This article presents a brief description of the state of research on the idea of the village in the landscape park. This concept has many features that justify its prevalence in the practical activities of spatial planning, because it can be a form of realization of the idea of sustainable development.

Economic and environmental conditions, changing with unprecedented speed, entail looking for new agricultural technologies. The increasing human population makes it necessary to think of new methods of food production. Until now, several-dozen-storey vertical farms, open and closed, and intended mainly for urban areas and urban agriculture, belong mostly in the sphere of futuristic ideas. The projected structures are complexes of unprecedented architectural forms, self-sufficient in energy, making use of sustainable energy sources, recycling water and/or other materials. The question must be raised as to whether our civilisation on Earth can survive and develop in the coming decades without implementing visionary (for the time being) conceptions of food production? Agriculture in high-rise buildings is the dream of some scientists and architects around the globe and is becoming a reality.

The originality of architecture and art of Podhale was already noted in the first half of the 19th century, while in the second half of the century ethnographic collections were established. However, it was thanks to the work of famous personages from Warsaw: a surgeon Władysław Matlakowski, a lawyer Bronisław Dembowski and his wife Maria, as well as the painter and art critic Stanisław Witkiewicz, that the interest in architecture of the Podhale region and the perception of it as a national style increased.

This article presents the issue of housing construction in the Polish countryside in a synthetically treated historical aspect (until 1939) and seven phases after 1945 distinguished by the author. The author’s observations and assertions are based on knowledge of the subject (and many years of research) in relation to construction in Lesser Poland. The seven parts (sections) cover the critical description of the phenomena connected with rural housing, in particular processes of dispersion (entropy) in the management of rural space and far-reaching aesthetic disorders, both landscape and conceptual functional (in terms of technical infrastructure and social costs). The article justifies the thesis of a significant and sometimes decisive (often negative) impact of land reform (Decree PCNL 1944), and two great political transformations (1944–1948, i.e. the introduction of real socialism, and return to a market economy and democratic system after 1989) on the construction. The considerations are accompanied by reflections of a general nature by researcher of rural planning and architecture and designer of many architectural objects.

At present, there are contrasting tendencies in land development in rural areas. A pressure for investment as well as re-migration of people beyond the city can be observed in the city outskirts. In these areas, the agricultural function is disappearing and residential development is becoming dominant. Both spontaneous and planned development exhibit multiple negative features. There is a need for a new model or housing development in these areas that is different from urban and rural forms and constitutes their synthesis. It is necessary to break great monocultural areas of the suburbs into individualized, both in the functional and spatial aspects, units enabling extraterritorial leisure. The colour-material integration of particularly roofs and exposition of figure dominants may reduce the chaos and enrich the landscape.

The main objective of this article is to systematize and present some factors affecting the visual perception of colour in space, which should always be taken into consideration by planners, architects, as well as investors – in both the analysis and designing of the project. Because of the far reach of the issue the main problems are covered only briefly, focusing more on those elements that are important for the design of the architectural colour in rural areas. Although the detailed study area was limited mainly to the South Polish villages, contemporary colours follow similar rules throughout Poland. Therefore, it seems that this presentation can be a starting point for further research on the impact of these factors on colour in architecture and establishing universal guidelines in this area.

The transformation of the sociopolitical system that started in 1989 was based on the principles of democracy and decentralization of power. When it comes to spatial planning, public participation was included in the planning procedures. Participation has become the key element in the process of shaping space. The modified planning regulations introduce public consultation that should facilitate the process of making the right decisions. In principle, the use of public consultation should facilitate conflict mitigation or even prevent them. The broad public participation in the development of local plans and studies of the conditions and directions of spatial development makes it possible to resolve a number of conflicts related to the essence of planning. However, under certain circumstances the participatory planning may unintentionally become a cause of social conflicts, although it was meant to resolve them. Sometimes rational spacial solutions can be blocked by certain interest groups.