DOI - Mendel University Press

DOI identifiers

DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7701-087-0-0387

TRENDS IN SUPPORTING OUTDOOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN PUBLIC SPACES BASED ON WARSAW PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING (WPB)

Kinga Kimic1, Paulina Polko2
1 Department of Landscape Architecture, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska Street 159, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
2 Faculty of Applied Sciences, WSB University, Cieplaka Street 1C, 41-300 Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland


The growing importance of recreation, which enhances the health and well-being of city dwellers, is driving changes in public spaces: they are becoming more open to a wider range of outdoor physical activities, including those supported by social initiatives. To examine the extent to which this issue is important to the residents of Warsaw (Poland), projects implemented as part of the Warsaw Participatory Budget (WBP) between 2015 and 2024 were analysed in terms of their role in supporting outdoor physical activity in the following categories: recreational and bicycle paths, parks, squares and pocket green spaces, children's playgrounds, sports facility, rest equipment, physical exercises and training courses. The results show that across the 10 WBP editions studied, 496 projects related to outdoor physical activity were carried out. They gained in importance in the first years of the WPB operation, but the number of projects implemented fell significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the identified decline, the approximately 10% share of outdoor physical activity projects among all completed in the WBP between 2015 and 2024 underscores their importance to residents and provides guidance on the direction of public spaces development.

Keywords: urban public spaces, green spaces, recreation, health and well-being, public participation, placemaking

pages: 387-391, Published: 2026, online: 2026



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