The influence of urban design standards on services accessibility shown as a case study comparison of Nowa Huta and Ruczaj neighbourhoods

Krzysztof Klus

doi:10.37190/arc210311

Abstract

An important element of any residential complex is accessibility to various services. Restriction of this accessibility affects the quality of residents’ life. Furthermore, it causes negative side effects i.e. traffic intensification. Unfortunately, as an outcome of the Polish systemic change of 1989, centrally-driven urban design standards that controlled appropriate rules were abolished. Those rules were instead left to local authorities and private development. Currently, the only tool allowing local authorities to control specific residential complexes’ functional structure is the local zoning plans. Since their beginnings, they have not yet been introduced to vast areas in the country. In this paper, the author compares the results of a central, holistic urban design to almost unrestricted freedom of a private sector. For this purpose, two residential complexes developed during different political and economical conditions were chosen. The first one is Nowa Huta, built as a model socialist city. The whole complex was carefully designed by a team of urbanists and architects, inspired not only by Eastern but also Western Block’s examples. On the contrary, the second one, a Cracovian neighbourhood named Ruczaj was brought to life only by a private sector, only restricted by decisions on land development and management conditions. Neither a central programme nor plan was created for this area. The study compares the accessibility of basic educational facilities (nurseries, kindergartens, primary schools) considering them essential. Firstly their numbers were compared, showing significant disproportions between two neighbourhoods. For Ruczaj a significant deficiency of such facilities was observed. The next step taken was a comparison of pedestrian accessibility. To achieve that, areas of walking distance were determined. 500 m for schools and kindergartens and 1000 m for nurseries. That even more highlighted the previously observed difference. Of course for all of the analyses, current spatial and demographic conditions were taken into consideration. Based on the research done in the paper, the author shows the positive influence of a well run centrally driven, spatial policy of a city on the services accessibility. As a consequence, the author is willing to support postulates demanding new centrally driven urban design standards.

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2021

3(67)

DOI: 10.37190/arc210311

Krzysztof Klus*

The influence of urban design standards

on services accessibility shown as a case study comparison

of Nowa Huta and Ruczaj neighbourhoods

Introduction

Cities, since the very beginning of their existence, have

been multifunctional centres of intensied human settle-

ment. The former and dense character of an ancient, me-

dieval or renaissance city resulted in the concentration of

various objects with in a relatively small area [1]. It al-

lowed its citizens to full dierent needs and accomplish

a variety of daily tasks easily. Housing often abutted craft

workshops, or commercial, religious and administrative

facilities. As civilization has evolved and grown so has

the city. Nowadays we often recognise their division into

monofunctional areas or districts, among which we can

distinguish housing, oce and administrative, commer-

cial and industrial areas. However, it must not be forgot-

ten that, despite various challenges assigned to cities, it

is people, as their residents who should always be at the

centre of all issues related to urban planning.

Contemporary residential complexes should provide

people with the best possible access to places to meet their

needs, especially the basic ones. Theoretically, in urban-

ised areas this task should be easier, as the increased popu-

lation density positively aects the economic justication

for many investments. Unfortunately, newly built Polish

residential complexes often implement these assumptions

to a very limited extent. Developers usually focus on hous-

ing and typically commercial functions. Such issues often

occur in Cracow, where new estates are not accompanied

by the development of adequate infrastructure. As a result,

not only a decreasing quality of new housing areas and

rising dissatisfaction of inhabitants is observed but also an

increased demand for transport, often private [2]. Anoth-

er commonly appearing issue is insucient medical and

educational infrastructure, to handle the increased number

of people. Unfortunately, the actions of authorities usually

are both late and constitute a reaction to an already exist-

ing problem. This paper is a case study and a comparison

between two residential complexes established in Cracow

at dierent times and in dierent political and economic

conditions, i.e., Nowa Huta and Ruczaj.

State of research

Housing environment is a complex issue not only con-

nected with numerous elds of research but also urban de-

sign standards and the notion of sustainable development.

The origin of contemporary urban design theory could

be traced back to the turn of the 19

and 20

century.

The ideas that emerged at that time were a response to

the problem of rapidly expanding cities in the era of the

Industrial Revolution. One important example from this

period is Ebenezer Howard’s concept of the Garden City

[3]. It shows not only urbanistic but also a socio-economic

vision for new urban sites. Residential, industrial, green

areas and public facilities such as town hall, museum,

library, hospital, schools with sports grounds, etc. were

included to provide optimal living, work, and leisure con-

ditions for inhabitants. Due to their population (around

30 thousand), garden cities can be treated as complexes

where every basic need can be reached within walking

distance. Yet another interesting concept was the Neigh-

bourhood Unit by Clarence Perry [4]. This idea assumes

that the city is divided into smaller units, separated by

main trac arteries. Consequently, trac in a particular

unit would be reduced, providing safety and comfort for

pedestrians. Furthermore, residents would have access to

* 0000-0002-2872-1673. Faculty of Architecture, Cracow Univer-

sity of Technology, e-mail: krzysztof.klus@doktorant.pk.edu.pl

114 Krzysztof Klus

schools, green spaces, commercial and service premises.

