Cities 94 (2019) 286–295

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Cities
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/cities

City profile

Spatial, social and economical dynamic of contemporary Warsaw – City T

profile
Magdalena Fuhrmann
⁎

Chair of Urban Geography and Spatial Planning, Faculty of Geography and Spatial Sciences, Poland
University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmieście 30, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: The aim of this article is to show the most important directions of Warsaw's development, with emphasis to the
Warsaw systemic transformation, as well as to show trends in social, spatial and economic development. The following
Urban development issues are going to be discussed below: systemic transformation in Warsaw (administrative division, labour
Systemic transformation market, industrial changes of the city), the areas of spatial development of the city, revitalization and man-
agement of the city development, demographic changes, transport and the role of the river in Warsaw. The
article shows the data from the Central Statistical Office, the City Council and the results of own research.

1. Introduction The end of the World War II mainly stopped the further destruction
of the city space. The losses concerned not only buildings but also, and
Warsaw is the capital city of Poland and as the most important city above all, the population of the city. As the result of the World War II
in Poland has many functions – administrative, transport, services et al. Warsaw lost 105,798,000 m3 of buildings, and the largest losses were to
With 517,2 km2 area Warsaw is the largest city of Poland. The popu- observe in the central part of the city (Śródmieście, ang. Downtown),
lation exceeds 1,7 million inhabitants, and every day the amount of city where the Ghetto was located. The losses also included industrial
users grows. Warsaw due to its location and size offers attractions to buildings (the important branch of the Warsaw economy before 1939).
both new inhabitants and daily users. According to Turok and It was estimated that there were 2940 factories employing more than
Mykhnenko (2002), Warsaw is the one of the European cities, which 100,000 people (Report on war losses in Warsaw, 2004) Also, destroyed
faces the problems of demographic and economic transformation, but at roads and pavements were rebuilt in only 23%. The city has also lost
the same time, one of two polish cities recording continuous growth. almost all of its bridges and viaducts. The population of Warsaw in
The history of Warsaw can be divided into several periods in which 1939 amounted 1,280,000 people and it was a population with high
the socio-economic development, stagnation or even demolition of the degree of religious and class diversity. After the war, the population of
city is alternating. The development of the city was undoubtedly in- Warsaw was over two times smaller.
fluenced by historical events, not only taking place in Poland, but also The transition from a centrally planned economy to a market
on the international arena. Warsaw often suffered very severely from economy took place from 1989, and was crucial to development of the
the effects of those events. Several times in the history Warsaw was city space. This was visible both in the quality of life (availability of
ruled by other countries (Prussia, Russia and Germany). goods and services), but also in the way of managing and planning of
Four historical moments were important for the development of the the city. The perception of the role of city authorities and residents had
city in 20th and 21st. centuries: changed, with an increasing aspiration of city residents to be a part of
city planning process (public participation). The transition was also to
1. 1945: the end of the World War II observe in urban landscape, where building built before 1989 and built
2. 1989: the beginning of systemic transformation and the transition in spirit of social realism were gradually overshadowed by modern
from a centrally planned economy to a market economy skyscrapers and other objects.
3. 2004: accession to the European Union The year 2004 offered new opportunities to the city development.
4. 2012: co-organization of the European Football Championship On the one hand, representations of the EU structure appeared in
Warsaw, and on the other hand – it became possible to use European

⁎
Corresponding author at: Faculty of Geography and Regional Sciences, Chair of Urban GEography and Spatial Planning, Poland.
E-mail address: mfuhrmann@uw.edu.pl.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2019.05.012
Received 13 July 2018; Received in revised form 1 March 2019; Accepted 8 May 2019
0264-2751/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
M. Fuhrmann Cities 94 (2019) 286–295

Fig. 1. Population of Warsaw between 199 and 2016.

Source: Local Data Bank Statistics Poland.

