Katowice culture zone urban regeneration project Poland is the thirty-five article on projects from practice. Katowice is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area. It is the 11th most populous city in Poland, while its urban area is the most populous in the country and one of the most populous in the European Union. In the 18th century, the city witnessed a major development in the construction of the railway lines. These railway lines were connected to all of Europe. The discovery of coal deposits in the city and country fostered its location as an industrial city of mining.
The city has experienced huge challenges over the last 3 decades and changes as a result of the political transition and the transition of economic approach to a market economy, as well as the challenges posed by globalization processes and a paradigm shift in development. In a short time, factory mines, slag heaps, and mining towers dominated the landscape in the city. Development paradigm heavy industry, which dominated Poland and other Soviet bloc countries in the post-war period, as well as political and economic changes that have taken place in Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe after 1989, highlighted the need to improve the condition of the natural environment and the negative effects of heavy industry technologies.
There were several reasons for the Polish government and local authorities to advance to development of this city. The decline of the mining industry left trouble for the city in terms of economy, environment, city space, buildings, and people. The mining industry facilities left over and the related buildings in the city created a deprived zone in the city. See Figure 1, the old buildings in the industrial era in Katowice city. A lot of workers lost their jobs, though the government provided support, other industries activity declined, and people shifted from the city to other cities.
Figure 2 shows the urban space pockets that were left after the decline of the mining industry and the related buildings. This area of the Katowice mine was the area that received most of the new urban regeneration and development. The Katowice Mine become now the Silesian Museum.
There were various moves by the Polish government, local authorities, and other actors to start the regeneration and transformation of the city. After approaching the UN to organize more events in Poland like the World Environment Summit COP24, or the World Economic Forum the UN discussed if the other cities rather than Katowice had the infrastructure to hold these events.
The transformation processes in Katowice were not focused on obtaining immediate benefits for a small group of stakeholders but were aimed at achieving long-term goals that would benefit everyone equally, especially residents. Appropriate transformation processes have not led to excessive polarization of society and socio-spatial segregation. Nor did they result in mass poverty and homelessness.
A competition was announced for the project of the urban regeneration of the Katowice industrial area. Various projects were announced and led to the realization of many landmark buildings like the Wilson Shaft. Today, it houses the Wilson Glass Gallery, which hosts extremely interesting artistic events – such as the annual Art Naif Festival. The city had all the infrastructure to host the world event of the COP24 like the Spodek Hall located near the International Congress Center and the seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. See Figure 3, the congress center, Spodek Hall, and the orchestra building.
The World Urban Forum in Katowice was an opportunity to assess the progress of implementation so far and strengthen efforts to implement the UN New Urban Agenda. The actors in the city and the Polish government targeted various aspects of sustainable development and attracted foreign investment to achieve the UN urban agenda. The main urban development focused on developing smart transport solutions through a collaboration of the government and public sector in the territory of the metropolis. As the common good involves a main element of the development of the Katowice cultural zone all actors were involved in developing the urban green space whether it is inside home gardens or public space that gives all the equal opportunity to enjoy their time in the city. See Figure 4, green space development in homes and urban space.
At a larger scale, the urban space and public space development reached main open space pivot points that were important connections of public space, urban transport, marketplace buildings, and urban corridors in the area of Katowice cultural zone. Many objects enhanced the Katowice cultural zone in Poland and the world events of COP24 in 2018 and the World Urban Forum in 2022 helped in the urban regeneration of this area and encouraged the Polish government to transfer the zone to a sustainable urban development for the prosperity of the inhabitants. These landmarks and urban development projects include the International Congress Centre, Sports and Entertainment Hall SAUCER, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Silesian Museum, ALTUS skyscraper, and University Campus Silesian. See Figure 5, the ALTUS skyscraper in Katowice Poland.
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