All that would allow satisfying all basic needs of people

living inside a unit. The document that had a huge impact

on the urban planning of the 20

century was the Athens

Charter written down by Le Corbusier during CIAM (In-

ternational Congresses of Modern Architecture) in 1933

[5]. Despite criticisms of many of its arguments, some

of them are still valid. It focused on people’s living con-

ditions, e.g., accessibility to public education and green

spaces. Furthermore, point 79 refers to a very important

aspect of urban design – time: The cycle of everyday func-

tions: to live, to work, to rest, will be governed by urban

planning using economical time management

[5, p. 206].

Another text that analyses modern housing environ-

ment is Wyzwania zrównoważonego rozwoju w Polsce

[Challenges of sustainable development in Poland] [6]

published by the Sendzimir Foundation. Tomasz Jeleński,

one of the authors of this publication, argues that within

walking distance (5 to 10 min or 300–800 m) there should

be [...] all necessary services and workplaces, but also

entertainment venues [...], trade centres, clinics, nurser-

ies, kindergartens, primary schools, gathering spots for

the local community, widely available sports facilities,

small gardens and parks

[6, p. 242]. He argues further

the need for deliberate increase in the population density

of an urban area, as it favours the development of social

infrastructure and the protection and increase in the size

of green areas. Three levels of population density are pro-

posed: 50, 100, and 150 persons per hectare. It creates

pedestrian access to the basic city functions and also to

public transport ( Table 1).

A necessity of urban design standards is fully recog-

nised by Grażyna Dąbrowska-Milewska in her article Czy

w Polsce potrzebne są krajowe standardy urbanistyczne

dla terenów mieszkaniowych? [Do you need national urban

standards for residential areas in Poland?]. She raises the

case of liberalization of laws dening urban design stand-

ards at the time of political transformation in Poland [7].

As the author points out, this change moved responsibility

Own translation.

on the local government. Furthermore, after analysing var-

ious studies of conditions and directions for the spatial de-

velopment of the cities and zoning and local zoning plans,

she indicates the omission of many factors, the internal

inconsistency of laws, and vast dierences between dis-

tinctive administrative units. Yet another interesting factor

is the economical one. Urban norms adopted in 1974 were

developed in a dierent political and economic system. Fi-

nancial protability was a secondary priority at that time,

thus allowing more of green space between buildings.

Dąbrowska-Milewska picks out the fact that a nancial

prot resulting from local zoning plans is a dominant in-

centive governing urban planning, which leads to avoiding

the public benet investments i.e. schools and roads. Sum-

marising the article, the author proposes the introduction

of state-wide urban design standards in order to organise

public spaces in Poland. Another paper of hers further

elaborates on the idea and species what particular stand-

ards ought to be introduced [8]. She indicates a need to

cover the requirements, including access to public services

such as education, medical care, as well as their specic

urban planning requirements (see: Table 2).

Basic, modern tools for implementing the above know-

ledge in Poland by local government is through local zon-

ing plans. Unfortunately, they are not always given due at-

tention, as it is noted by Konrad Henning [9]. He underlines

that despite the common consensus on the necessity of de-

signing plans for the whole country, no legal obligation was

imposed on the municipalities. Some of them resign from

creating zoning plans because of a negative nancial impact

due to the emergent obligation to buy some land from the

private sector. Surprisingly enough, eects of uncontrolled,

chaotic spatial development create hidden costs. According

to PAN’s calculation cited by Henning, they reach up to

84.3 billion PLN annually and keep on rising [9]. In his

paper, the author also argues for a necessity of creation of

state-wide urban design standards, which would be a foun-

dation for future local zoning plans and decision on land

development and management conditions (WZiZT)

In Henning’s text, the main focus is put on urban sprawl, trac

infrastructure capacity and adequateness of building’s volume.

Table 1. Population density vs. city public infrastructure

(elaborated by K. Klus based on [3, p. 242])

Tabela 1. Gęstość zaludnienia a rozwój infrastruktury miejskiej

(oprac. K. Klus na podstawie [3, s. 242])

Infrastructure elements

Population density

50 persons per hectare 100 persons per hectare 150 persons per hectare

Service accessibility

only 50% of the population

lives within 500 m radius

(walking distance) from basic services

increased variety of social structure

and service accessibility

possibility of provision of

all necessary services

Transport

use of a private car is preferred, public

transport is unprofitable

bus public transport is optimal

increase in other types of

public transport profitability

The influence of urban design standards on services accessibility shown as a case study comparison 115

Research

Selection of examples and their history

During the Polish People’s Republic time, certain ur-

ban design norms were in use, which were later aban-

doned by the newly formed Republic of Poland [7]. The

norms regu lated building density, accessibility to services

and green spaces. Naturally, those norms and other laws

regulating the eld were centrally governed, restraining

bottom-up or private initiatives. At the same time, living

standards were important incentives for urban designers.

Thanks to that, along with the new residential buildings,

schools, medical facilities, shops and other needed ser-

vices (according to norms) were built. After the political

transformation of the early 1990s and the abandonment

of a centrally driven economy, urban design norms were

no more valid. According to Andrzej Grudziński, it took

place under the pressure of the environment designing

implementation studies to facilitate the designing work

[10]. Since that time, many projects created in Cracow

are the examples of how badly this change aected Polish

urban space [11]. In order to illustrate this problem better,

a comparison between two important Cracovian residen-

tial complexes was made. The selection of examples aims

to show the dierences between urban project in the case

of top-down strict regulations (Nowa Huta) and project

with substantial inventive freedom not covered by de-

tailed zoning regulations (Ruczaj).

