DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7509-963-1-0211

MAPPING THE IN-BETWEEN – APPROACHES AND METHODS OF RESEARCHING URBAN VOIDS

Miroslav Čibik¹

¹ Institute of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, 949 76 Nitra, Slovak Republic

Losses of urban matter in town residential areas represent obstacles in the efficient use of built-up territory. At the same time, they carry a certain value — they are a territorial reserve with the potential for reuse. To ensure increased care, their functional restoration and reintegration into the urban fabric in the form of high-quality public spaces, it is necessary to apply several scientific and research methods. White space research is a long-term process accompanied by a wide range of analyses and different approaches. This quantitative and qualitative research is characterised by a certain sequence of steps and stages that follow each other chronologically and overlap in time. Due to the scope of the issue, it was therefore necessary to develop a work methodology in the initial stages of the research, and later a methodology for mapping and analysing white spaces. The presented article describes these practically proven methods of historical research, data collection, selection into the working database, evaluation, and application of a set of recommendations. Through specific examples from the environment of the regional capital cities of Nitra, Trnava and the district city of Banská Štiavnica, the contribution presents various forms of analytical tools and possibilities for researching white spaces.

Keywords: white spaces, urban voids, urban gaps, inner periphery, urban tourism

pages: 211-215, Published: 2024, online: 2024