funds, which clearly contributed to the social and spatial development Despite of the high attractiveness, Warsaw is a city with low degree
of the city. Between 2004 and 2009 Warsaw received almost 8 mld of multiculturalism, with foreigners share for less than 3% of the city's
PLNs (ca. EUR 2 mld) in form of co-financing from EU funds for population. However, this percentage is projected to increase, which is
transportation, roads, educational, environmental, social and health caused by progressing globalization process bringing Poland closer to
purposes (Use of European funds in Warsaw, 2009). Western European culture, further immigration with the European
Eight years later, Warsaw became a one of the several European Union and strengthening Poland's position in EU-structures, as well as
football capitals (with other Polish and Ukrainian cities). In order to conflicts in Eastern Europe (Dudkiewicz & Majewski, 2017).
organize that event, it was decided to rebuilt the 20th Anniversary Due to the purpose and nature of the stay in Warsaw, a few groups
Stadium, which resulted in the National Stadium with 55,000 seats of foreigners can be distinguished, which include students, employees
available. on temporary contract in large companies, people migrating for eco-
The aim of this article is to show the most important directions of nomic reasons, people married to Poles and people with permanent
Warsaw's development, with emphasis to the systemic transformation, residence rights. A problem in the assessment of the scale of the phe-
as well as to show trends in social, spatial and economic development. nomenon is the low availability of data about foreigners in Poland. It is
The following issues are going to be discussed below: systemic trans- only possible to use data on the number of foreigners registered with
formation in Warsaw (administrative division, labour market, industrial the health insurance system. According to official registers, 21,794
changes of the city), the areas of spatial development of the city, re- foreigners lived in Warsaw in 2015, which means 1,3% of all registered
vitalization and management of the city development, demographic inhabitants in Warsaw. However, it is estimated that this number may
changes, transport and the role of the river in Warsaw. The article be even three times higher. Among foreigners registered in Warsaw, the
shows the data from the Central Statistical Office, the City Council and largest group are Ukrainians (24,7%), the second group are Vietnamese
the results of own research. (6,3%) and the third – Belarusians (6,0%). At the same time, they are
the groups most frequently reported to the health insurance system
(Figs. 1–3).
2. Population and demographic change

Warsaw with a population of more than 1,75 million is the largest 3. From industrialization to tertiarization of the city
city in Poland. In the whole period from 1995 to 2016 the population of
Warsaw increased by 7,3%. The population of the city is affected by the 3.1. The role of the industry in development of Warsaw
characteristics of birth rate and migration. The increase in the popu-
lation is mainly a result of the inflow of new inhabitants. The values of Industry is still an important part of Warsaw's structure. The in-
the birth rate until 2007 were negative, but they increased and from tensive development of industry in Warsaw took place in 19th century
2008 the population natural growth rate was recorded. during the industrial revolution as a result of which mainly machinery,
Warsaw, as the capital and largest city in the country, constantly metal and food industries were developed. In 1938, these industries
attracts new residents and daily migrants. The ratio of internal migra- accounted for over 50% of the industrial workforce. The most distinct
tion in the presented period was positive, and distinct increase can be and leaving the greatest impact development of industry took place
observed in years 1998–2006 and since 2010. The attractiveness of the after 1945, when the economy of the country was based on rapid in-
city stems mainly from the possibilities of professional development dustrialization. The development of this branch of economy was
(availability of jobs in various branches) and educational offer (avail- stopped in 1980, and since 1982 industrial investment could be es-
ability of higher education). The inflow of new inhabitants and user tablish by foreign entities. In 1989, 107 such investments were regis-
affects both demographic structure and, in particular, the birth rate of tered. Since 1989, it has also been possible to organize joint ventures,
the population, as well as the spatial changes in the city. In the first case which resulted in the establishment of 17 joint ventures in the same
– a change in the family model can be observed (migrants often create year (Misztal, 1998).
larger families, have more than one child). This results in developers' An important characteristic of the industry in Warsaw, which was
interests in new areas and investments (see development of the re- implemented until 1989, was its energy and capital intensity. The ap-
sidential function of Warsaw). plied technologies were harmful to the environment, and the city did
The characteristic feature of Warsaw's population is the phenom- not have its own raw material base. In addition, industry was developed
enon of aging, which concerns most developed cities and countries. The for the huge scale. The factories were focused on export and nationwide
share of the oldest population in the city has increased significantly. In and local productions for local needs were of marginal importance.
the initial period of systemic transformation people at post-working age Since 1989 the polish economy has been transformed and the role of
constituted just over 18% of the population of Warsaw, after 20 years industry has significantly decreased. The basic tool for the restructuring
this share amounted to almost 24%. In the age structure of the popu- of industry was privatization of factories. A major problem for the in-
lation a classic post-war population bulge and decline (as well as their dustry was the loss of existing markets (Węcławowicz, Księżak, Jarosz,
“echoes”) are visible. Currently the population bulge is made up of Śleszyński, 1998). The collapse of the industry also made it necessary to
people aged 55–65 and 30–39. redevelop of some areas in Warsaw. The largest industrial area of

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M. Fuhrmann Cities 94 (2019) 286–295

Fig. 2. Birth rate in Warsaw between 1995 and 2016.

Source: Local Data Bank Statistics Poland.