Nowa Huta dates back to the 1950s. It is a product of

the work of a team of many architects and urban planners,

led by Tadeusz Ptaszyński – the head designer [12]. It is

worth noticing that one of the most important elements,

in a way “smuggled” from the West, was the neighbour-

hood unit [13]. Originally, Nowa Huta was planned to

be a sovereign city, but it was quickly incorporated into

Cracow. By design, its main citizens were the working

class of a vast industrial complex called Vladimir Lenin

Steelworks (today Tadeusz Sendzimir Steelworks). Other

jobs in the city were those focusing on maintaining the

city (schools, healthcare, shops etc.). Hence Nowa Hutas’

inhabitants were economically dependent on Steelworks

as its main income provider. This has become problematic

during not only the political and economic shift but also

the shrinking industrial market. Nevertheless, education,

healthcare, commerce and service, as well as culture were

provided for the whole district.

Ruczaj is located in the south-western part of Cra-

cow. It dates back to the mid-1980s when its northern

part was slowly occupied by the rst blocks of ats made

with the large panel building technology

[14]. The next

chapter in Ruczaj evolution is strictly connected with

the development of the Jagiellonian University Campus

on the north-western border of the neighbourhood (Gro-

ta-Roweckiego Street). Although the idea of Campus was

conceived already in the seventies, the rst design deci-

sions were made two and a half decades later [15]. The

building of the Campus was followed by the construction

of a nearby science and technology park accompanied by

a special economic zone. At the same time, though, at an

advanced stage of work on such an important, city-fa-

cilitating project (Campus), no local zoning plans were

developed for neighbouring Ruczaj. The area started to

attract more and more people to the neighbourhood,

Typical building technology for the block of ats in Poland from

the communist period.

No. Urban indicators and standards

Level of educational facility

nursery kindergarten primary school lower secondary school*

1 percentage of inhabitants using services [%] 0.3 3 6 3

2 recommended capacity [number of children] 60 120 500–700 300–600

3 facility’s area [ha] 0.3 0.4 1.5–2 1.5–2

4 quantity of inhabitants per one facility 20 000 4000–5000 10 000 10 000–20 000

5 area per one inhabitant [m

] 0.15 0.9 1.8 1.0–1.5

6 optimal maximal pedestrian access radius 1000 500

500

800**

800

1000**

maximal pedestrian access radius

according to the 1974 urban law

500 500 500 –

Table 2. Urban indicators and standards for social infrastructure and education (source: [8])

Tabela 2. Wskaźniki i standardy urbanistyczne dla infrastruktury społecznej w zakresie usług opiekuńczo-wychowawczych i edukacyjnych

(źródło: [8])

* In 2017 lower secondary school was dissolved for primary school extension [author’s remark].

** Values accepted only in low population density area.

116 Krzysztof Klus

consequently bringing attention and money from real

estate investors, resulting in new residential buildings.

Even though only two local zoning plans for the area have

been passed: “Park Ruczaj-Lubostroń”, validated in 2016

and “Ruczaj-region ul. Czerwone Maki” in 2017. It must

be noted that the former plan concerns the protection of

existing green spaces whereas the latter covers areas far

away from the Campus. The lack of ecient urban man-

agement, creating buildings and residential complexes

based on WZiZT decisions and a prot-focused attitude

of private real estate agents (i.e. maximisation of prot by

raising oor area ratio) led to spatial chaos. Dense urban

development, lack of parking space, fences crossing pe-

destrian communication routes, lack of public infrastruc-

ture became characteristic for this part of Cracow, often

criticised by the local press [16].

Research methodology

Our research was divided into three steps. The rst one

is the analysis of the spatial and demographic environ-

ment as a foundation for further work. The research used

publicly accessible data published by city geoportal (Miej -

ski System Informacji Przestrzennej – MSIP), city zoning

plans, and aerial photographs. The second step was the

analysis of accessibility of services. Due to the signicant

diversity of services, only one type was chosen, namely

public educational institutions. The selection was made on

the basis of two criteria. The rst was dened as the need

to ensure the easiest possible access to a given place from

a housing unit. The second criterion was to limit the re-

search to the public sector, which is not always nancially

viable. Accordingly, nurseries, kindergartens, and primary

schools were chosen. The total number of functioning units

in this area was compared with the demand for education-

al services. The last research step was the analysis of pe-

destrian accessibility of those units to educational servic-

es. It is worth noting that such services are considered to

be the most reliable. In comparison to other basic services,

i.e. healthcare, they are indistinguishable and homogene-

ous. They have radical spatial demands, which restrict

the possibility of frequent location changes, and they do

not need periodical contract renewals contrary to health-

care, for example, with the National Health Fund (NFZ).

Research description

When determining exact areas for the analysis, the main

trac arteries were chosen as borders (Fig. 1). In the case

of Nowa Huta, the study covered the area encompassed by

Jana Pawła II Avenue, Bulwarowa, Kocmy rzowska and

Bieńczycka Streets, summing up to 256.6 ha. According-

ly, the area of Ruczaj was determined by: Kobierzyńska,

Babińskiego, Buncha, Bobrzyńskiego, Grota-Roweckie-

go Streets, summing up to 223.9 ha. Nowa Huta is occu-

pied mostly by multi-family housing, with a distinctive

gradient of height and density increasing towards Plac

Centralny. Furthermore, it is a completed design [17]

protected by conservation laws, which means that no sig-

nicant new development is planned. On the other hand,

Ruczaj is characterised by varied development types.

