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 also being supported by Skanska and PPS (the Project for Public Spaces) organisation from New York. PPS has considerable experience in reviving public areas, having worked on revitalising such notable sites as Plaza Rockefeller Center in New York and the Harvard University campus in Boston. Experts from PPS will be coming to Warsaw in the spring to hold workshops involving residents to decide on plans for developing the squares. "It will be the climax of the project. Activity leaders and sociologists from Towarzystwo Inicjatyw Twórczych "ę" are liaising with the communities right now and preparing a specific social map, which is expected to answer the question of what sort of changes the local residents expect. The point is not to present them with a complete vision, but to involve them actively in the changes," says Krzysztof Herman.

Learning is the key

Skanska will make a financial contribution to the project, but it also says that it wants to learn from its experiences of it. "We have been operating in Warsaw's Wola district for nearly 20 years, building commercial projects along al. Jana Pawła II and ul. Chłodna. Our residential department has now started the development of a large estate in Warsaw's Gocław district. We want there to be a piece of living city next to each of our projects - we don't want to build another enclosed estate or isolated office building. So, by working with the foundation we hope to gain some knowledge which will bear fruit in our subsequent projects and help us to create places that are better for living and working in," explains Jakub Zagórski, the communications and marketing manager of Skanska Property Poland. The foundation's project is meant to be just the start of the changes. A plan for how to use the areas will be drawn up after the workshops, but big projects are not being mooted. "There will only be temporary installations. The main point is to implement them directly after the workshops. After three months we should have had feedback on whether the changes implemented were accepted by the public. Based on this we will publish reports detailing a number of guidelines for local councils and residents with regard to the future of these places," says Krzysztof Herman. What will these temporary installations be like? The PPS organisation labels such activities LQC (lighter, quicker and cheaper). The concept is to keep these solutions inexpensive and as a consequence less risky. For example: benches, mobile cafés or playgrounds for children. Everything will be in the hands of the local authorities and residents. And if they are determined to make positive change happen, then these abandoned squares have the chance to be transformed into places that are full of life.

Radosław Górecki