The park in Czyżyny was created thanks to the huge involvement of residents as part of the Civic Budget. It was built on the site of the former MPK depot and a fragment of the taxiway for airplanes. Originally, almost the entire area of the park was covered with asphalt and concrete. A three-hectare park was created, which has become a place where residents spend their time outdoors in an interesting way. There are playgrounds, wall-holle, parkour, gym, benches, deckchairs, public toilet.
Local
Poland
Municipality of Krakow
Małopolska Region
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2020-08-15
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Municipality of Krakow represented by the Krakow Municipal Greenspace Authority Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Piotr Kempf Last name of representative: Małgorzata Gracz-Pestyk Gender: Female Nationality: Poland Function: the Krakow Municipal Greenspace Authority Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Reymonta 20 Town: Cracow Postal code: 30-059 Country: Poland Direct Tel:+48 12 201 02 66 E-mail:mgracz@zzm.krakow.pl Website:https://zzm.krakow.pl
The park in Czyżyny was created thanks to the huge involvement of residents as part of the Civic Budget. It was built on the remains of the former MPK depot and a fragment of the taxiway. Originally, almost the entire surface of the park was covered with asphalt and concrete. Today, images of buses and planes under the feet of walkers remind us of the history of this place. Currently, the park has several hundred trees and several thousand perennials arranged in various compositions: some in the English style - orderly, with alleys of trees and lawns, others in the form of disordered ruderal vegetation, reminiscent of the remains of cobbled surfaces. The main goal of the project was to create a place of peace and relaxation for users, with an attractive recreational offer. Most of the park is a space offering attractions for all age groups. For children, there is a playground with drawings of buses in the surface, and for teenagers, a wall-holla, i.e. the first vertical playground in Krakow in the form of a wall cage with numerous indoor play platforms, a climbing wall and an outdoor slide for children. The older ones will find a multifunctional sports field, a gym and a parkour park. With seniors in mind, a boulevard with an area of two full-size boules courts was designed. The park has deckchairs, comfortable benches, a swing for several people and spacious picnic areas. A smaller part of the park behind the car park remains a wildlife zone, where you can meet animals: hares, foxes. There is a communal garden with raised vegetable crates and a large picnic table. During the season, the chests are manned by locals and are popular. The park is fully accessible to people with disabilities. The total investment cost is PLN 10.9 million and was financed from the state budget. The three-hectare park in Czyżyny was created in a heavily built-up part of the city, in the space between ul. Stella-Sawicki and the Avia housing estate, access to it is free and serves social
revitalization
public spaces
integration
social inclusion
activation
The key objective of the project in terms of sustainability was to carry out the revitalization with maximum social participation, whilst respecting the local conditions and history of the place. Originally, the area where Czyżyny Park is located was almost entirely covered with a paved surface: asphalt and concrete. These were the remains of the former MPK depot and a fragment of a taxiway for airplanes (today, images of buses and airplanes under our feet remind us of this story). The park completely reversed these proportions in favor of a biologically active area. 252 large trees and nearly 14,000 trees were planted. trees., various plants. There was no place in the area where the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements could meet and rest. Embankments were created surrounding the park - isolating it from the side of the busy Stella-Sawickiego Street. Greenery planted on them - m. black pines, Swedish rowan in a multi-stem variety, dogwoods and stolons, as well as tall grasses acting as an acoustic and visual screen. In the place that previously served as a parking lot and a maneuvering area, new plantings, a playground, sports fields and other places where you can relax or spend time actively have appeared. A three-hectare park was created, which is unique for several reasons - a zone of silence and relaxation, immersed in greenery, is adjacent to a rich recreational offer, e.g. wall-hollem - probably the first vertical playground - a large vertical climbing structure, resembling a hamster cage. A very interesting construction for children, certainly encouraging to play. There are also several exercise machines right next to the playground. The parent can use the devices while watching the child playing on the playground. Park in Czyżyny in Krakow PL - according to the Society of Polish Town Planners, the best developed public space in Poland in 2020. Awarded in the category "New public space in greenery", won the second prize in the Green Cities Europe Award
The area between Stella-Sawickiego Street and the Avia housing estate is a unique example of the revitalization of a large concrete square and the transformation of the space into a green, vibrant park. It was built on the remains of the former MPK depot and a fragment of the taxiway. Originally, almost the entire surface of the park was covered with asphalt and concrete. Today, images of buses and planes under the feet of walkers remind us of the history of this place. The revitalization of this place significantly improved the aesthetics of the public space, while preserving the identity of the areas. Thanks to the planting of 252 large trees and nearly 14,000 trees, various plants, the area has significantly increased the aesthetic value of the space. There was no place in the area where the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements could meet and rest. The key issue that allowed for a spectacular improvement in the aesthetics of the concrete square was a comprehensive approach to the design of these spaces. The works covered all their elements, starting from spatial arrangement, through greenery, surface replacement, elements of small architecture. Every detail of the arrangement of this space has been carefully designed and made, and the form and colors refer to the historical elements of this place. A three-hectare park was created, which is unique - a zone of silence and relaxation, immersed in greenery, adjacent to a rich recreational offer, including wall-hollem - probably the first vertical playground - a large vertical climbing structure, resembling a hamster cage. A very interesting construction for children, certainly encouraging to play. There are also several exercise machines right next to the playground. The parent can use the devices while watching the child playing on the playground. The creation of the park influenced the quality of life of the local residents of the estates, providing them with recreational, sports and social functions.