The northern part is dominated by so-called Plattenbau

housing from the 1980s. Along Grota-Roweckiego, Bob-

rzyńskiego axis down to the cemetery on Czerwone Maki

Street is landscaped mainly by densely populated, con-

temporary multi-family housing. Presently further south,

Fig. 1. Orthophotomap of Nowa Huta and Ruczaj from 2019 (source: [18])

Il. 1. Ortofotomapa Nowej Huty i Ruczaju z 2019 r. (źródło: [18])

The influence of urban design standards on services accessibility shown as a case study comparison 117

along Piltza Street, new residential buildings of that type

are being built. Between the cemetery and Bunscha Street

there is a new shopping mall, which from the southern

side borders on a still undeveloped terrain. In the vicinity

of Babińskiego Street there is loose single-family housing

whereas on Kobierzyńska Street we mostly see enclaves

of low-height and intensive single-family housing.

During the search for design documentation of the

neighbourhoods the existence of local zoning plans for the

whole Nowa Huta [18], as well as additional protection

in the form of a culture park (chronologically the second

after the Old Town and Wawel) was noted [18]. On the

other hand, Ruczaj has got only two local zoning plans,

covering 26.5% of the area (Fig. 2) [18]. That was the

reason for using a study of conditions and directions for

the spatial development of the city of Kraków (Fig. 3)

[19]. In this document, Nowa Huta is dominated by mul-

ti-family housing – approx. 78%, the rest of the territory

is marked – amongst others – as road infrastructure and

green space. In Ruczaj case for housing went 80.5% of

the terrain, among which 58.1% for multi-family housing,

4.2% for low-height multi-family housing, and 18.3% for

single-family housing. It should be noted that 35 ha are not

developed yet, out of which 23 ha are planned as multi-

family housing (Table 3).

Based on the data from MSIP, the number of inhabitants

for both areas was estimated (Fig. 4) [18]. Thus, Nowa

Huta is inhabited by approx. 36 000 people, while Ruczaj

by only 18 500 people – in both cases, the numbers refer

to people ocially registered as permanent residents. That

means that groups like higher education students – a sig-

nicant part of Ruczaj population – are not included in

this number. Moreover, a considerable part is yet to be

developed, further attening or even turning around the

disproportion. Consequently, population densities for No-

wa Huta are 140.3 persons/ha and 82.6 persons/ha for

Ruczaj. Of course, there are locally occurring deviations.

In the case of Nowa Huta, they are smaller, correlating

with the development density gradient. The lowest density

occurs along Bulwarowa Street (the most distant from the

centre) and amounts to 87 persons/ha. The highest, how-

ever, is observed in the Blok Szwedzki area and Przyjaźni

Avenue, amounting to around 251 persons/ha. In Ruczaj,

these dierences are more signicant. The lowest measured

density was along Kobierzyńska Street, perpendicular to

Lubostroń St. being only 16 persons/ha

, while the highest

was for plattenbau complex reaching ca. 172 persons/ha.

Development along Grota-Rowieckiego and Bobrzyń skie -

go Street measures around 111–153 persons/ha. Accord-

ing to Table 1, the threshold of 100 persons/ha enables

economically viable public bus transportation and varied

urban development structure, while 150 persons/ha allows

for a varied and easily accessible service oer and justies

dierent types of public transport. Thus, it creates a bet-

ter environment for public investments in Nowa Huta.

Another indicator is the age structure (Table 4). The rst

example is inhabited by a signicant group of the elderly

(retired), making about 31.6% of the population. The per-

centage of youth under 18 is equal to 13.7%. In Ruczaj,

these proportions are dierent: children and adolescents

constitute approx. 24.0%, while seniors approx. 15.8%.

In both of these cases, indicators dier from the average

for the entire city, which is respectively 17.2% and 23.6%

Areas completely free of buildings were omitted.

Fig. 2. Scans of rasters of MZPZPs concerning Ruczaj and Nowa Huta compiled with ortophotomap in the background (source: [18])

Il. 2. Skany rastrów MPZP na terenie Ruczaju i Nowej Huty na tle ortofotomapy (źródło: [18])

118 Krzysztof Klus

the author elaborated her own school accessibility guide-

lines (Table 2). However, since the liquidation of lower

secondary schools and the extension of primary school

education, these guidelines need to be adjusted for further

work. According to the study by Dąbrowska-Milewska,

3% of the whole population would be attending lower sec-

ondary schools, so it should be assumed that one grade

(out of three) constitutes 1% of the population. Thus, af-

ter the education reform, the percentage of the students

attending primary schools would increase from 6% to 8%.

[20], which is caused by the unique history of the forma-

tion of these cases [21].

Before describing the following parts of the research,

each type of educational facility should be characterised.

To accomplish that, the study of Dąbrowska-Milewska was

used [8]. Looking at the 2035

GUS forecast and consid-

ering the number of pre-school children that stay at home,

Published in 2009.

