Aesthetics and Ecology in Planning of Urban Green Spaces of Latvia

Aesthetics and ecology in urban planning are opposed, especially in the case of landscape transformation without understanding the natural processes; it results in a conflict between aesthetic and ecological qualities because of specific features of human perception. The increase of anthropogenic load in large cities, interest in the use of ecological principles in planning of urban green spaces and factors of human perception of landscape preference were the reasons for choosing the topic of this research. The aim of the study was to carry out the assessment of ecological and aesthetical quality of urban green spaces. The research was divided in landscape inventory and quality assessment in selected urban green spaces. In this research landscape structure of Liepaja, Jelgava, Rezekne and Valmiera cities was analysed and 36 green spaces were selected for the research. This study includes the results of landscape inventory of the existing situation of green spaces. and the analysis of the data obtained in the landscape inventory of green spaces of four research cities. The results indicate that urban green spaces are strongly influenced by compositional unity, uniqueness, coherence with architecture, naturalness, typicality and use of native plants. Also the study did not reveal the individual regional characteristics accented in the plantings and design of urban green spaces. Green spaces selected for the study were divided in four groups according to the assessment of landscape aesthetic and ecological quality. Based on the research results, three different development models of urban green spaces were designed, which can be used for the development prospects in decision making. The main conclusion of the study is that in the future there should be detailed analysis of existing values and regional characteristics of urban green spaces by local municipalities. Planning documents of urban areas and green spaces should include the guidelines of increasing both aesthetic and ecological qualities and regional differences.