The article is from A&B issue 12|23
The phenomenon of European cities lies in their ability to adapt to dynamic change while maintaining their identity. This is the thesis around which the discussion took place on the second day of last year's International Architecture Biennale during the panel "The Resilient City in Transition."
The axis of the panel was the examples of Barcelona, Dutch Amersfoort and Lodz, and there were also Krakow threads. The discussion was moderated by Prof. Kinga Racoń-Leja, head of the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of Urban Structures at the Faculty of Architecture at PK. The panel included Micha de Haas, Architect of the City of Amersfoort, architects Anna Aneta Tomczak, Robert Warsza and Sylwia Krzysztofik and Jakub Krzysztofik of 3D Architects with a Vision, as well as Prof. Andrzej Szarata, Rector of the Krakow University of Technology, and Andrzej Lazęcki, Director of the Department of Municipal Economy and Climate of the Krakow City Hall.
Prof. Kinga Racoń-Leja during the inauguration of the panel
Photo: Patryk Czornij
Changes in the Dutch city of Amersfoort
Micha de Haas spoke about the challenges of resilience from the perspective of Amersfoort, a rapidly growing Dutch city with a population of about 160,000.
Urban resilience is a priority, it's a matter of urgency. In this case, time will never be on our side. We, the experts, know what needs to be done, but the execution itself is unknown, and this is probably the basic problem to achieve resilience," Micha de Haas said.
He stressed that the factors that are overturning the world as we know it today are many.
Through the pandemic, we understood that we are part of a global system where everything is connected. In the pandemic, people understood that the physical environment was important to them - they used cars less often. Besides, it's getting hot, unbearable, especially around the equator - and that will affect us too," he said, referring to the climate crisis.
He also pointed to the war in Ukraine and changes in attitudes toward values or careers.
People today value everyday life more. All of this influences potential greater support for activities that can change our cities to be more resilient, more resilient, he added.
An example? Removing cars from the market in Amersfoort and plans to introduce greenery and water there. Another: a Dutch city has decided to hold a referendum on the introduction of parking fees, and is also working on moving cars out to the outer ring road - to create a green area inside the city.
Aresilient, resilient city is a generous city that gives something back to its own residents. We say that certain issues are urgent, I feel that a window, an opportunity, has arisen so that something can be changed," de Haas concluded.
Micha de Haas, Architect of the City of Amersfoort
Photo: Patryk Czornij
lodz revitalization
During the panel, Lodz, and more specifically the revitalization processes taking place in the city, was also discussed. As explained by Anna Aneta Tomczak, Sylwia Krzysztofik, Robert Warsza and Jakub Krzysztofik, Lodz promotes the idea of "development to the center", which aims to improve the quality of life, increase accessibility to social infrastructure and make better use of resources - space, energy, capital. The projects involve the transformation of the mainly historic fabric in the city center. The result is revitalized townhouses, parks, new public spaces, squares and arcades, and street sections.
Still, the city needs constant verification of needs, constant monitoring of the transformations taking place and evaluation of the changes. Lodz, a 19th-century city, needs systemic area revitalization with an indication of climatic and social priorities.
Three revitalizations, each different, a very short period of time," enumerated Anna Aneta Tomczak, talking about the Łódź experience. - But it was nevertheless the level of first planning point investments, area investments at the level of systemic thinking. And then came 2016, when the actual revitalization we see in the space today began. Twenty priority areas were selected, of which eight were identified for actual revitalization.
Anna Aneta Tomczak - architect, urban planner, Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning at the Technical University of Lodz, vice president of the Society of Polish Urban Planners
Photo: Patryk Czornij
resilient city - how to create it?
Lodz is a city that in some way struggles with the calamity of fertility resulting from its history. We have a very large potential and a very large spatial, functional resource, which testifies to the former potential, the power of the city, and which at the same time, after the collapse of industry and a change in demographic trends, is trying to direct policy towards protecting the most valuable areas," added Sylwia Krzysztofik.
