Europ. Countrys. · Vol. 13 · 2021 · No. 1 · p. 153-174 DOI: 10.2478/euco-2021-0009 European Countryside MENDELU CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF SPATIAL CHAOS IN THE POLISH CARPATHIANS – A DIFFICULT WAY TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Agata Ćwik1, Hanna Hrehorowicz-Gaber2 1 Agata Ćwik, PhD, Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Land Management and Environmental Protection, College of Natural Sciences, University of Rzeszów, Poland, ORCID: 0000-0002-6197-9959, e-mail:
[email protected] (corresponding author) 2 Hanna Hrehorowicz-Gaber, PhD Arch., Department of Spatial Planning, Urban and Rural Design; Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of Technology, Kraków, Poland, ORCID: 0000-0002-1567-6172, e-mail:
[email protected] 153/221 Received 21 August 2020, Revised 10 January 2021, Accepted 19 January 2021 Abstract: Mountainous rural areas are vulnerable to inappropriate land management, which is particularly visible in the Polish Carpathians. This paper attempts to diagnose the causes and effects of spatial chaos in this area, using the DPSIR method. The Three Questions method was used to assist in analysing the effects of disorder in the context of violating sustainable development. The analysis demonstrated that the causes of spatial disorder were mainly of legal and historical origins, with the most visible effects of this chaos being those related to the dispersion of buildings. Minimising spatial chaos requires extensive education, as well as amending legislation to limit the scope of decisions on development conditions. A national financial mechanism supporting the development of the Carpathians would also seem to be a desirable improvement. Key words: Carpathian Convention, DPSIR, mountainous landscape, rural landscape, spatial chaos, spatial planning, 'Three Questions' method Abstakt: Górskie obszary wiejskie są wrażliwe na niewłaściwe zagospodarowanie przestrzenne.