Potencjał przestrzeni miejskiej dla rekreacji konnej (na przykładzie Katowic)

Abstract

A quality of life in the city is strongly determined by possibility of relax and recreation. It is especially important in open areas appo-inted with tourist and recreational equipment. Katowice has an excellent conditions to deal with recreational and relax needs of inhabitants. A woodiness of the city is about 40%, and a natural and semi-natural area participation is about 60%. Among the modern kinds of recreation in cities increasingly popular is horse riding. Only in Katowice, there is pro-bably more than 10 stables – including horse riding centres, box-renting stables and connecting both of these functions. Neighboring cities (eg. Mysłowice, Tychy, Mikołów or Ruda Śląska) are connected with Katowice by huge areas of wood-land. There is also a relatively high density of stables between cities. This all creates very good conditions to practice horse riding in cities of Upper Silesia region. Additionally, there is a horse riding association which integrates horse-riders and cares for equestrian tradition and culture. Despite the good conditions, there are also obstacles to improve and promote horse riding recreation as a competitive kind of recreation (eg. with walking, riding a bike, postindustrial sightseeing).