Park Czyżyny is one of the winning tasks of the participatory budget in 2016. The implementation of the project was preceded by consultation meetings with residents, which united and activated the local community long before the creation of the park. The areas of the former MPK depot and the historic access road to the runway have been transformed into a recreational and sports space. The main assumption of the designers was to create a place where residents can spend time outdoors in an interesting way. The entire space is open to all residents. A retraining and renaturation program in a crowded and popular district of Krakow has transformed a hostile, abandoned neighborhood of a bus depot into a 3-hectare ecological city park with a playground. The park has influenced the quality of life of the local inhabitants of the estates, providing them with recreational, sports and social functions. This has improved the safety of the surroundings - the area is illuminated and safe. Thanks to the revitalization of the space, the project contributed to the achievement of the following goals:
- improving the quality of life of residents by ensuring higher quality of public spaces,
- reducing vexing social phenomena such as isolation and anonymity, which often mean social exclusion for single and/or elderly people,
- creating and strengthening social ties between residents who will have a sense of community and responsibility for the jointly designed space,
- improving the access of people with disabilities to the revitalized public space, and thus counteracting their exclusion by ensuring compliance with the principle of universal design;
- improving accessibility by taking into account the diverse needs of people of different ages,
- strengthening identification with the place of residence, awakening the so-called local patriotism.
In 2016 As part of the participatory budget of the city of Krakow, a project entitled 'Live next to the park', which won in the category of citywide projects. The three-hectare Park in Czyżyny was created with the involvement of the Krakow City Authorities, which significantly co-financed the project, recognizing the need for its implementation in the degraded urban tissue. The project was created in response to the need to create a green enclave in a heavily built-up area of the city. The implementation of the project was preceded by consultation meetings with residents, which united and activated the local community long before the creation of the park, which is particularly important in new housing estates. The Czyżyny Park, which was created in this area, has in its form of development and architectural details references and quotes to the historical function of this area - the runway.
The main benefit of involving the local community in the design process was creating a sense of responsibility for the renovated spaces. Participating in the planning and design process, the residents felt that their needs were important and actually taken into account. They perceived the designed space as their own. Involving them in landscaping by organizing joint plantings increases the likelihood that they will pay more attention to the maintenance of infrastructure, protecting their status from undesirable behavior, including vandalism.
Joint designing and numerous meetings also contributed to strengthening neighborly ties and a sense of community.
The main goal of the project was to create a place of peace and relaxation for users, with an attractive recreational offer. The involvement of the residents in the implementation of the project resulted in the creation of a park with attractions for all age groups. For children, there is a playground with drawings of buses on the surface, and for teenagers, a wall-holla, i.e. the first vertical playground in Krakow in the form of a wall cage with numerous indoor play platforms, a climbing wall and a children's slide. Elderly sports fields feature, a gym and a parkour park. With seniors in mind, a boulevard with an area of two full-size boules courts was designed. The park has deckchairs, comfortable benches, a swing for several people and blue picnic areas. A smaller part of the park behind the car park remains a wildlife zone, where you can meet animals: hares, foxes. There is a communal garden with raised vegetable bins and an artificial picnic table. In season they are adapted by users and will take advantage. The park is fully accessible to people with disabilities.
Main reasonfor changes for the park was a registration of the project in a participatory budget.The parking space changed into an enclave of greenery in a heavily built-up partof the city. The space fully covered by concrete and asphalt has changed into a park full of trees and perennials, which create various compositions – orderly, colorfulspaces of English style and easy vegetation of a ruderal nature. We oweeverything to the cooperation of natural scientists, who allowed space for fournature and wild, natural species of vegetation and landscape architects, whocreated a functional space with greenery and for everybody. They have been takencare to ensure that the noise from the street doesn’t disturb park users - createdan aesthetic embankment surrounding the park. Due to the historical nature ofthe place, cooperation was also established with academic teachers who are landscapearchitects specializing in the revitalization of historic city landscapes. Therecreational offer of the park is intended for all age groups and doesn’tdiscriminate against residents – you can find there a playground for theyoungest, climbing walls and slide for kids and wall-holl for young adults.Adults can spend their time on the basketball field and seniors can play a gamecalled “boule”. Gym in fresh air allows the inhabitants of the city to maintaina healthy body. It’s a good example how a city can change space from grey togreen with cooperation of the citizens, specialists and the city government.
