Correct planning and proper landscape design - key to quality urban life Case Study: Macedonia Park, Skopje, North Macedonia

Abstract

With the modernization of urban areas, green spaces are reduced, and the importance of the existing ones is rapidly increasing. The point is not just to have open green spaces in the cities but to have multifunctional and multipurpose parks. Whether a green place is successful depends on urban planning and landscape design. The correct planning and the proper landscape design of urban parks are key to quality urban life. The subject of analysis in this research is the planning and landscape design of the first part of Macedonia Park in Skopje, North Macedonia. The goal is to determine whether this area is functional and aesthetically beautiful at the same time. The analysis addresses several different aspects (its functionality, depending on the elements it contains; the safety of its visitors; plant species selection and the layout of the plants related to the functionality and the aesthetic appearance of the park). The results show that Macedonia Park (First part) is a multifunctional and multipurpose green area. Even though there are parts with different elements in the park which satisfy visitors with different interests of all ages, some mistakes or failures made in its planning and landscape designing are noticeable. Some of them refer to the safety of the visitors, some of the plant species selection and the others on the layout of the plants related to the functionality of the park. Also, there are errors in using some of the basic principles of landscape design, such as focalization, simplicity and rhythm and line. The aspects taken into consideration in the analysis in this paper include the potentialities and challenges of planning, designing and improving city parks in urban areas like Skopje.