Fig. 3. Study of conditions and directions for the spatial development of the city of Cracow,

K1 – Spatial structure – directions and rules of development (source: [18])

Il. 3. Studium uwarunkowań i kierunków zagospodarowania przestrzennego Miasta Krakowa,

K1 – Struktura przestrzenna – kierunki i zasady rozwoju (źródło: [18])

Research area

Nowa Huta Ruczaj

[ha] [%] [ha] [%]

Total 256.6 100 223.9 100%

Multi-family housing area 200.2 78.0

130.0

(23)*

58.1

Multi-family housing with low development density area 0 0.0

9.3

(5.5)*

4.15

Single-family housing area 0 0.0

40.9

(6.5)*

18.3

Other 56.4 22.0 43.7 19.5

Table 3. Terrain development in line with study of conditions and directions for the spatial development of the city of Kraków

(elaborated by K. Klus)

Tabela 3. Przeznaczenie terenów według Studium Uwarunkowań Przestrzennych

(oprac. K. Klus)

* Undeveloped area in brackets.

The influence of urban design standards on services accessibility shown as a case study comparison 119

As a consequence, based on the above-mentioned publi-

cation and taking into account the education reform, one

should adopt the requirements for accessibility to schools

according to Table 5.

Considering only the total population, one could expect

twice as many educational facilities in Nowa Huta. The

reality is that disparities are even bigger, despite a similar

number of people at a pre-work age (Table 6). Nowa Huta has

a rich educational oer. Today there are 3 public nurseries

(some closed [22]), 14 kindergartens and 7 primary schools

(Figs. 5–7). Additionally accessible on foot, there are

two kindergartens and one school. In comparison in Ruczaj

we will nd only 7 kindergartens

(Figs. 5–7). Furthermore,

educational facilities in the latter example are often in lo-

cations originally not designed for the purpose, thus their

area and design standards are worse than their counterparts

in Nowa Huta. In Ruczaj no public nurseries and prima-

ry schools are provided. There are 4 kindergartens and

2 primary schools in the close neighbourhood and they

No distinction between proper kindergarten and substitute, small

day care centres for young children (usually with lower urban standards

than a proper kindergarten) was made.

Fig. 4. Number of registered permanent residents of Nowa Huta and Ruczaj

(source: [18])

Il. 4. Liczba zameldowań stałych w Nowej Hucie i na Ruczaju

(źródło: [18])

Population Nowa Huta* Ruczaj* Cracow**

Total 36 000 100% 18 500 100% 779 115 100%

Pre-working age 4932 13.7% 4440 24.0% 134 008 17.2%

Working age 19 692 54.7% 11 137 60.2% 461 236 59.2%

Post-working age 11 376 31.6% 2923 15.8% 183 871 23.6%

* Estimated on data from [18].

** Source: [20].

Table 4. Demographic structure of analyzed case-studies against Cracow

(elaborated by K. Klus based on [18], [20])

Tabela 4. Struktura demograficzna wybranych zespołów mieszkaniowych na tle miasta

(oprac. K. Klus na podstawie [18], [20])

120 Krzysztof Klus

Table 5. Urban indicators describing demand on education facilities

(source: [8] with update by K. Klus)

Tabela 5. Wskaźniki urbanistyczne określające zapotrzebowanie na dostęp do placówek oświatowych

(źródło: [8] ze zmianami K. Klusa)

Urban indicators Nurseries Kindergartens Primary schools

Percentage of inhabitants using service [%] 0.3 3 8**

Recommended number of students/children in facility [number] 60 120 500–700

Site area [ha] 0.3 0.4 1.5–2

Inhabitants per facility 20 000 4000–5000 7500**

Area per inhabitant [m

] 0.15 0.9 1.8

Recommended maximum pedestrian access radius [m] 1000 500 500 (800*)

* Values acceptable in areas with a low development density.

** Updated data – own study.

Nowa Huta Ruczaj

Total inhabitants number* 36 000 18 500

Nursery

percentage of population using facility** 0.3%

number of children using facility 108 56

recommended number of facilities** 2 1

actual number of facilities 3 0

Kindergarten

percentage of population using facility** 3%

number of children using facility 1080 556

recommended number of facilities** 7–9 4–5

actual number of facilities 14 + 2*** 7 + 4***

Primary school

percentage of population using facility** 8%

number of children using facility 2880 1480

recommended number of facilities** 5 2–3

actual number of facilities 7 + 1*** 0 + 2***

Table 6. Education facility in analysed areas

(elaborated by K. Klus)

Tabela 6. Oferta edukacyjna na badanych obszarach

(oprac. K. Klus)

* Data from MSIP – a significant increase of inhabitants is expected due to the area under development.

** According to Table 5.

*** Number of facilities located outside analysed areas but within walking distance.

The influence of urban design standards on services accessibility shown as a case study comparison 121

Table 7. Areas of pedestrian accessibility to public education facilities (elaborated by K. Klus)

Tabela 7. Obszary dostępności pieszej do placówek oświatowych (oprac. K. Klus)

Facility type

Nowa Huta Ruczaj

[ha] [%] [ha] [%]

Nursery 211.6 82.5 0 0

Kindergarten 244.1 95.1 123.3 55.1

Primary school 207.1 80.7 21.73 9.7

were assumed [8]. In the research, a simple radius was

considered to be an insucient way to evaluate acces-

sibility. Pedestrian infrastructure was instead taken into

consideration, thus providing more accurate estimates re-

garding walking accessibility that agrees with the above

guidelines (Table 7).