Warsaw (Żerań) is an area of 477 ha (20,7% of the total industrial area sector in Poland (Innovative Warsaw – entrepreneurship support pro-
of the city). Two smaller areas also deserve attention – Służewiec gramme, 2012 n.d.) According to the data of the Labour Office in
(120 ha) and Wola (185 ha). The significance of these areas for the Warsaw, in 2016 there were 33,212 registered unemployed inhabitants,
current functional and spatial structure of Warsaw is huge, which is which is only 3,2% of people at working age. The situation on the la-
presented on page 10. bour market in Warsaw in the years 1995–2016 has significantly im-
Currently, over than 20% of people working in Warsaw are em- proved, the share or working people among people at working age has
ployed in the industry. The largest and most recognizable factories are increased from 72,2% to 95,5%.
Arcelar Mittal Steelworks, Żerań and Siekierki Heat and Power Plants
(the latter being the largest such plant in Poland and Europe), FSO, 3.3. EU-funds
POLFA, Bakoma, Warsaw Breweries, Ciech and E. Wedel (www.por-
talsamorzadowy.pl, access: 10.06.2018). In years 2004–2009 Warsaw received almost PLN 8 billion (ca. EUR
Warsaw is also a city where traces of 19th century and early 20th 4 billion) in co-financing from EU funds. Nearly half of this amount was
century industry can be seen to this day. The concentration of 62 in- spent on development of transport, a significant part of the funds was
dustry objects can be observed in only two districts – Wola and Praga spent on environmental protection and the development of road in-
Północ, of which more than a half is entered in the register of monu- frastructure. More than ¾ of the funds allocated for transport were
ments. These facilities often become an arena for formal and informal invested in the construction of the second underground line, and nearly
revitalization and constitute a rich cultural heritage of the city. One of 800 million (ca. EUR 200 million) were spent on the expansion of the
the examples of comprehensive maintenance of an old industrial tram network. Nearly 100 million (ca. EUR 25 million) was allocated to
building is Warsaw Uprising Museum, established in a former electrical educational and civil society projects. In terms of roads, the largest
plant, and the Koneser complex (the headquarters of Google Campus investment (worth over PLN 250 million, ca. EUR 62,5 million) was the
Warsaw) in a former spirits plants. construction of the Northern Bridge Route and the Siekierkowska Route
also served to improve road traffic in the east-west direction (Use of
3.2. Labour market European funds in Warsaw, 2009).

Employed persons in Warsaw constitute 56,5% of all inhabitants 4. Dynamic housing market and development of office space
and over 95,5% of people at working age. Most people work in trade,
repair of motor vehicles, transport and storage sector (42,4%). At the 4.1. Residential and property development market
same time, 22,4% of people work in the industry and construction
sector. It is worth noting that Warsaw focuses the innovative potential Residential areas constitute 21% of the total area of Warsaw. Over
of the country and at the same time 25% of the employees or the R&D 85% of the city's population lives in multifamily residential areas,

Fig. 3. Migration rate in Warsaw between 1995 and 2016.

Source: Local Data Bank Statistics Poland.

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M. Fuhrmann Cities 94 (2019) 286–295

