Developed and paved areas in Polish cities are constantly expanding. It is a natural process for developing metropolises. Unfortunately, we can observe the gradual shrinking of green areas associated with this process, in addition to increasingly smaller numbers of planted trees, bushes and new areas with biologically active surfaces. This considerably reduces the comfort of citizens and has a significant impact on human health. People require housing, employment and rest—engaging in sports and recreation. In the period of today’s rapid pace of life, attention to one’s health is increasingly often neglected. People start to search for human-friendly spaces, both in cities and outside of them. One often selected form of recreation is horsemanship. An increasing number of equestrian centres is built in urban agglomerations, satisfying public demand and creating a network of popular sports and recreation centres. Contact with horses satisfies the atavistic need for experiencing nature that is imprinted into the human subconscious.
The subject matter of equestrian centres that is discussed in this paper is presented on the example of three such facilities located within the metropolitan area of Kraków, Poland. The subject matter discussed here can also be referred to other equestrian centres, both in Poland and in Europe. The common denominator is an equestrian centre whose stable has a minimum of sixteen boxes for horses. The objective of this study is to present, among other things, the best possible areas for siting equestrian centres in cities and urban agglomerations. I attempted to answer the question as to how to optimally site an equestrian centre so that it could be as close to people as possible—their places of residence (accounting for everyday commuting to the stables)—and that would also meet requirements for horse breeding and provide animals with a proper living space. To explain this problem, I performed a range of analyses on three equestrian centres located in the Kraków Metropolitan Area, each located at a different site.
