Geographia Polonica (2001) vol. 74, iss. 1

Environment and planning, or possible approaches to the environment in physical planning

Jerzy J. Parysek, Lidia Mierzejewska

Geographia Polonica (2001) vol. 74, iss. 1, pp. 21-28 | Full text

Abstract

The natural environment and its place in physical planning can be approached in a variety of ways. In an extreme case, the environment can be treated as the subject matter of a plan; alternatively, it can be one of the elements constituting the subject of planning. It can be treated as material defining the spatial framework of development, or as its factor and limitation, etc. The way we approach the environment depends primarily on how we under-stand the nature-man relationship, and what model of the operation and development of nature we adopt. Two such models can be considered: (1) of the autonomous development of nature, and (2) of controlled nature-man interactions. In the latter, two types of interaction are involved: of the spatial integration or spatial separation of nature and man. These assumptions can underlie various approaches to the environment; their elucidation is the subject matter of the present paper.

Keywords: natural environment, physical planning, nature-man relationship

Jerzy J. Parysek [parys@amu.edu.pl], Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Space Economy, Adam Mickiewicz University, Fredry 10, 61-701 Poznań, Poland
Lidia Mierzejewska [mierzeja@amu.edu.pl], Institute of Socio-Economic Geography and Space Economy, Adam Mickiewicz University, Fredry 10, 61-701 Poznań, Poland