Vistula - summer city center
Second place in the poll, with 23 percent of the votes, went to "restoring the city of Vistula." The development of urban transportation is one of the basic and obvious elements of the development of any civilized city - it makes life easier, but it doesn't change its shape. Perhaps it's even a bit of a shame that the construction of a subway in the 21st century can be considered such a valuable and unique transformation? For what it's worth, turning Warsaw back to the river has transformed the city not only spatially. This "return to the river" has changed the capital mentally, psychologically, aesthetically, bringing it closer to the world's most beautiful cities not so much because of its appearance, but because of a kind of joie de vivre and social energy, the pleasure one can derive from being in a city that doesn't have to be reduced to a rush for work.
Vistula River boulevards
Photo: Anna Cymer
Vistula beaches and boulevards, a subway station leading directly to the river, riverside bars, cafes, playgrounds and even new buildings and housing developments growing along the Vistula have caused a shift in the capital's focus. It was the Vistula that became the center of the city in the summer season - life began to take place here, and this is very important: a life that is truly accessible to everyone, regardless of age, wallet or idea of how to spend their time. This is the greatest phenomenon of this transformation: in a city dominated by a capitalist mentality, a permanent profit account and a passion for incessant buying, it turned out that a place devoid of these elements could be created. Carefree, free, giving truly everyone a sense of participation in the life of the city.
Copernicus Science Center
photo: Anna Cymer
And again: in Gazeta Wyborcza's ranking, Vistula-related topics took a total of three of the nine final places. Residents appreciated not only the generally formulated "restoration of the Vistula River to the city," but also the construction of the Copernicus Science Center, as well as the organization of Euro 2012 and the construction of the National Stadium, all of which contributed immensely to remembering that a river flows through Warsaw. The CNK was the first well-known and well-liked building to stand on the Vistula River (the University of Warsaw Library was built earlier, but it has its back turned to the river), while the Prague beaches became the party heart of the city just during the soccer championships. "Return" to the Vistula took several years, but milestones can be seen in this process, and the CNK and the stadium with the large beach next to it are certainly among them.
a city for everyone
In the "Super City" ranking, the sixth position was occupied by "a flourishing cultural and entertainment life." This phenomenon, undoubtedly discernible in Warsaw, which only a decade ago was dying down after 10 pm, could not have developed if not for the development of public transportation. Good transportation infrastructure is, after all, essential to wanting to enjoy the city's evening and nighttimepleasures. Let the fact that on a Friday or Saturday morning the subway can sometimes be as crowded as it is during the afternoon rush hour attest to this. The Vistula River area also contributes greatly to the vibrancy of city life - if only for the reason already mentioned here of its accessibility. Some on the river can spend an evening in an elegant establishment, others will listen to a concert or make a bonfire on the beach, while still others will drink wine or beer bought at a nearby store on the boulevards. In this way, everyone can afford entertainment in the city center. Thus, the ranking of the "Supermunicipal" showed not only the value of infrastructure, but also how various ventures and investments are interconnected, acting like a system of interconnected vessels.
Warsaw Powisle bar before the pandemic
photo: Anna Cymer
But should all these place attractions and positive changes be described in the present tense? Won't the epidemic that swept the world a few months ago push them into the past? Many experts have been wondering for weeks what our cities will look like after the pandemic, to what extent both the way we live and spend our time and the organization of the space of streets, squares, boulevards, bars and cafes will have to be changed. Maybe, instead of taking stock of the last 30 years of development, opening up, bringing people together, we should focus on redesigning cities to facilitate social distance? Have we already said goodbye to crowded boulevards and bustling cafes? Will public transportation lose popularity because a private car will seem to protect better from the virus? For now - after successive loosening of epidemic restrictions - city life seems to be slowly returning to its earlier form. On sunny days, the Vistula beaches and boulevards are crowded, streetcars and subways are getting more passengers by the day, as are customers in establishments with slightly fewer tables set up. Unless there is some sudden turnaround in the epidemic, this will probably prove to be the biggest change of the last thirty years - a willingness to move away from city life with all its advantages and attractions, but also its tribulations.
