Allotment gardens have played a significant role in Czech and Slovak society for decades, building upon a rich history of gardening. This article elaborates on Czech and Slovak allotments in the European context and identifies their core functions, services, and benefits. We provide a thorough historical review of allotments in this region, reaching back to the eighteenth century to trace significant periods and historic events that shaped society in general and urban gardening in particular. We analyze the development of allotments until and after 1989 and illustrate key aspects of their present situation using case studies and examples. The article provides a complex historical narrative as a good basis for discussions on contemporary trends, challenges, and visions for the future of urban allotment gardening in both countries.

This chapter aims to draw out the essential ideas as to how urban allotment gardens are or could be embedded in spatial development visions and concepts. After 1989 and the transformation of Europe which followed, issues surrounding the social aims and means of spatial and urban planning intensified and allotment gardens as a land-use category started to attract increasing attention. The history of allotment gardening in Poland dates back to the end of nineteenth century. Allotment gardens or ‘garden colonies’ as they are called in Slovakia – are a particular characteristic of cities and urban environments. Since the late 1990s the municipality of Basel has been experiencing an increase in population so that new housing had to be constructed within the already dense city borders. In the contemporary European landscape, the planning of allotment gardens faces a somewhat contradictory situation. Sketching out future scenarios for allotment gardens in Europe is mostly the responsibility of urban development planning.

The Paper presents analyses of the strategies and projects that have been implemented and realised in landscape architecture, environmental protection, and sustainable design in the chosen cities in Poland and Slovakia. There are several levels of evaluation: the first one is policy approach (which includes strategic documents, conceptions, plans which have been elaborated), the second one is the level of landscape design and sustainability (including architectural competitions and project realisation) and the third one is public participation (involvement of the public in urban planning, bottom-up initiatives, support of the communities). Ten cities in Poland and ten cities in Slovakia have been chosen. (The Paper brings an overview what are the current topics, with a great emphasis on what are the trends in landscape architecture and what are the obstacles, which need to be overcome.

Social behaviour in public spaces has changed over the time and has become attractive to all those involved in designing people’s spaces. Communities in different countries in Europe have shown more and more interest and various activities have started to shape the public spaces all round the world. The main objective of the chapter is to review development of the methodologies that have been used to analyse public spaces worldwide and to summarize their requirements and conditions to suggest how they can be applied in order to analyse the relationship between people and spaces, with the aim to boost the active participation of people in design process. The chapter describes the methodologies using ICTs, especially e-participation, mobile technologies, GIS systems, or on the methodologies increasing the attractiveness of the public open spaces for citizens and visitors (laser holograms, QR codes, interactive boards, online and interactive maps, questionnaires and social interaction, etc.). Information technology offers new potentials of citizen participation and provides a communication platform, which suppresses a barrier of non-professionalism, allowing for distant contacts and enabling participatory process management. Users, accustomed to communicating through ICT also in public spaces, feel by using this tool more anonymous and less harassed to express their opinion. Not only ICT are important in the 21st century society, but also new ways of social media, which are accessible/open to use for larger group of people. The institutions or municipalities could use them as semi-official information platform, public open discuss forums or resource of the public initiatives.

Urban forests are essential recreational spaces that enhance cultural heritage, foster social integration, and provide economic benefits through local tourism. Their significance for recreation has grown due to increased leisure time, better access to information, and heightened concerns about mental and physical well-being. This study seeks to evaluate social preferences for funding recreational activities in urban forests in Warsaw and Lisbon, focusing on their appearance and societal significance. Utilizing the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), the research assessed individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) for recreational access. Advanced techniques such as logistic regression and discriminant analysis were employed to identify the factors influencing WTP in Poland and Portugal. In Poland, WTP is primarily affected by preferences related to the appearance of forests, particularly the distinction between natural forests and those equipped with more infrastructure. In contrast, in Portugal, WTP tends to decrease with a greater appreciation for natural forests and a belief in the necessity of investing in urban forestry. The findings indicate that various social factors, such as the appearance of forests and perceived maintenance requirements, influence people’s willingness to fund urban forests. However, conducting research with only younger respondents limits the ability to generalize these findings to older populations.

The sacral objects have great meaning in the cultural landscape in Slovakia. There are several types according to the significance, size and location, which could be identified in the countries, where the major religion is Christianity. The paper deals with the assessment of the sacral objects from architectural and urban point of view and also according to the presence of greenery accompanying the object. The surveyed area was the Senica region, located in the western part of Slovakia. The hidden symbolism and meaning of these objects could be find in their formation and precise placement. The greenery, which was planted by them – the type and number – has also significant meaning. The group of trees draws attention to a small sacral object, which could be noticed from distance, they protect it and support it. There are descriptions and explanations in stories and memories. Obviously, in the past, these objects did not have only symbolic meaning, but also a concrete spiritual significance for society. The field survey was carried out in 2017. Several criteria were evaluated: the location of the objects, the architectural background and the trees inventory.