Today, politicians are not helping the economy

Małgorzata Tomczak

15 of February '23

visualization from Jubilee Square

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Malgorzata:Let's talk about Krakow. We've been talking for a while about the emotions and tensions of big cities. What is Krakow like today? What kind of city is it?

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:Krakow is a good place to live, a city liked by its residents, but also by tourists. It is a city with a modern economy, with great cultural values and a very well-educated population. Few people want to move out of Krakow, and very many are moving here. Incidentally, Krakow has a decent demographic balance thanks to this, not because a lot of children are born here. Krakow also has one of the highest divorce rates in Poland, but that's a different story.

Malgorzata:Oh, that explains why Mayor Majchrowski doesn't want to build a new wedding palace, interest in the institution of marriage is falling [laughs].

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:It is impossible to rule this out.

common spaces - office part

Malgorzata:Let's go back to today's Krakow. As a city, the capital of Malopolska, don't we dramatically need a change?

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:This is a city that has seized its opportunity, but has also found itself at a crossroads - should it continue to be a prosperous bourgeois city where one lives well, or advance to the super league of European metropolises? These are completely different development paths. Krakow has the qualities to move in this direction.

Malgorzata: Then let's talk about Krakow and its metropolitan potential.

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:Krakow absolutely has the resources to play in the league of European metropolises - great cultural resources, educated, open-minded, tolerant residents, good universities, excellent graduates, global companies offering about 100,000 jobs, an exceptional climate - on such a basis it is possible to build a metropolis of European repute. Deciding to change Krakow's development trajectory and launching serious efforts to transform Krakow into a leading European metropolis requires strategic thinking, imagination and bold decisions.

common spaces - interior of the auditorium

Malgorzata: What would this boldness consist of? What is our biggest challenge for today and the next few years?

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:Cities are very long-lived structures, they are relatively ossified and inertial. To change this, we need new development ideas. They are the ones that inspire and motivate strategic challenges. A civic debate on the future of Krakow with the participation of active, responsible citizens concerned about the fate of their city is necessary. We need a debate free from cheap populism and irresponsible oratorical displays. If we want Krakow to be a significant European metropolis, we need to integrate and use all of Krakow's development resources and manage them wisely in order to realize this far-reaching, strategic intention. It is also necessary to have a serious conversation about the structure of Krakow, the role of neighborhoods, civic co-management, and the expansion of strategic infrastructure, especially transportation, such as the subway and the airport.

Broadway

Malgorzata:We need the metro as fast and efficient urban transportation, but also as a certain symbol of a modern city. Do I understand this correctly?

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:Yes, we need major investments. They will change not only the physical structure of the city, but also the patterns of social behavior. Please note, since the time of the pre-war presidents in Krakow, there is constant talk: Leo built the waterworks, Dietl delineated and cleaned up the Planty, and so on. In the last thirty years, a great many important investments have been made in Krakow, and it is impossible not to appreciate this. The question arises, however, whether these were investments on the scale of those associated with pre-war presidents? Giving an unequivocal answer is probably not easy.

plan of level -1 and first floor

Malgorzata:Do we need a Greater Krakow again?

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:We need a Krakow that develops according to a bold vision of change. A Krakow that is managed in a dynamic way, with active involvement of residents, social and economic sectors. We need dynamism and boldness. And it doesn't consist in the fact that when we think about greenery, we build more pocket parks. When we talk about transportation, it's not about better buses, it's about subways. When we say that there will be a different system of Krakow, it is not that a little more money will go to the districts, but that we will strengthen the political position of the districts, empowering their residents. When we talk about quality of life, we think about the concept of a fifteen-minute city. These are the kinds of ideas we are talking about. They trigger imagination, emotions. Without this it is possible to manage the city relatively efficiently, but it is impossible to build a metropolis that corresponds to the development potential of Krakow.

eastern elevation

Malgorzata:Where should this energy of change come from? From the magistrate?

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:For at least the last twenty years, in a great many countries, especially well-managed ones, simple administration and governance have given way to co-management. This is by no means a rhetorical change. Its essence is the pooling of various resources, without which it is impossible to build and manage a modern city. Resources that belong to different sectors. Public authority is not a monopolist, it is not the exclusive holder of these resources. We need the resources that business has - capital, jobs, taxes; the resources that universities have - knowledge, research, students and graduates. We need a public authority with rational public policies that reconcile the public interest with economic efficiency and ecological sensitivity.

south elevation

Malgorzata:And is Krakow still a city of science?

Prof. Stanisław Mazur:Let me use an example that illustrates this well. The key factor in the development of this city's economy is graduates. As long as universities educate graduates with high competence, as long as the number of graduates is high enough, the city develops. Young people have ambitions, they work, pay taxes, consume, buy apartments, dynamizing Krakow's economy. If the number of students is declining, its development potential shrinks. A modern, innovative and competitive economy needs well-educated graduates. When we realize that in the last several years the number of students in Krakow has dropped from about 212,000 to about 135,000, we can feel the gravity of the problem and the risks involved.

north elevation

Malgorzata:The magistrate does not see this?

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:Even if the magistrate doesn't fully see it, it is noticed by business, which cannot develop without highly qualified graduates. As the University of Economics, together with global companies located in our city, we are thinking about how to attract foreign students to Krakow, especially the talented ones, and then get them to work and live here. For this to be successful, we need to create an ecosystem, offering scholarships, opportunities to learn the language, accommodation, appropriate educational programs, and jobs. This cannot be built without the support of the Krakow authorities. My impression is that we can count on such support.

Malgorzata:Is UEK likely to attract students with innovation and majors that respond to market needs?

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:Yes. Despite the decline in the number of people taking up studies, our university is one of those few where there is a year-on-year increase in the number of people willing to study. Our graduates are among the most sought-after and best-paid employees on the labor market. Increasingly, students from abroad are also taking up studies at our university. We are intensively expanding our offer of education in English. Our aspiration is to be among the best economic universities in Europe.

west elevation

Malgorzata:How do you go about doing that?

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:You need to have dreams, but you also need proficiency. The proficiency lies in the fact that we are improving educational programs step by step. We are offering more and more, as I already mentioned, education in English. We are accepting more and more foreign students, not only from the East, but also from Western European countries. We have modernized the dormitory, which now has the standard of a decent hotel. We are building a Student Service Center to further professionalize service to our students, and we have modernized the infrastructure to eliminate architectural barriers to studying for people with disabilities. We are building an image of an open university, sensitive to environmental issues and committed to equality. We promote the arts very strongly.

Malgorzata: How do you work through culture and art?

Prof. Stanislaw Mazur:We work closely with art schools in Cracow. We jointly organize concerts, exhibitions, vernissages, performances. Many of them are held on the campus of the Cracow University of Economics. Many of our students and employees are not only their audiences, but also active co-creators. I firmly believe in the transformative power of art. We simply need it to be better people, to build a better society.

Malgorzata: Last September, a competition organized with SARP for a building for the centennial of UEK was settled. It was won by the Cracow office BE DDJM. Are you satisfied with the results of this competition?

Prof. Stanisław Mazur:This is an exceptional project. Visionary, inspiring, extremely attractive in terms of aesthetics and functionality. I am convinced that it will be an architectural gem of Krakow.

Malgorzata: We heard at the adjudication that this building is to become a symbol of an open, modern university.

Prof. Stanisław Mazur:Yes, we need such a symbol. It is also a way to celebrate the centennial of the Cracow University of Economics, which we will celebrate in two years. A modern university needs an infrastructure characterized not only by high functionality, but also by exceptional aesthetic qualities. This project combines both aspects.

Malgorzata:Thank you very much for the interview!