In Nowa Huta the percentage of area in the accessibil-

ity distance is substantial. For nurseries it is 82.5% – the

western part of the neighbourhood is excluded (Fig. 5).

The highest percentage is for kindergartens – 95,1%

(Fig. 6). Pedestrian reach to primary schools is 80.7% of

the area (Fig. 7). It should however be noted that the area

outside the walking distance exceeds the restrictions only

by a small margin.

In the case of Ruczaj these areas are much smaller. The

highest percentage is for kindergartens – 55,1% (Fig. 6).

cover a small percentage of the analysed area. Another

interesting issue is high schools – omitted in the research

due to better autonomy and mobility of students and also

due to specialization of high schools. Nevertheless Nowa

Huta houses 14 of them (5 secondary schools, 4 techni-

cal colleges, 5 vocational schools and 1 technical colleges

and 1 vocational school in the close neighbourhood). For

inhabitants of Ruczaj, the closest high school is secondary

school on Czackiego Street and technical college on Mon-

te Cassino Street. The most optimal transportation time

using public transport is respectively 23 and 15 min [23].

Apart from the quantity of education facilities, equally

important is their accessibility. In all the analysed cases

here, this ought to be a walking distance. In accordance

with the data from Table 5, distances of 1000 m for nurs-

eries and 500 m for kindergartens and primary schools

Fig. 5. Analysis of accessibility to nurseries (elaborated by K. Klus, underlay map: [18])

Il. 5. Analiza dostępności żłobków (oprac. K. Klus, podkład: [18])

122 Krzysztof Klus

The boundary of the analysed area.

Kindergartens (public)

The pedestrian accessibility to kindergartens - 500 m

Nowa Huta

Ruczaj

Illustration 6

Analysis of the accessibility to kindergartens

by K. Klus, underlay map: ortophotomap Gmina Miejska Kraków, Portal MSIP Obserwatorium (https://msip.krakow.pl/)

Fig. 6. Analysis of accessibility to kindergartens

(elaborated by K. Klus, underlay map: [18])

Il. 6. Analiza dostępności przedszkoli

(oprac. K. Klus, podkład: [18])

Unfortunately there are areas of intensive multi-family

housing not in the range, i.e. Europejskie neighbourhood,

Bobrzyńskiego and Przymiarki Streets. Only half of the

large panel building blocks complex and areas of low and

one-family housing development is within walking dis-

tance. Access to primary schools is covered only for 9.7%,

which are located outside of Ruczaj (Fig. 7). Additionally

the area covered is a small fragment of residential com-

plex in the northern part of the neighbourhood and the

second one is part of single-family housing near Kobie-

rzyńska Street in the southern part. Lastly it should be not-

ed that small parts of Ruczaj that are covered are sparsely

populated, thus the percentage of people living there will

be respectively smaller.

One more informative aspect of accessibility to schools

is worth mentioning. While determining actual areas of

pedestrian accessibility, vast disparities between the an-

alysed areas were discovered. For Nowa Huta they vary

between 32.0 ha – 43.5 ha averaging at 38.5 ha. Compar-

atively in the case of Ruczaj variation is between 20.5 ha

– 39.9 ha averaging at 29.6 ha. Conclusion can be drawn

that a well planned neighbourhood goes in pair with better

accessibility to various services.

For the last part of the research description, other kinds

of services – not as thoroughly analysed – need to be ac-

counted for [22]. Worth mentioning is the fact that Nowa

Huta has a good coverage of cultural facilities. 3 munic-

ipal libraries and 2 famous Cracovian theatres (Ludowy

Theatre and Łaźnia Nowa Theater) can be found here. Ad-

ditionally in the centre there is Nowohuckie Centrum Kul-

tury, an institution known for its rich cultural activity (also

another theatrical scene). There used to be three cinemas:

Świt (now a shopping mall with a lm cafe on the rst

oor), Światowid (now a museum) and Snks (an inde-

pendent cameral cinema – still functioning). Three muse-

ums are found here (two municipal: Nowa Huta Museum,

Nowa Huta Underground and Museum of the Armed Act).

Of course Nowa Huta was developed as a tool of socialist

propaganda. The exemplary communist city – Nowa Huta

has a short but rich history, which without a doubt has

an inuence on the cultural facility landscape in the area.

Therefore Ruczaj should not be directly compared with

the rst study example. However it should be noted, that

outside one municipal library and the Library of the Pon-

tical University of John Paul II, no other object of this

type can be found.

A corresponding case can be presented for sport facili-

ties. The most important sport venues in Ruczaj is a horse

riding club and a sports centre on Kobierzyńska Street.

