Layout structure of rural settlements and adjacent new developments in Czechia: Classification system and implications for urban planning

In this article a spatially integrative classification system of rural settlements based on their historical layout structure is proposed and applied to all eligible rural settlements in Czechia. This classification is then used to assess spatial characteristics of recent suburban developments, including the structure of their street networks and their spatial relationship to historical cores. Based on orthophotomaps, historical maps, and old classifications from the last century, a six-type classification system was created and applied to all rural settlements with less than 3,000 inhabitants in Czechia. In addition, based on a randomly selected subsample of 60 suburbanized settlements, the street network layout of the new developments (geometrical/organic/combined) was identified, and the adjacency of the new and old developments analyzed. The village-square type was the most common historical layout (52%), followed by stripe-type (26%), small (8%), plot-type (4%), and dispersed types (2%). All the remaining layout tructures, aggregated into the Others category, represented 8% of settlements. New developments in the two predominant types of historical layouts are mostly geometric and, with a few exceptions, adjacent to the original settlement core. The developed classification system can serve as a basis for a discussion about suitable and sensitive planning of new developments that preserve the historical value of the original settlements while supporting their sustainable growth.