Effect of accessibility in housing complexes on shaping of beauty in the urban environment. Selected examples from Cracow

Attractiveness of the urban environment, most of all as a place of residence, but also as a place of recreation, work, and everyday activities is moulded by numerous factors, only some of which are purely aesthetic in nature. An important role can be also played by the functional aspect – that of accessibility as a possibility of moving around the urban structure freely. A tendency which is still commonly observed in contemporary housing investments is their complete or partial fencing. It is applied in suburban projects, as well as in broadly understood city centres. In the latter case it results in a private space with limited access, which often constitutes an actual barrier for pedestrian traffic and local traffic within the territory of the city district. This paper presents and analyses selected examples of several housing projects implemented in recent years in Cracow, as well as it examines the role which can be played by specific urban-planning and architectural aspects in moulding of the beauty of the city.