RECREATION FUNCTION OF FOREST COMPLEXES AS AN ELEMENT OF URBAN PLANNING: A VIEW FROM REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA

Abstract

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 (Medarević, 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.