The issue of recreation in a broad sense and from the aspect of urban
planning is related to other urban functions, as well as to certain
functional and ecological principles of spatial organization of cities
(Douglas, 2000). The research presented in this paper indicate that the
recreational function, as an urban planning category, receives inadequate
treatment in the spatial, regional, and urban plans in Republic of Srpska,
that is not proper for the new approach to evaluation and defining of
important elements of urban planning, such as forest areas. Obscure urban
plans do not allow concrete actions in terms of better planning of such
spaces, and it hinders supervision of their sustainable development. Urban
forests are key elements of green infrastructure and they provide essential
ecosystem services (Capotorti et al., 2015). Current city development process
in Republic of Srpska is characterized by an increase in number of buildings
where economic factors impact the urban structure and share of open
recreational spaces in the total area despite their increased functional and
ecological justification. The process of intensive construction endangers
natural resources such as forest complexes, thus they are becoming more and
more valuable. In this paper, forest complexes will be regarded as a spatial
category on example of the case study of Banja Luka. Seeking new solutions in
order to obtain primarily qualitative then quantitative changes in
representation, manner of use, and arrangement of forest complexes within the
green matrix of Banja Luka, is an imperative. Whether these special and
functional green structures would be designed for recreational or strictly
protective functions, perhaps as a cultural landscape, or a green structure
of polyvalent character, depends on many factors. This research focuses on
fifteen forest management units (MU) that were selected by a method of
separation of gravitational area and recreational zones in the city of Banja
Luka. The method, besides its originality, contains BITTERLICH?s ratio of
population separation for needs of forest complexes, which increases with the
increase of population density and decrease of the distance from a forest
area. This method for determining recreational value within a gravitational
area is used to define the value of the forest complex location factor, as
well as the value of its natural characteristics, i.e. whether the forest is
suitable for recreation (Medarevic, 1993). Evaluation postulates are
presented numerically and graphically by use of GIS technology for Republic
of Srpska municipalities based on the previously prepared data model. The
research results indicate that their practical use is possible in the domain
of planning, designing, and organization of forest complexes to accommodate
urban recreational needs.
High-rise construction in the Saint Petersburg agglomeration in 1703–1950s