DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-087-0-0110

DESIGNING LANDSCAPE FRAMES AND PROCESSES – CONTEMPORARY DILEMMAS IN THE AGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Rosłon-Szeryńska Edyta¹, Jacek Materski¹

¹ Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 159, 02 787 Warsaw, Poland

Human attitudes towards nature and trees have evolved from fear, humility, and respect, through triumph and nonchalance, to concern for the future. Contemporary cities, in the age of climate change, should develop in accordance with the concept of "sustainable development," which is understood, among other things, as actions that reconcile the well-being of nature with human needs, with the well-being of future generations in mind.
Generally speaking, we distinguish three design trends in contemporary landscape architecture: conceptual (artistic), functional, and ecological. Unfortunately, it often happens that nature-based solutions or actions under the banner of biodiversity protection are based on form, placing a strong emphasis on aesthetics in the traditional sense and harmony. In this article, the author presents several important assumptions that should guide the actions of designers pursuing the mission of adapting to and mitigating climate change. The foundation for effective action is understanding the processes occurring in the ecosystem and the role and position of humans in nature.
The aim of the work is to present models of dynamic landscape shaping (DLS) with particular emphasis on vegetation typical of floodplains in the Vistula River valley in the city of Warsaw. The research results allowed us to formulate guidelines for the proper shaping of plant landscapes in river valleys in urban space, which has practical use in urban planning and landscape architecture.

Keywords: Dynamic landscape shaping, biodiversity, ecological design, adaptation to climate change, river valley

pages: 110-115, Published: 2026, online: 2026