By comparison, in Nowa Huta every school incorporates

some kind of sport facilities (sports Halls and sport elds),

in two of them even indoor swimming pools – respective-

ly Ruczaj lacks even a single school. Furthermore in the

area of Bulwarowa Street lies an inter-school sport cen-

tre and an open door swimming pool. Nearby Nowa Huta

there are two sport stadions: Hutnik and Wanda (with

dirt track) and Com-Com Zone sport centre. On the other

hand, a strictly commercial oer in both analysed cases is

The influence of urban design standards on services accessibility shown as a case study comparison 123

Fig. 7. Analysis of accessibility to primary schools

(elaborated by K. Klus, underlay map: [18])

Il. 7. Analiza dostępności szkół podstawowych

(oprac. K. Klus, podkład: [18])

more or less similar. It has to be noted that only after the

political shift the building of Świt cinema was changed

into a shopping mall, at least two supermarkets in Nowa

Huta and one shopping centre in nearby Czyżyny district

have been created. This proves an underestimation of such

service during the planning phase. In the case of Ruczaj,

more diverse jobs are observed. Not only does a universi-

ty campus lie in a close proximity but also a special eco-

nomic zone. What is more, various oce, administrative

and industrial (mainly on Zawiła St.) objects are situat-

ed in bordering areas. On the other hand, Nowa Huta is

a housing dominated area. The main job provider for the

complex ought to be the Steelworks and supporting indus-

trial facilities, what impacted negatively during the time

of decreasing industrial production.

Conclusions

Summarising the research, it must be stated that a de -

tailed urban plan of the whole area of Nowa Huta is char-

acterised by a better accessibility to education infrastruc-

ture. An advantage is not only simply with numbers but

also with better design of pedestrian infrastructure, which

enlarges the area of accessibility. Furthermore, it has

been determined that the demands proposed by Dąbrows-

ka-Milewska on the service were met by a wide mar-

gin. In the case of Ruczaj, the education infrastructure

is limited and insucient for the inhabiting population

and pedestrian accessibility, especially when considering

develop ment opportunities in the area. It is similar with

other social services, where nancial success has a sec-

ondary priority. It is worth mentioning that surprisingly

a socialist “city of the worker” contains far richer educa-

tion, sport and cultural infrastructure than Ruczaj, a neigh-

bourhood developed in a close proximity of a university

campus – implicitly for the intelligentsia. In the case of

commercially driven objects and job opportunities, both

places appear to have similar proportions, even with

a slight advantage of the younger neighbourhood. Basic

correction actions in order to improve the quality of life

in Ruczaj should include the elaboration and introduction

of local zoning plans, prioritizing undeveloped areas. Fur-

thermore, new education infrastructure and other types of

lacking service infrastructure should be constructed. First

and foremost, any specic actions for the region should

become a topic of debate between specialists, inhabitants

and city planners.

Concluding the research, it has to be stated that intro-

ducing strict norms and deriving detailed local zoning

plans is benecial for the service accessibility, especially

with regard to public services. Of course some freedom

for a bottom-up, nancial driven initiative is recommend-

ed. However, leaving too much freedom for a private sec-

tor, without norms results not only in spatial chaos, but

also in limitations in the accessibility to a number of ser-

vices – especially those non-commercial. The role of state

and local governments is to foster the spatial order and the

life quality of citizens. Having that in mind, establishing

124 Krzysztof Klus

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urban design standards, understood as codied in the form

of either bill, regulation, codex or norm containing a set of

rules dening minimal standards of accessibility to various

facilities and services, primarily those of a public domain,

is considered to be crucial. The author believes that leg-

islation should apply, above all, to the local government

during the development of local zoning plans. The design

process ought to contain estimations of a target popula-

tion, which would be a basis for elaborating demand for

a given type of service. Having said that, it is important to

limit the number of investments that proceed with WZiZT

decisions, by covering the whole country with local zon-

ing plans. Arguably, a way of achieving that state would

be to put legislative, social and media pressure on local

government units. A guarantee of meeting these require-

ments should be obligatory to get an investment approval.

It must not be forgotten that provision of public services

lies in the hands of the local government. For that reason,

an expense of building such objects should not be paid

by a private real estate developer, even if he decides to

build a residential estate for several thousand residents.

Clearly building a healthcare facility or a school is an

expensive investment for a local government, however it

would reimburse the costs in taxes. Taking into consid-

eration a state-wide housing shortage and limited budget

of the local government, an optimal solution seems to be

a public-private partnership. Due to a high risk of fraud,

such solutions must be precisely monitored.

Plans that are in accordance with the idea of the neigh-

bourhood unit and the 15-minute city [24] ought to provide

all basic services within walking distance. Additionally

pedestrian infrastructure should be welcoming, safe and

attractive, so it would convince people to resign from us-

ing their cars. In that aspect, housing development density

is important. This should be achieved with the approval of

citizens, because it fosters better accessibility to various

facilities. Such a process does not have to be accompanied

by a negative, subjective feeling of “concreting” a city.

The presented cases are proof of that. In accordance with

the data presented in Research part of this paper, Nowa

Huta, considered one of the greenest districts in Cracow,

has signicantly higher population density than Ruczaj,

which is perceived as a symbol of “concreting” the city.

Translated by

Michał Ogorzałek, Joanna Maliborska

The influence of urban design standards on services accessibility shown as a case study comparison 125

Abstract

The influence of urban design standards on services accessibility shown as a case study comparison

of Nowa Huta and Ruczaj neighbourhoods

An important element of any residential complex is accessibility to various services. Restriction of this accessibility aects the quality of resi-

dents’ life. Furthermore, it causes negative side eects i.e. trac intensication. Unfortunately, as an outcome of the Polish systemic change of 1989,

centrally-driven urban design standards that controlled appropriate rules were abolished. Those rules were instead left to local authorities and private

development. Currently, the only tool allowing local authorities to control specic residential complexes’ functional structure is the local zoning

plans. Since their beginnings, they have not yet been introduced to vast areas in the country.

