of Technology developed a conception for shaping the city's environmental system in accordance with current needs and conditions. The project's underlying idea is to use the hydro-graphical network as the basis for laying out new green areas called river parks. There are four basic arguments for adopting this approach: - size and shape of the city's territory and structure of residential areas; - possibility of connecting river parks with the system of protected landscape surrounding the city; - existing unbuilt areas along the Vistula River and its tributaries within city boundaries; - possibility to combine the river parks project with the flood protection programme with beneficial effects for the economic development of areas along the river and boating. A structure plan should be developed to co-ordinate the programme that would necessarily comprise many stages, similar to those developed for special economic zones. The river parks would need an appropriate legal protection to guarantee their status. As a result, the river parks would become a complex system of water and green areas, stimulating the city's harmonious growth