Greetings to you. I have something of a feeling that we're in for an extended research expedition poking around the curiosities of Wroclaw urban planning, so to begin, just as an incentive, let's start for the sake of appearances in a place where no one would expect a problem. That is, as much as, no one would expect, because the issue concerns Polish suburbs, and as you can probably sense, this by definition does not sound like a Pritzker Prize topic. Nevertheless, I will try to amaze you to the core with my discovery. This will be a set-off story about the very well-planned Węgliniecka Street in the wild west of Wroclaw, about which urban planners slept peacefully, because they had very noble intentions, and while creating local plans, they did not expect problems, because they believed that every developer and every community had a heart of gold after all, and no one would do evil.
Węgliniecka Street in Wroclaw - an example of the consequences of not specifying in the local plans the arrangements for the principles of shaping and continuity of the spatial composition
Photo: Aleksander
Mr. Aleksander writes to me, who in his curriculum vitae never planned to become a committed critic of Polish urban planning, having many other passions in life, but out of nowhere, for reasonsreasons beyond his control, like several million others of his ilk, ignited this need after he purchased a residential unit in a perfectly planned housing development, built on the basis of Polish local development plans. I know, it sounds puzzling, after all, no bad associations come to mind yet. I promise, we will unravel it together.
Węgliniecka Street in Wroclaw - an example of the consequences of not specifying in local plans the arrangements for the principles of shaping and continuity of spatial composition
photo: Alexander
You won't believe how surprised Mr. Aleksander was when it turned out that across the aforementioned Węgliniecka Street, which according to the plans was the local axis of the urban plan, a simple anti-neighborhood grandfather-barricade was created, fencing the street in two and from one neighborhood Węgliniecka Street suddenly creating its two blind ozyls reduced to the role of maneuvering roads in the parking lot.
Węgliniecka Street in Wroclaw - an example of the consequences of not specifying in the local plans the arrangements concerning the principles of shaping and continuity of the spatial composition
photo: Aleksander
Interestingly, from a bird's eye view, this housing development doesn't even look particularly depressing. The spirit of the great urban planner hovering over the mock-up probably feels satisfied. Here we have a whole composition, born in pain, but nevertheless a grid of streets, and it would seem that thanks to hard work the public interest has defended itself. And indeed, if we run our concern and beauty through the filter of the resolution of the lens of a satellite in the orbit of our planet, there is nothing to be attached to.
Orthophotomap, area of Węgliniecka street in Wroclaw
© Google Maps
When we take a look at the local plan from 2007, we also see the same spatial layout at first glance, perhaps only slightly patinated by the time before the color printing revolution, but nevertheless seemingly containing the entire compositional arrangement. The aforementioned Węgliniecka Street is marked there as 14KDW and 15KDW. And this is where theproblem begins , because it is in vain in the text of the resolution to look for any mention of guidelines for the formation of the public space of this street, or the obligation to maintain its continuity. And probably, if we were Japanese, Norwegians or Canadians, it wouldn't cross anyone's mind that since there is a road in the plan, it can be barricaded across it and two grandfather-parks can be grown by the resulting anti-tank dam . Well , theKDW, contrary to appearances, is not even a street. In such areas often do not even apply traffic regulations, and if you leave such a created area of land completely orphaned by other tools of composition, then the whole beautiful layout remains only a pious wish of the city authorities of Wroclaw and planners. It is counting on the fact that the developer is a philanthropist and a philosopher of urban planning, and the neighboring residential communities are families who love each other. Well, unfortunately sorry, but not in this country please.
drawing of the local development plan - Węgliniecka street in the area of the 14KDW area card, MPZP 236 Maśice Małe
© geoportal.wroclaw.pl
But does this fairy tale have a moral? Well, it does. If we, as a democratic society, do not begin to take seriously the laws we make, in this case plans, and do not legislate draconian regulations for ourselves, which in a zamordistic and unambiguous "oh here with your finger on the map" manner do not show the developer how it should be, thenall those laudable ideas and non-binding hands of architects and residents, the lines and dashes that are scribbled with a finger on the water in these plans, we might as well frame ourselves and pray to them in the hope that they will come true through magical and supernatural entities. In a country like Poland, it should be assumed that every wicket in the local plans, every un-bolted door that leads a developer to perform an idiotic folly, will be exploited in an obscenely ruthless way, and every good and obvious idea will be raped if money can be made from it, even if only five zlotys. This is so because, unfortunately, we do not live in a rich country of people who have been educated in the spirit that affluence is reached by looking out for the common interest, but in a country of notorious poverty where the only benefit can be gained by grabbing a pawful for oneself from this common good.
