Poznan City Urban Planning Studio has been working on the new "Old Town" local zoning plan since 2018. What does the document assume and is it actually revolutionary? Planners promise more greenery in the center, exposure of the city walls and protection of historical monuments. Poznan's Planty, new squares and common spaces will be created. Preservation and functionality of the city in one plan.
New direction in shaping the Old Town
Work on a new plan for the Old Town area has been underway since 2018. The prepared document is intended to be a comprehensive look at the Old Town part of Poznań, integrating the old with the new elements. The creators primarily want to take care of the tree canopy, parks, but also to bring out the remains of the city walls and expose them. The new development plan is also a unification of the chaotic regulations prevailing in the city, giving a consistent direction in shaping urban changes in the most representative area of Poznań.
The new plan will allow us to take better care of valuable monuments and expose the remains of the city walls. It will also allow us to introduce more greenery in the Old Town and create Poznań's planty areas. As a result, the center of Poznań will become a more friendly place not only for tourists, but also for all Poznań citizens and women
- explains Jacek Jaskowiak, Mayor of Poznań.
Old walls of the Old Town marked in red | photo: Geoportal
Planty, or once again - greenery!
In order to ensure the protection of green areas and trees in the Old Town, MPU conducted an analysis of plant types. This gave birth to the idea of creating new areas, which will be named Northern Planty of the Old City. They are to coincide with the footprint of the former city walls, running from the St. Gotard Settlement to Castle Hill. This will highlight the historical character of the area, while creating new urban, tourist and architectural value. The planty will surround the Old Town boundary area to the north, making it possible to develop currently undeveloped plots of land. How? That is not yet known...
The project includes 30,000 square meters of public greenery, which will be supplemented by green areas in private spaces, i.e. in backyards, courtyards and interiors of development quarters.
Planty in Poznań - a plan for 2021? | source: epoznan.pl, author: MPU Poznań
monuments and consultations
According to the new plan, the entire area of the Old Town will be covered by archaeological protection, which means that any earthworks in the area will have to be supervised by archaeologists. The Old Town is already covered by a number of solutions and forms of conservation protection, which has been taken into account in the document. An important piece of information, is that the new plan also includes the protection of those sites that, despite their historical value, have not yet been included in entries in the registers and municipal records. Among others, the course of the former city walls to be exposed, as well as increased protection for the Castle Hill area.
New definitions and consistent regulations
The draft also assumes a new definition of public spaces, which are included as a separate type of land use - these include the Old Market, Kolegiacki Square and the courtyard of Poznań City Hall. This will make it easier to revitalize the Old Town, and the redefined functions will allow the plan to include squares, pocket parks, service points, making the area not just a dead space for tourists, but also a public space that serves the lives of residents and the city. Planners propose new pedestrian routes integrated with existing streets and pedestrian and bicycle routes. New parking spaces have not been forgotten - as epoznan.pl writes. , and much to the delight of residents and architects, the parking lot is to be hidden underground under Plac Wielkopolski.
The details will be known in June, after final consultations, but the findings so far augur a Poznań revolution.
