Abstract

The aim of the article is to identify factors that determine the development and management models of floating housing development in the analyzed countries. The author indicates factors determining the possibility of settling on bodies of water in Poland, and restrictions connected with this type of development, as well as the need for specialized persons and companies ready to meet the challenges of the modern management of hydro-technical facilities, including floating housing development. In Western Europe, living on water is gaining in popularity. People have begun to dwell on water because of rising land prices, congestion in cities and work related to the use of rivers for the transport of goods. The popularity of housing on water in the Netherlands results from environmental conditions. About 60% of the Netherlands is below the sea level. For hundreds of years, the population of the Netherlands has been battling with the elements, while being exposed to continuously rising sea levels, which has been a consequence of the greenhouse effect. Environmental changes have caused a change in government policy, which began to support construction activity on water, adapted regulations and changed office holders. In North America, especially in the United States, the identification of residents with their neighborhoods of houses on water is so high that it has resulted in the formation of communities uniting owners of residential watercrafts, who have succeeded in homes on water becoming recognized as real estate and, consequently, now have the same rights as residents of houses on land. In Poland, housing estates on water are slowly gaining popularity but no factors determining the development of this type of settlement have been established. An analysis of the situation in Poland reveals many factors limiting the functional use of houses on water and a lack of specialists in the management of hydro-technical facilities. Therefore, on the basis of examples of countries in Western Europe and North America given in this article, the author tries to define the responsibilities of managers and an appropriate management model for housing estates on water in Poland, as well as indicate problems with the development of housing on water and their possible solutions.

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