She stressed that if we want cities to undergo changes that will be sustainable, resilient to changing conditions, we need to work on increasing their adaptability.
Because what seemed certain and unchangeable to us until recently, we had to reflect. COVID and the war in Ukraine have shown that the order to which we are accustomed does not have to be permanent at all. And another element affecting cities is the changing climate. We should be thinking about how to use resources: space, energy, time, social capital, in the most efficient way possible," Krzysztofik pointed out.
Łódź is betting on the use of urban areas, which is supposed to direct social and economic potential to the center.
Sylwia Krzysztofik - architect and urban planner at 3D Architekci z wizją studio, assistant professor at the Institute of Architecture at the WBAiIS of the Technical University of Łódź
photo: Patryk Czornij
Jakub Krzysztofik, chief designer of the area concept for the revitalization of the center of Lodz, emphasized the role of strategic documents.
Plans were sometimes created in parallel with the revitalization project, but the warp for the revitalization project was the enormous analytical work, especially of the City Urban Planning Studio. Based on the huge analytical material, goals, tools and financing were established.
Jakub Krzysztofik - architect, 3D Architects with vision, president of SARP Lodz Branch
Photo: Patryk Czornij
improve revitalization processes
What can be done to make urban revitalization processes more effective? Robert Warsza presented the following thesis:
Anew generation of revitalization should not be based on city actions or on private actions that the city treats as normal construction traffic. Perhaps one should invent such an organization in which city money would activate private money. The city should change from an investor into an inspirer and stimulator. One should think about what mechanisms it can use to achieve the goals that others will perform.
And who will execute these goals?
It seems to me that the new investor should be owners, communities, entrepreneurs, all those who carry out the construction process in an unorganized way or who do not participate in the revitalization process, as it focuses on urban space," he argued.
To what extent will Krakow, in its recent efforts to improve space, create clean transportation zones, be a generous city for residents? This was the question posed in the second part of the panel.
The changes we have seen in Krakow for many years are very profound, said Prof. Andrzej Szarata, Rector of the Krakow University of Technology. - Krakow is a city that has always been in the vanguard of innovative transportation solutions; after all, it was in Krakow that we were the first to enact the city's transportation policy.
Robert Warsza - architect, assistant professor at the WBAiIS of the Technical University of Lodz, director of the Municipal Urban Planning Studio in Lodz from 2013-2021
Photo: Patryk Czornij
burning emissions reduction
Szarata mentioned that the capital of Małopolska was a pioneer in introducing bus lanes and urban bicycles.
The city of Krakow, as well as other cities, must be very open to the changes that surround us. It is important to recognize what residents expect from the city. It's easy to push a resident into a car by building new roads, but to get him out of it is already incredibly difficult. And the fact that we will buy new rolling stock, and that we have one of the most modern in Poland, is not enough. The more we show that it is possible to travel differently than by car, the more people will be willing to do so. It seems to me that Krakow has done its homework and we are not giving up, the city is constantly implementing something new that can be boasted of on the international stage.
from left: Andrzej Łazęcki, Prof. Andrzej Szarata, Jakub Krzysztofik and Robert Warsza during the panel on the ICE stage
photo: Patryk Czornij
In turn, Andrzej Lazęcki, director of the Department of Municipal Economy and Climate of the City of Cracow, spoke about actions against climate change.
The urgency, complexity, and scale of the challenges posed by the environmental and climate crisis is something on an unprecedented scale. A colleague from Lodz pointed out that existing methods, however good and sometimes great, are far from sufficient. We need to accelerate the issues of reducing greenhouse gas emissions several times, innovation, new solutions are needed. Such an incubator is the EU's program of one hundred climate-neutral cities by 2030, which shows how to set a path towards climate neutrality, i.e. how to change your approach, how to think systemically, identify and overcome barriers. And how to create a local environment conducive to change.
Ewa Karendys
Photo credit: Patryk Czornij
