Local planning in the national provisions of the Polish Building Code of 1928 - a forgotten legacy

Abstract

Since the political transformation initiated in 1989, there has been a continuous discussion in Poland on the directions of reforming the spatial planning system and the principles of shaping space. It has been accompanied by numerous statutory changes. Despite this, the issue of the quality of local space and the importance of urban composition in the spatial policy remain an unresolved, pressing problem requiring new regulations. In the search for these solutions, the historic Ordinance on the Law of Building and Development of Settlements of 1928, which created the system framework in the spatial development of the country reborn after World War I, is of particular importance. 95 years after the promulgation of this regulation, the system solutions adopted at that time as crucial to Poland's spatial development were analyzed. The aim of the study was to identify tools introduced in 1928 for shaping space at the local level, in the nature of operational urban planning instruments. The identified regulations were confronted with contemporary solutions. The results indicate a strongly marginalized range of tools of real space shaping in the current legislation and the need for changes, referring to the solutions identified in the study as a forgotten legacy.