The Pocket Park and Its Impact on the Quality of Urban Space on the Local and Supralocal Scale—Case Study of Krakow, Poland

Tomasz Bajwoluk and Piotr Langer ()
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Tomasz Bajwoluk: Faculty of Architecture, Krakow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Krakow, Poland
Piotr Langer: Faculty of Architecture, Krakow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Krakow, Poland

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: The idea of building pocket parks in cities is one of the more rational proposals for utilizing cameral spaces to create new quality in terms of green areas while accounting for the potential to blend them into the compact functiospatial structure of the contemporary city. Numerous examples of pocket park projects from around the world point to there being considerable interest in this form of greenery. The goal of this paper is to present the findings of a study of a selected number of pocket parks in Krakow, Poland, in terms of their accessibility, local determinants, and the nearby functiospatial structure, as well as whether they can be included into a wider network of service and green spaces of supralocal significance. The research method included novel field research of selected pocket parks and their surroundings. The form and function of the parks were analyzed and the type of their surrounding urban structure was determined, along with the parks’ accessibility. The study investigated nine parks located in the northeastern part of Krakow in a dense development structure dominated by multi-family housing. Analyses of the parks themselves and the research on the relations and linkages between parks and their surrounding urban structure generally pointed to the accuracy of the concept of the pocket park, its universality, and its compliance with the concept of the sustainable development of urban space. The presence and manner of development of pocket parks can be said to enhance the quality of spaces in confined fragments of an urban structure and to have predominantly local significance.

Keywords: pocket park; functiospatial structure; urban space; greenery; accessibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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