Katarína Kristiánová

Everyone functions within the area of the sacrum and the profanum, the material and non-material reality, having many meanings and interpretations and constituting an inherent field of human activity. While analysing a complicated network of relations and dependencies between the sacrum and the profanum, the intentionality of the location of locus sacer and its special demarcation in the architectural and urban area of the living environment of the 21st century was observed. It was demonstrated that designing a church in the contemporary commercialized world is not easy because its modern functionality requires the designer not only to consider the ideology, the vision of the church, tradition and biblical motives but also to highlight new methods of worship and state-of-the-art technological achievements. For that reason, contemporary sacrum significantly deviates from the traditional model of a shrine as presented in the analyses included in this article. The special and functional concept covered with the research shows this diversity and design methods highlight the architectural values and the dimension of locus sacer. This article supplements the research focused in this paper on analyses of the sacrum created in a new housing district in Freiburg, Germany.

The premise for the development of sustainable forms of road infrastructure in small towns is the appropriate plan at an early stage or modification in the case of existing spaces. A multidirectional approach is extremely important, which takes into account the specificity of the regional (country) road system, availability, and capacity of traffic network, but also social and environmental factors. Efficient management of transit space in small cities through the implementation of the concept of managing green areas in traffic zones allows improving safety and quality of residents life. Therefore it is important to develop comprehensive projects covering  not only the project itself but also its implementation through the proper control of movement of vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians, using e.g. traffic calming elements. The aim of this study is to enhance the design of traffi c calming measures by using principles of zoning, public space design and planting strategies. Examples of development of traffic calming measures in small towns and suburban zones in the regions of Europe and MENA are presented and recommendations regarding the planning of roadside space and the introduction of plants to the traffic calming measures are formulated.

The issue of revitalization of public space in cities appeared in the countries of Western Europe in the early 1960s. Much later, the issue of renewal was introduced in countries such as Slovakia and Poland. The beginnings of the revitalization programs date back to the period of political transformation, and in particular concern the accession of these countries to the EU. Since then, the revitalization has become a very important issue for the policy of developing small towns. The space suitable for revitalization is presented as neglected, left without use or not used properly. Areas which undergoing by revitalization are most often described as post-industrial, industrial, and large-scale urban areas. However, the concept of revitalization has evolved especially in the recent years towards the renewal of the city centers and satellite districts in which public spaces are important. Currently, many programs, projects, and activities refer to the concept of revitalization. Revitalization is an interdisciplinary process that combines issues of urban development with architectural planning, economics, sociology, psychology, and others. The work presents the problems of changes in public space related to the implementation of revitalization programs. Reference has been made to changes in the structure of public spaces, as well as areas and facilities of particular importance for residents of small towns in Slovakia and Poland. Finally, the examples of revitalization in both countries are presented. The aim of the research was to analyze the process of revitalization of public spaces on the example of small towns in Poland and Slovakia. The main task was to refer to the issues of changes in space in the context of social and cultural and spatial changes. For this purpose, authors analyzed projects and realizations involving the revitalization of small towns belonging to the Cittaslow Association in Poland and the small cities of the selected Košice, Prešov and Nitra region in Slovakia.