Parking – elementem krajobrazu miasta

Squares with parking places are inseparable spatial elements which co-create the landscape of big cities. Each city which concentrates a variety of public services, needs connectivity to parking places. Many characteristics such as the size of the place itself, introduced surface, lighting elements and most of all, appropriately chosen protective greenery decide if the parking place harmonizes well or badly with the landscape surrounding it. Apart from the decorative function it also plays the part of protection by minimalizing the negative sides of motorization. Most parking places in cities are situated in street-side parking areas. However, most terrain parking places in cities are concentrated on housing estates and squares of houses in streets. The larger sized car parks are situated near big shopping centers. Similar, but perhaps, not so big parking places are found adjacent to company buildings, offices and other establishments There are also big parking areas in cities near to railway or coach stations. In many cities parking places are built underground or in multi-storey buildings. Parking places for family cars, whilst perhaps not a city decoration, are a very distinctive and omnipresent accent of our epoque - time of motorization. Parking places can have a positive influence on a city's landscape as long as they are connected with an appropriate amount of decorative greenery. Aesthetics of parking places in Polish cities is very far from ideal. It can then become an interesting field for actions of creative landscape architects and communication architects.