Vilniaus miesto urbanistinė plėtra: krašto ir regiono kontekstas

Abstract

The author of the article describes his variant of Vilnius territorial development drawn up as one of four preliminary shetches preceding the elaboration of the city master plan. Consideration is given to the location of Lithuania's territory towards the spatial structure of Baltic sea region and its planning structure, to the very eccentric situation of its capital city, Vilnius, in relation to the territory of the country (only 35 km to the Byelorussian border) and the unique similarity in size of two of the largest Lithuanian cities Vilnius and Kaunas. As a result of these factors, in this pre-project variant,, a qualitative new conceptual approach to the development of Vilnius plan is proposed: linear-nuclear shape of territorial expansion westwards. Numerous objective arguments and premises as well as foreign regional and town planning examples, including planned Baltic sea region's network of "pearles" and "strings", are directed to the issue. The fact is that Kaunas, the second largest Lithuanian city lies at one of the main cross points of historical and traditional directions, North-South and East-West, therefore, the situation of this city is strategically very important and promising in the context of region. In this aspect the geographical location of the capital city Vilnius is a less advntageous. On the other hand, mutual communications aut transport links between these two cities, intensive opposing back and forth commuting streams, economical and social functioning of the towns in the trans-city belt, versatile gravitation of surrounding territories to the belt and its core makes this bipolar territorial formation a reality. Major attention in the article is given to the benefits that may be achived by a gradual directing of the urbanistic development of Vilnius city agglomeration in linear shape, by its expansion towards Kaunas, towards Baltic sea, and towards West.