The City Planning Using Cultural Elements and Vital Processes
Abstract: The cities need clear and understandable rules which establish and determine the order. Urban planning should be underpinned by a strong, from medium to long term concept accepting and encouraging these rules. The elements which form the cities are crucially important for their planning. In such a way we can work with the character of the cities effectively. This mainly involves the system of three layers which are divided into the boundaries, structures and focal points. The boundaries specify the world of the city (so called cultural world) and the natural world. The structure proposes organization of the city on several possible levels. Focal points are the points and the areas significant for the city. The work with levels of the city enables to create an adequate plan that reflects a true picture of the city. It is relevant to pursue processes operating in the cities. Those processes may be either vital or deadly and they are observed in all scales of planning and indicate which parts of the city, streets, spaces or places have a higher or lower degree of life or vitality. We live in a time when some parts of cities are often kept alive artificially at unnecessarily high maintenance costs, it is reasonable to look for a way to avoid these unfavourable energy losses. Observing those processes is a possible way to identify the vitality of urban areas. This working method has been clearly elaborated at the Opava Workshop.
