Ilze Stokmane

Children and adolescents have always been an important part of the future of society and the country. Often, the urban environment is subordinated and adapted to families with children, with playgrounds and infrastructure. However, the desire of adolescents to be out in society, in public spaces and to participate in social interaction is not sufficiently supported. Public space is a 'stage' for adolescents to test themselves, their limits and learn social skills, as well as to explore the norms of society and community. The aim of this article is to provide an insight into the principles of designing environments that are suitable for adolescents, with recommendations for the design process of such public outdoor spaces. Analysing publicly available information on the needs of adolescents and the suitability of outdoor spaces for their outdoor activities, it emerges that often the adaptation of urban environments for children or adults contributes to the isolation of adolescents from society, which in turn results in gatherings in unsuitable areas, vandalism and substance abuse. Introducing with suitable case studies in the design of outdoor spaces for adolescent children, we conclude that in order to mitigate the above risks, it is necessary to understand the developmental processes, emotional and psychological characteristics of adolescents, as well as to raise awareness of the basic principles of democratic upbringing in society, and to develop guidelines for the involvement of adolescents in urban planning, which would help municipalities to involve this specific target group in urban planning, ensuring that adequate public spaces are created for adolescents.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrated the importance of urban forests for human well-being at a time of tight constraints, when large forests close to urban areas were in high demand. Increased use affects the management of territories. Urban forests play an important role in providing ecosystem services. Urban forests show a close link between ecosystem services and forest functions. A literature review was carried out, exploring the ecosystem services and specific urban forest services provided by such territories. This article examines the experience of the Ogres Zilie kalni during the Covid-19 pandemic, taking into account the peculiar functions of urban forests. Different types of recreation that take place in the Ogres Zilie kalni, and their impact on park management are discussed. The aim of the article is to analyse and present the challenges of urban forest governance and management under the influence of Covid-19, looking through the functions of urban forests. ...

With the increase in the number of the global population, that is likely to grow also in the nearest decades, the expansion of cities continues at the expense of forests and farmlands, and in these new areas, a more significant role is granted to the interaction between cities and countryside, revealing diverse interests of stakeholders. It is necessary to preserve, and it is even desirable, to expand the green spaces of the urbanized territories. Vienna, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Riga were selected for the study. The authors looked at the experience of the urban and green area planning through the literature review of city planning documents. Analyses of results show that planning takes place at the city, suburban or regional level and in the case of Riga, its development is similar to the development of other large European cities. The share of the urban forests in the territory of Riga city and its suburbs is comparatively large. In the European cities, which are rich in forests,...

With the increasing use of roads for transport in recent decades, people frequently experience road landscapes and they have become a part of the everyday life of many people. The road landscape has developed in close connection with roads and their management. Historical events, life style and the priorities of society are reflected in it. Road landscape design theory was developed in Latvia during the Soviet era, but there are few recent studies on road landscapes and this field needs more attention. The road landscape is influenced by changes in state policy, economics, changes in land ownership and land use. Aesthetically valuable landscapes and landscapes with high heritage value can be lost as a result of these changes. It is necessary to develop a system of road landscape evaluation, to assess the current state of existing road plantings and road landscapes at a wider scale, to define the most valuable and endangered road landscapes and to develop action plans for road landsc...

Twenty first century characterises with approach of sustainability in different scales of spatial planning. During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 more and more attention has been paid on health and well-being of population. Remembering that two thirds of all European population live in cities the theme of sustainability of living environment became even more important following SDG 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities”. People in the cities more often seek for possibility to spend time outdoors, preferably in nature. It has become the important issue not only for individuals but also for governors of local municipalities and big cities providing such opportunity for their inhabitants. In order to find the best possible solution for development of urban environment it is important to know what are the choices available and best practise realized in spatial planning sustainability context. During the last five decades and even earlier different researchers and city planners have been...

The value of the cultural landscape heritage, its accessibility, preservation, landscape protection zone rating, avoidance of blocking or releasing viewlines (silhouettes, panoramas) etc. – these are the issues which are very little reflected in municipal documents. The documents mainly consist of decisions and support to meet practical or business-friendly needs. Along with the increased attraction of EU investment in agriculture, the mentioned issues become even more aggravated – at which expense the areas and the respective payments are increasing? The answer is one – at the expense of the landscape. In each of Latvian counties, there are territories that cannot lose historical value and we must search for a mutually beneficial algorithm. EU funding projects must contribute to the preservation of the cultural landscape heritage, i.e. to the introduction of Europe's best philosophy and practices. The recovery of the cultural landscape, including maintenance works and its progr...

Baltic competitiveness is quite controversial. In a<br> situation with the rapid structural changes, economy develops in<br> balance very rarely - in different fields will always be more rapid<br> changes in another more stagnation.<br> Analyzing different economic indices developed by international<br> organizations the situation in three Baltic countries are described<br> from a different competitiveness positions highlighting strengths and<br> weaknesses of each country.<br> Exploring the openness of the economy, it is possible to observe<br> certain risks included in the reports describing situation of<br> competitiveness where government policies competing in the tax<br> system, the rates of labour market policies, investment environment,<br> etc. This is a very important factor resulting in competitive<br> advantage.<br> Baltic countries are still at a weak position from a technological<br&g...

Economic processes underway in the country directly and indirectly affect the welfare of the people and the social environment, starting with job security and having a direct impact on the qualitative and safe living environment. The paper describes existing situation and gives analysis of the regional development policy determination and implementation in the all three Baltic countries. According statistical indicators there are differences between implementation of the regional development activities between all Baltic countries and in regions of inside each country. It is analyzed more detail differences between regions in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia according possibility to evaluate success of development processes in regions of the Baltic countries. The descriptive analyze of documents, statistical indicators at national level and regional level were used in the research. Keywords—Baltic countries, city environment, regional development, urban areas.