Negative Consequences of Suburbanisation on Architectural Cohesion in Indigenous Villages Absorbed by Expanding Post-Socialist Cities: The Cases of Kraków and Lviv

Magdalena Wilkosz-Mamcarczyk; Barbara Olczak; Barbara Prus; Katarzyna Hodor; Nadija Sosnova

doi:10.3097/LO.2025.1143

Authors

Magdalena Wilkosz-Mamcarczyk University of Agriculture in Krakow, Department of Land Management and Landscape Architecture, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4845-5990
Barbara Olczak University of Agriculture in Krakow, Department of Land Management and Landscape Architecture, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9070-9640
Barbara Prus University of Agriculture in Krakow, Department of Land Management and Landscape Architecture, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0115-7793
Katarzyna Hodor Cracow University of Technology, Chair of Landscape Architecture, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4746-7535
Nadija Sosnova Lviv Polytechnic National University, Department of Urban Planning and Design, Ukraine https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2570-1236

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3097/LO.2025.1143

Keywords:

village absorption, building cohesion method, spatial and architectural transformation, urban sprawl, cultural landscape and heritage preservation, critical zone of spatial change

Abstract

The historical cultural landscape of villages absorbed into expanding urban areas is being lost amid the multiplication of rapidly developing modern housing estates. This process is particularly pronounced in post-socialist cities such as Krakow and Lviv. The urban -architectural features of the former villages – such as building layouts, form and height, timberwork, façade materials and colours, roof types, architectural details, and the character of their immediate surroundings - once reflected a rural residential model rooted in agricultural traditions, notably in the Bronowice and Znesinnya districts. This traditional model is increasingly eroded by dynamic urban change, technological progress, and investment pressure. Consequently. Through analysis of historical documents, iconography, and cartographic materials, complemented by research field inventory, a model of traditional suburban village architecture was developed. Employing the author’s ‘building cohesion’ methodology, a detailed field inventory was conducted, and a critical zone for cultural heritage was delineated within Bronowice—a district experiencing intense development pressures. Drawing on findings from Bronowice, two development scenarios were projected for Znesinnya: one advocating harmonious, sustainable growth that respects the traditional village layout; and a second, pessimistic scenario forecasting unregulated development similar to that in Bronowice. The forecasts suggest that, without preventive legal and planning interventions, as well as both top-down and grassroots initiatives to promote awareness of the area’s rural origins, Znesinnya is likely to follow a similar trajectory of cultural landscape degradation.

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