Thanks to the implementation of the revitalization project of the Czyżyny Park, the following results/objectives were achieved:
- the space of the park area has been tidied up;
- acoustic and visual insulation from Stella Sawicki Street by creating embankments with low and high greenery;
- areas of existing high and low greenery have been preserved to the maximum extent;
- the functionality of the area was organized by separating zones in the designed park (play zone, relaxation zone, parts for animals, common zone - boxes for gardens for residents);
-- a multifunctional park with a coherent composition was created;
- recultivation of hardened areas and new plantings of low and high greenery;
- the identity of the place was emphasized (the history of the months was referred to). An anonymous, nobody's and undefined space between the heavily built-up part of the city has become an attractive, lively neighborhood meeting place where everyone will find something for themselves. The needs of all social groups have been taken care of - thanks to new playgrounds, these places are attractive for children, and outdoor gyms allow for active leisure for adults, including seniors. The latter group was also taken into account when designing comfortable benches with backrests and a boules court. The intangible result of the project is an increase in the satisfaction of residents and an improvement in their quality of life.
The innovation of the project consisted in the intensive involvement of the inhabitants at all stages of its implementation and the successful attempt to find common, satisfactory solutions despite potentially conflicting needs and expectations, sometimes in addition to the requirements resulting from local law. Each resident has slightly different needs and expectations regarding the space directly adjacent to their home. To simplify, e.g. car owners want a parking space nearby, people without a car prefer green areas instead of a parking lot, families with small children a playground, elderly people want peace and quiet, etc.
Reconciling all these points of view was possible only thanks to the constant dialogue with the residents, the District Council and city activists, so that they were co-creators of this space and at the same time had the opportunity to listen to the arguments of people who have a different opinion. It is thanks to such activities that the area between Stella-Sawickiego Street and the Avia housing estate is a unique example of the revitalization of a large concrete square and the transformation of the space into a green, vibrant park. The project fits in with the surroundings by using and emphasizing the main communication axes of the estate and the former access road to the runway. The alleys have been connected both with the housing estate and with the area of the Museum of Municipal Engineering (hangar). The park area has been separated from the busy street and the car park by earth embankments, which constitute a visual and acoustic barrier. The embankments have been planted with vegetation, which is a kind of invitation to visit the park behind them.
The park in Czyżyny was created as part of the Civic Budget entitled 'Live next to the park' and with the involvement of the City of Krakow, which significantly co-financed the project. It was created in response to the need to create a green enclave in a heavily built-up area of the city. The space located between Stella-Sawickiego Street and the Avia housing estate is a unique example of the revitalization of a large concrete square into a green park teeming with life. The modern design concept combines strong architectural forms with plastic naturalistic greenery. The zone of silence and relaxation immersed in greenery is adjacent to an exceptionally attractive recreational offer. The greenery design in the area of the Park in Czyżyny took into account the enclaves of existing vegetation to the maximum extent. In the area of the former depot, aspen poplars, field roses and hawthorns were left, enriched with grasses and perennials, which, combined with the gravel surface left, create the effect of a space spontaneously colonized by vegetation. Planted perennials have an ecological function - selected plants are melliferous species, which are food for pollinating insects and butterflies. Species of trees and shrubs, in turn, were selected so as to provide shelter for small animals and provide food for birds (elderberry, blackthorn plum, serviceberry, wild rose, hawthorn, Swedish rowan). An element worth emphasizing is the issue of optimizing the construction costs of the park, which assumed leaving the asphalt surface in the best condition, using the existing foundation, and reclamation for green areas of the surface, in which there are currently various types of rubbing and patches of greenery. Due to the proximity of apartment blocks and out of respect for birds nesting in trees, lanterns with light directed downwards were designed.
The process of participatory planning and creation of public spaces, used in the "Park Czyżyny" project, can be widely transferred and used, especially in the design of public spaces with a limited number of stakeholders.
Scheme of the process of participatory planning and creation of public spaces used in the project:
1. Meetings with the residents of the heavily built-up area, the District Council o in order to define the conditions and invite them to further cooperation.
2. Cooperation with residents, taking action in response to residents' needs
3. Cooperation of naturalists who allowed the creation of enclaves with natural and wild plants, and with landscape designers who developed the space so that it was functional and contained decorative greenery
4. Due to the historical nature of the place, cooperation was also established with academic teachers who are landscape architects specializing in the revitalization of historic city landscapes.
First of all, cooperation with the inhabitants of the heavily built-up area allowed for the creation of a green enclave, teeming with life.
The project addressed global challenges in several social areas, such as: aging (and in particular the social exclusion and isolation of the elderly people), anonymity, as resulting from living in large cities. Involving people typically excluded from decision making in the designing and implementation process is a chance for social integration, also intergenerational, making new acquaintances and creating neighborly ties.
In the area of this environmental project, we addressed issues related to the climate change, especially the necessity of taking actions related to reducing the urban heat-island effect. Preservation and development of green areas in the city is a key factor in this process. The park has improved the quality of life of the local residents of the estates, providing them with recreational, sports and social functions. It has improved the safety of the surroundings - the area is illuminated and safe.
