DOI - Mendel University Press

DOI identifiers

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.

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

pages: 169-172, Published: 2026, online: 2026



References

  1. Arslan, Ö. (2023). An overview of international participatory urban design cases: challenges and opportunities in participatory urban design. In: METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, 40(2), pp. 173-192. Go to original source...
  2. Bechera, D., Kuczman, G., Čibik, M. (2022). Evaluation of woody plants located in rural public park areas. In: Public recreation and landscape protection. Brno: MU, pp. 120-123. Go to original source...
  3. Bellérová, S., Hus, M. (2025). Renaturalization practices applied to the creation of public spaces in peripheral urban areas. In: Public recreation and landscape protection. Brno: MU, pp. 237-243. Go to original source...
  4. Bihuňová, M., Štěpánková, R. (2024). Recreational possibilities of public open spaces in Párovce, Nitra. In: Public recreation and landscape protection. Brno: MU, pp. 253-257. Go to original source...
  5. Bihuňová, M., Supuka, J., Tóth, A., Šinka, K., Kuczman, G. (2021). Urban green areas and woody plant composition: dwelling space quality factor in the Klokočina housing estate. In: Ekológia (Bratislava), 40(1), pp. 80-90. Go to original source...
  6. Bihuňová, M., Štěpánková, R. (2025). Housing estate - opportunities and threats for recreational activities. In: Public recreation and landscape protection. Brno: MU, pp. 134-137. Go to original source...
  7. Csizmady, A. et al. (2016). Participatory design processes for the development of green areas of large-scale housing: case studies from Budapest and Riga. In: Critical Housing Analysis, 3(2), pp. 17-25. Go to original source...
  8. Čibik, M., Žolobaničová, T., Štěpánková, R. (2023). Exploring white spaces on urban mental maps. In: Public recreation and landscape protection. Brno: MU, pp. 63-66. https://doi.org/10.11118/978-80-7509-904-4-0063 Go to original source...
  9. Čibik, M., Štěpánková, R. (2020). Exploring university campuses as urban development boosters and design flagships in urban landscape. In: AD ALTA, 10(2), pp. 37-45.
  10. Kristiánová, K., Štěpánková, R. (2015). Green infrastructure of historic city cores - case studies from Slovakia. In: SGEM 2015. Sofia: STEP92 Technology, pp. 437-443. Go to original source...
  11. Kuczman, G., Paganová, V. (2024). Landscape-architectural design in the recreation area Nová Duchonka. In: Public recreation and landscape protection - with environment hand in hand!. Brno: MU, pp. 189-194. Go to original source...
  12. Melichová, K. (2025). Co-designing urban interventions through the lens of SDGs. In: Urban Planning. Go to original source...
  13. Miklášová, K., Mitrová, A. M., Bakay, L. (2024). How can bottom up activism create a public park: case study of evolution garden in Čebovce (Slovakia). In: Public recreation and landscape protection - with environment hand in hand!. Brno: MU, pp. 163-167. Go to original source...
  14. Štěpánková, R., Kristiánová, K. (2015). Top down strategies and bottom up initiatives in geoparks development in Slovakia. In: SGEM 2015. Sofia: STEP92 Technology, pp. 977-983.
  15. Vinczeová, Z., Tóth, A. (2025). Urban green spaces and collective housing: spatial patterns and ecosystem services for sustainable residential development. In: Sustainability, 17(6), 2538. Go to original source...
  16. Vinczeová, Z., Žolobaničová, T., Tóth, A., Štěpánková, R. (2025). Green, grey, and empty: tracing the urban public spaces of collective housing in Nitra, Slovakia. In: Urban Science, 9(9), 383. Go to original source...
  17. Włodarczyk-Marciniak, R. et al. (2024). Can we rely on people's choices when envisioning retrofit blue-green interventions in semi-public spaces? In: Journal of Environmental Management, 370. Go to original source...
  18. Žolobaničová, T., Štěpánková, R., Tóth, A. (2025). Unlocking the potential of forgotten spaces: integrating lost green spaces and urban wetlands into sustainable urban development. In: Urban Science, 9(9), 2538. Go to original source...
  19. Žolobaničová, T., Čibik, M., Štěpánková, R. (2023). Exploring the recreational potential of urban gaps. In: Public recreation and landscape protection - with sense hand in hand!. Brno: MU, pp. 57-62. https://doi.org/10.11118/978-80-7509-904-4 Go to original source...
Return