In the study there has been discussed the participation of local community in solving contemporary problems of mountain lands. Public participation is an important democratic process. It plays an important part in solving the contemporary development problems not only of mountain lands but also of submontane, lowland, seaside ones. The issues have been presented on the basis of the example of Lądek Lands, especially a small town of Lądek Zdrój, the commune seat (6140 permanent inhabitants). The town is located on the Kłodzko Lands, at the altitude of 440-480 metres above sea level, between the Golden Mountains and Krowiarki in the valley of Biała Lądecka river. Geographically the land is affiliated to the South-East Sudeten. In the democratic country, as Poland is, a particular attention should be paid to the community participation in forming and cultivating the space, care for spatial order. Certain local spatial problems connected with town and village development, their renewal, restoration and revitalization may be solved only with the active participation of local communities. While implementing balanced development to planning and spatial management very important are the forms of social activity. The subject of analysis were also the mechanisms of social participation as the management tool, ...
The aim of this article is to formulate guidelines for locating benches in rural public spaces. It is a summary of the results of a qualitative research involving 67 users of urban benches, conducted with the application of individual in-depth interviews, and the results of a literature review on the manner in which rural public spaces are equipped. The obtained results pertain to the use of benches in rural public spaces in the context of their integration and semantic potential (symbolic values). The conclusions are presented in the form of general guidelines. Public consultation should be an important element in deciding how to equip rural common space with benches. Local communities ought to be included in the decision-making process, from the stage of the assumptions of the design concepts to the stage of realization. It is advisable to adjust the form of benches, their number, orientation and location to the nature of public space and expectations of their future users. At the same time, the overall structure of public space and its main functions should be taken into account. Properly selected and placed benches can support the process of community structuring and may be a part of the equipment of ...
