More pocket parks are being created at a dizzying pace in cities across Poland. The Gardens of Krakowians is an initiative of the Krakow City Greenery Board, under which more than forty small parks have already been created in the city, starting in 2016. The latest project, which is a continuation of the project, is the Gardens of Krakowians located on Prądnicka Street. The official opening of the park to the public took place on May 17 this year.
what are pocket parks?
Pocket parks are small green spaces, with areas usually not exceeding half a hectare, located on previously undeveloped city scraps - between blocks of flats, on wasteland or within hard-to-build plots of irregular contours. As those involved in studying the impact of pocket parks point out, these small green enclaves have a positive impact on urban biodiversity, reduce the level of occurrence of urban heat island phenomenon, and take care of the well-being of residents and other people using them, providing contact with nature and space for recreation. Among Polish cities, the trend of establishing pocket parks is definitely led by Krakow, where more than forty such spaces have already been created since 2016.
It seems that these types of gardens are small, while if we add the area of all 44 gardens and pocket parks, it will be more than 11 hectares, almost 12 hectares, so this is already a medium-sized park, " Łukasz Pawlik, director of greenery at ZZM Kraków, said in an interview with Television Kraków.
The garden of the Krakow women
photo: ZZM in Krakow
krakowianek's garden
The concept for the creation of the Garden of Krakowianek women first appeared as early as 2018 on the initiative of the Sto Lat Głosu Kobiet Association and the Board of Urban Greenery in Krakow, while its final realization had to wait as long as six years. The project of the Garden of Cracovian Women centers around the idea of commemorating the centenary of Polish women gaining the right to vote, which took place on November 28, 1918. As part of the round anniversary, it was decided to plant a symbolic number of one hundred trees in the garden, place a commemorative plaque and run an educational path to introduce visitors to the history of emancipation in Poland. Information boards have been placed inside striking metal structures that surround sections of the paths that crisscross the park. In addition to the above, the new park has enriched the space with several thousand shrubs and flowers, as well as new paving and a set of benches located in the shadows of the trees and small architecture.
Garden of the Krakow Women
photo: ZZM in Krakow
new quality of space
Occupying an area of 39 acres, the garden was located in a previously neglected space between Juliusz Słowacki Avenue, the bus terminus on Prądnicka Street and the buildings of the Klepar fort. In addition to its didactic and recreational value, the establishment of the Garden of Krakowian Women has also contributed to the activation and ordering of the space, which for years has been associated mainly with large billboards and questionably beautiful take-out food stalls. Importantly, the area has been equipped with spectacular lighting, which makes it safer after dark - previously, many people shortened their route to the bus terminus by walking from Juliusz Słowacki Avenue along dark paths through the area now occupied by the garden. Today, such a walk is not only safer, but also allows one to learn a bit about the history of emancipation of Polish women.
