Green Infrastructure 2014 Group K - Case Study 3
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Green Infrastructure of the Rural Settlement Tvrdošovce and its Surrounding Landscape
| Name | Tvrdošovce Municipality | |
| Country | Slovakia | |
| Place | Tvrdošovce | |
| Authors | Attila Tóth | |
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Rationale: Why is this case interesting?
Contemporary research into Green Infrastructure is mainly applied to urban areas of cities and towns, while rural settlements (villages and small rural towns) and their landscapes are still a bit overshadowed in terms of research, planning and design practice. Therefore, exploring the green infrastructure in rural landscapes stands for a challenging research and design task for landscape architects and related specialists.
Why is the case of Tvrdošovce (Tardoskedd) relevant for answering research questions about rural green infrastructure? It is one of the largest rural settlements (small towns) in Slovakia in terms of inhabitants (more than 5,300) as well as in terms of size/area (5,556 ha / 55.56 km2), while still having a rural character in terms of urbanism, architecture, landscape and other spatial features. It is surrounded by an extensive agricultural landscape typical for the Danube Lowland which has undergone vast structural changes during the last three centuries, but mainly in the 20th century (such as deforestation and putting grasslands under the plough at the turn of the 19th and 20th century and in the first half of the 20th century; collectivization of agriculture in the 1950s; establishment of new non-forest woody vegetation structures in the second half of the 20th century or appearance of uncultivated pastures and arable land in the recent two decades). These are just some of the changes and interventions which have changed and transformed landscape structures and formed the contemporary landscape character and image. Although, the assessment of these structural landscape transformations is very complex, in terms of landscape architecture we can define negative changes (such as decrease in accessibility and connectivity through reduction of roads and tracks in the agricultural landscape or draining the agricultural landscape for production reasons in the 20th century) but also positive changes (such as increasing the portion of woody vegetation in the urban area and open landscape in the 2nd half of the 20th century or improvement of international and national nature and landscape protection in the recent decades - e.g. European Landscape Convention and NATURA 2000).
In the context of these landscape transformations and based on analyses of the landscape history and current landscape structures, Green Infrastructure stands for a strategic planning tool with an important potential to address contemporary deficiencies and problems of the landscape, such as the lack of the connectedness of green spaces or the vanished cultural and historical legacy of landscape accessibility and permeability. In this case study, Green Infrastructure can be seen as an instrument for a better implementation of the European Landscape Convention.
Author's perspective
I am a graduated landscape architect (MSc) doing PhD research into Green Infrastructure in the context of rural settlements and landscapes at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra and the Vienna University of Technology in Austria. Beside my main research interest, I am also involved in the European scientific & research project COST Action Urban Agriculture Europe as Early Stage Researcher. I have studied landscape architecture, landscape & spatial planning at three universities in two countries - in Slovakia (SPU Nitra) and Austria (BOKU Wien, TU Wien). I am a motivated team worker experienced in international and interdisciplinary planning, design, scientific and research activities.
My personal relation to the site is that I have lived there for almost 27 years and could personally experience some of the most recent changes in the intra-urban and peri-urban area of the site, while my professional relation to the site has started approximately 7 years ago in the form of seminar design projects and later through bachelor research and thesis, master research and thesis, smaller design projects, up to the ongoing doctoral research which will be thoroughly presented in the doctoral thesis (to be published in 2015).
Landscape and/or urban context of your case
- Biogeography
The geographical location and high quality arable land have predestined agriculture to become the main land use of the municipal territory of Tvrdošovce (Tardoskedd) since centuries. The soil fertility has an organic origin based on specific natural and water conditions formed by wetlands and marshlands, small watercourses and bodies of water within and around the rural settlement. The small intra-urban lakes stand for an ecological peculiarity and natural value of the site and they have become an integral component of the intra-urban area due to urban development. The small rural town is spatially and functionally linked with the surrounding agricultural landscape. The high soil fertility is one of the major potentials of the municipality and its future quality is determined by a sustainable water management in the landscape (Tóth 2012).
, cultural features, overall character, history and dynamics
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Analytical drawings
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Green Infrastructure benefits for this site
Look again at the multiple benefits of green infrastructure - what could be achieved in your site and which are most relevant?
Potential for multifunctionality
Green infrastructure has typically multiple functions. What could be achieved for your site in this respect?
Projective drawings
- How would you like this case to change in the near future? (in 1-2 years)
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- And how could it look like in 10-15 years?
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Summary and conclusion
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Image Gallery
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References
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