In his new book, Grzegorz Piątek focuses on the process of rebuilding the capital after World War II. But "The World's Best City. Warsaw in reconstruction 1944-1949" is not only an urban study. It is a book for anyone who is curious about the development of the city and the processes taking place in it . A reading definitely worth your attention!
"The best city in the world" was not built strictly according to plan. And that's a good thing. An urban planner must keep looking at reality and reacting to it, and a city will never be a finished product, but a process. However, even the part of the BOS's assumptions that has been realized has made Warsaw a city many times more comfortable, healthier and - I insist - more beautiful than ever before. A really good city is created precisely in the creative short-circuit of idealism and realism, when neither the dreamer nor the pragmatist wins, but both look at each other's hands without interruption. And the worst cities in the world are those where visionaries have had a chance to run rampant, and those where accountants rule indivisibly. There is never a guarantee that what is planned will definitely come to pass. What you can be sure of, however, is that if you don't plan something, you won't achieve it.
Grzegorz Piątek, "The Best City in the World. Warsaw in Reconstruction 1944-1949"
W.A.B. Publishing House, Warsaw 2020.
A review of the book and a larger excerpt will appear in the May issue of Architecture & Binzes.
