"Urban and rural codes of public spaces" / Holger Kuehnel, Anna Marta Wlodarczyk, p. 17. "Public spaces vs. healthy places" / Ana Lídia Virtudes, p. 165. "New public spaces in rural areas in the process of revitalization. Case study: Opole region in Poland" / Anna Marta Wlodarczyk, p. 187.

"The concept of a scientific monograph "Traditional and New Public Spaces in Rural Areas", realized in 2014, was born in Portugal, Covilha in 2013. At that time, ! had the pleasure to present a lecture at the University of Beira Interior (Universidade da Beira Interior) accompanied by a very lively discussion about projects of public spaces in rural areas. Finally, the international group of scientists from Germany, Poland, and Portugal visited Nysa in October 2013 in order to present exposés and participate actively in discussions on traditional and new public spaces in villages during the International Scientific Symposium (cf. photographs below).
The result is the presented monograph.
The publication is a rich collection of professional observations and solutions connected with projects of new as well as traditional public spaces. Moreover, it is important to take a look at spatial processes which take place in the present structure of villages, where the heritage is often placed in the shadow of new activities. We do believe that this book will contribute to greater awareness of planners, authorities, and users and the improvement of the condition of rural structures and spaces related to new public spaces, such as streets, marketplaces, and squares, with consideration for the local tradition and the amenity of the place.
This is the reason for the title of the book.
The authors of the papers are scientists, who presented rural areas from the regions of Opole, Wroclaw, Silesia, Lublin, as well as from abroad: Morocco, Portugal, Germany, England, Italy, and other countries.
We hope that this monograph will become a valuable contribution to discussions on a local public space, which is destroyed and expects revalorization The presented projects, realizations, as well as existing situations shall serve as examples of architectural, rural, and urban revalorization and revitalization. They point to the existing possibilities of spatial recovery and constitute inspiring examples of creating aesthetic, comfortable, and useful public spaces. The participation of future users in this design process is significant and equally important as the decisions of local authorities and experts, who support the projects professionally."
Anna Marta Wlodarczyk