The Representation of Greenery in the Boundaries Between the Open Landscape and Residential Areas in Suburbanized Rural Settlements. Development From the 19th to the 21st Century

The rapid development of rural settlements into commuter towns in the hinterland of large cities, coupled with intensive agriculture and climate change, may negatively affect the prosperity of these areas. The presented analysis focused on randomly selected rapidly growing settlements in the Prague metropolitan area, examining their development with a focus on the peripheral parts of such settlements. Settlement margins constitute a specific part of rural settlements as it typically contributes to the rural character by providing the gradual gradient between the settlement and the open landscape. The representation of water-absorbing and non-water absorbing areas and their suitability for the development of taller vegetation along the margins of three randomly selected suburbanized settlements in the hinterland of Prague are analysed from the perspective of the possibility to maintain the traditional character of the settlement margins. Historical maps, aerial photographs, spatial planning documentation and documents, and data on current land use and landscape cover were used for the analysis of the settlements’ development over the last approx. 200 years. We have observed the trend of decreasing plot size and of reduction of the water-absorbing surfaces suitable for planting taller vegetation, especially in the 21 st century residential developments, which disrupts the traditional rural character of these settlements. The utilization and stabilization of the current vegetation in the historical areas, together with the creation of the vegetation belts along the margins of the newly developed areas, could improve the environmental quality of these settlements, promote ecosystem services and increase biodiversity.