Residents: the best experts on their own backyards

And this is not about large projects, the pouring of concrete and building more large blocks. "We want to devise a development strategy for these places and we are planning to do it together with the local community - residents and people who work in the nearby offices and shops," explains Krzysztof Herman, the chairman of the Na Miejscu foundation. The idea is, according to the people who are engaged in the project, that revitalisation does not only involve architecture, urban planning and development projects. It is also, or perhaps first of all, a social process. "After all, residents are the best experts of the space they live in," claims Krzysztof Herman. The American connection The Na Miejscu foundation has put together a very specific coalition. The project is financed by the Batory foundation and supported by the respective district authorities (Wola and Śródmieście), as well as the Towarzystwo Inicjatyw Twórczych "ę" social animation organisation. The foundation is als