In this paper, the author compares the results of a central, holistic urban design to almost unrestricted freedom of a private sector. For this purpose,

two residential complexes developed during dierent political and economical conditions were chosen. The rst one is Nowa Huta, built as a model

socialist city. The whole complex was carefully designed by a team of urbanists and architects, inspired not only by Eastern but also Western Block’s

examples. On the contrary, the second one, a Cracovian neighbourhood named Ruczaj was brought to life only by a private sector, only restricted by

decisions on land development and management conditions. Neither a central programme nor plan was created for this area.

The study compares the accessibility of basic educational facilities (nurseries, kindergartens, primary schools) considering them essential. Firstly

their numbers were compared, showing signicant disproportions between two neighbourhoods. For Ruczaj a signicant deciency of such facilities

was observed. The next step taken was a comparison of pedestrian accessibility. To achieve that, areas of walking distance were determined. 500 m for

schools and kindergartens and 1000 m for nurseries. That even more highlighted the previously observed dierence. Of course for all of the analyses,

current spatial and demographic conditions were taken into consideration.

Based on the research done in the paper, the author shows the positive inuence of a well run centrally driven, spatial policy of a city on the ser-

vices accessibility. As a consequence, the author is willing to support postulates demanding new centrally driven urban design standards.

Key words: urban design standards, spatial design, urbanistic, residential complex, Cracow

Streszczenie

Wpływ standardów urbanistycznych na dostępność usług w zespołach mieszkaniowych

na przykładzie krakowskich zespołów Nowej Huty i osiedla Ruczaj

Ważnym elementem każdego zespołu mieszkaniowego jest dostępność do różnorodnych usług. Ograniczenie tej dostępności wpływa na jakość

życia mieszkańców. Niesie za sobą negatywne skutki takie jak chociażby zintensykowany ruch samochodowy. Niestety w wyniku przemian ustro-

jowych zrezygnowano z odgórnie określonych normatywów urbanistycznych określających tego typu parametry. Pozostawiono w tej dziedzinie dużą

autonomię samorządom i prywatnym inwestorom. Aktualnie jedynym narzędziem pozwalającym wpływać władzom lokalnym na strukturę funk-

cjonalną poszczególnych zespołów są miejscowe plany zagospodarowania przestrzennego, które w dalszym ciągu nie pokrywają sporych obszarów.

Autor artykułu postanowił porównać skutki odgórnego, holistycznego planowania przestrzennego z niemal całkowitą swobodą inwestycyjną

prywatnych podmiotów. W tym celu zdecydował się na porównanie dwóch zespołów mieszkaniowych powstałych w odmiennych uwarunkowaniach

polityczno-ekonomicznych. Pierwszym jest Nowa Huta zbudowana w okresie komunizmu jako wzorcowe miasto socjalistyczne. Cały zespół został

starannie zaprojektowany przez architektów i urbanistów czerpiących wzorce nie tylko z bloku państw socjalistycznych, ale także z Zachodu. Drugim

badanym przypadkiem był krakowski Ruczaj, wznoszony przez prywatnych inwestorów jedynie na podstawie decyzji o warunkach zabudowy. Nie

posiada on odgórnie narzuconego programu czy planu.

W badaniu tym porównano dostępność do placówek edukacyjno-oświatowych (żłobków, przedszkoli i szkół podstawowych) jako tych najbar-

dziej podstawowych. Najpierw porównano ich liczbę, co ukazało znaczące dysproporcje między badanymi zespołami. Na Ruczaju stwierdzono zna-

czące niedobory tego typu obiektów. W dalszym etapie porównano obszary dostępności pieszej do tych placówek. W tym celu wyznaczono obszary

dostępności pieszej o rzeczywistej długości dojścia nieprzekraczającej 500 m dla szkół i przedszkoli oraz 1000 m dla żłobków. Badanie to dodatkowo

uwypukliło dysproporcje między analizowanymi zespołami. Oczywiście analizy i porównania były prowadzone z uwzględnieniem aktualnych uwa-

runkowań przestrzennych i demogracznych tych obszarów.

Na podstawie przeprowadzonych badań autor wskazuje pozytywny wpływ odgórnej, dobrze prowadzonej polityki przestrzennej miasta na do-

stępność do usług. Dlatego też na podstawie prezentowanych badań przychyla się do postulatów domagających się wyznaczenia nowych, ogólno-

krajowych standardów urbanistycznych.

Słowa kluczowe: standardy urbanistyczne, planowanie przestrzenne, urbanistyka, zespół mieszkaniowy, Kraków

Leogang (Austria), projekt koncepcyjny

stajni dla hotelu Forsthofgut,

elewacja północna, projekt W2 Manufaktur,

Bmstr. A. Waltl, arch. B. Krynicka

(rys. B. Krynicka)

Leogang (Austria), conceptual design of

stables fo the Hotel Forsthofgut,

nord façade, design by W2 Manufaktur,

Bmstr. A. Waltl, arch, B. Krynicka

(drawing by B. Krynicka)