DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-087-0-0169

FROM RESIDUAL SPACE TO RECREATIONAL ENVIRONMENT: THE ROLE OF CO-DESIGN IN THE ACTIVATION OF HOUSING ESTATES

Roberta Štěpánková¹, Tamara Valičková¹, Miroslav Čibik¹

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

Housing estate in-between spaces represent a significant but often underutilized part of the residential environment with potential for the development of everyday recreation. Their low functional usability is a result of spatial uncertainty, lack of program content, and weak relationship of residents to these areas. This paper focuses on the possibilities of linking co-design as a participatory tool of urban planning with the process of activating housing estate interstitial spaces in order to increase the recreational potential of the area. The theoretical basis is the understanding of housing estate in-between spaces as a specific urban "intermediate scale" between architecture and the city, suitable for the application of co-creation. The paper points to the importance of involving residents in identifying recreational needs and designing small-scale spatial interventions that support recreational and physical activities in the everyday environment of housing estates. The result of the co-design approach is an increase in the functional and social value of the space, a strengthening of residents' relationship to the area, and support for the long-term sustainable development of recreational functions. The paper contributes to the discussion on adaptive and participatory approaches in the planning of residential structures.

Klíčová slova: in-between spaces, potential, participatory design, urban activation, morphology

stránky: 169-172, Publikováno: 2026, online: 2026