which cover 46% of residential areas in Warsaw. The districts with the An interesting supplement to the above statements is the average
largest share of residential development are Ursus, Praga Południe, size of the apartments delivered to the market. In districts where the
Żoliborz, Mokotów and Wola. Ursynów is also classically associated development of the residential sector is to a large extent related to the
with multi-family buildings, because in its eastern part, before 1989 development of office buildings, the average floor area of an apartment
prefabricated housing complexes for over 100 thousand inhabitants is lower than in Warsaw and amounts to 46,1 m2 in Wila, 56,2 m2 in
were located. Single-family housing is a characteristic feature of the Mokotów. Bemowo, Białołęka and Wilanów where large families are
east part of Warsaw (districts Wawer, Wesoła, Rembertów, Białołęka). more often interested in apartments which is why the floor area of flats
In Białołęka there are also a very intensive development of multi-family built there is larger. On average Wilanów is developing one of the
housing, and the offered flats have significantly lower prices than in largest apartments in Warsaw (93,2 m2).
other parts of the city, which attracts a large number of new residents. Warsaw as well as many other cities in Poland, has also undergone a
A characteristic feature of Warsaw's housing stock is the pre- certain “fashion” for fortified settlements (Owczarek, 2011). This
dominance of the number of dwellings over the number of households. “fashion” is expressed in several phenomena:
The situation is the result of purchasing additional flats for rent (except
for one flat to live in), as well as of having more than 2 flats which are 1. the creation of new fortified and guarded settlements (“fortresses”,
occupied periodically. Less than 1-% of flats in Warsaw are communal “ghettos”),
flats (belonging to the city's resources), the majority are private flats in 2. secondary fencing of settlements built as open ones, and/or,
housing communities or cooperatives. Before 1989 Warsaw was char- 3. secondary guarding of a housing estate through employment of se-
acterised by mono-functional residential areas (Ursynów, Bielany), curity services and video monitoring of a housing estate.
however currently areas designated for residential development should
also take in account the presence of green areas and areas of basic Interest in gated and guarded housing estates stems from the
services (requirements of local spatial development plans). An addi- growing atomisation of everyday life and the need to separate from
tional difficulty in the implementation of sustainable housing devel- others. However, the emergence of further settlements of this nature
opment is the dominance of private investments and lack of a sufficient has led to a reduction in the public space available to residents, as well
number of local spatial development plans, which regulate in detail the as in the number of commercial and recreational areas (Owczarek,
nature of the development. Lack of plans makes it necessary to issue 2011). According to the data for 2007, the number of gated estates in
individual decisions on development conditions, which at the same Warsaw exceed 400, currently it is much higher (Lewicka & Zaborska,
time is not related to any coherent spatial policy if the city (Study on 2007).
conditions and directions of spatial development in Warsaw, 2018). The largest project of gated estate in Warsaw is Marina Mokotów.
Warsaw is also characterised by the highest dynamics of the primary The estate was established in 2006. The area of the estate covers 32 ha
real estate market in Poland. In the year 2007–2016, on average about in the vicinity of green areas, 1500 flats and 70 houses. It should be
15,000 flats were delivered to the market every year. In total, less than noted that the estate was built in a wedge aerating the city. The most
50% apartments were delivered in this period in Kraków, and 30% in important feature of the estate is fencing (in some places multiple) and
Wrocław (Housing policy 2030, 2017 n.d.). Nearly 85% of the built very restrictive access of people from outside. In the area of the housing
apartments are commercial units, intended primarily for sale. Only 2% estate there are basic services, which can be used only by the residents
of the flats delivered in Warsaw are communal and social rented flats. of Marina Mokotów. Currently, further development of the housing
Therefore, the Warsaw residential market is referred to as the devel- estate may mean liquidation of the fencing, which would aim at in-
opment market, which is completely dependent on private investors. tegrating the housing estate with the district and the city, as well as the
The residential market in Warsaw (also in Poland) is based on owner- possibility of directing services to inhabitants outside the housing es-
ship apartments, not on renting, as in the case in Western Europe. This tate, which would significantly revitalise the space.
makes it necessary to take out mortgage loans for the purchase of an The opposite example of housing development is the “Wilanów
apartment. The availability of social and municipal housing is very Town” project in the Wilanów district. The term “housing estate” is not
limited. Such flats occur most often in post-industrial districts (Wola, used here deliberately, because the project actually covers many
Praga), as well as in the city centre. housing estates developed by various investors. The aim of the project
The spatial diversification of the development of the housing market was to create a self-sufficient part of the city for about 35 thousand
in Warsaw is interesting – more than a half of the flats built in 2007- inhabitants and 5 thousand working places (Rędzińska & Jędraszko-
2016 were put into usu in five (out of 18) districts (Białołęka, Wola, Macukow, 2013). The area of the “Wilanów Town” includes 169 ha of
Mokotów, Bemowo, Wilanów). This situation can be explained by the plots purchased from the Warsaw School of Life Sciences. The devel-
following factors: opment of “Wilanów Town” is compact and the conditions of its de-
velopment are precisely defined in the local spatial development plans,
1. land availability: in Białołęka and Bemowo districts the land was according to which the housing development may not exceed 5 storeys,
mostly agricultural, in Wola district post-industrial areas were used and the facades must remain in bright pastel colours. The application of
for housing development, in Mokotów the development of housing such strict construction rules resulted in the creation of an architectu-
is related to the development of office buildings and the shifting of rally coherent but not monotonous (as long as prefabricated) residential
developers' interest to areas located closer to the Vistula River, in landscape. Low buildings, allowed spatial preservation and avoidance
Wilanów the housing development is focused on agricultural areas of the “over helming” effect. The whole area of “Wilanów Town” is
purchased from Warsaw School of Life Sciences, accessible to everyone and offers interestingly arranged public spaces
2. high interest of new residents in the purchase of an apartment and for people of all ages, both for active and passive recreation, as well as
the need to put into developers' offer low-priced flats (Białołęka). free and paid spending of time. Residents and other users have access to
Similarly, the interest in Bemowo can be argued, however in this many shops and service points located mainly on the ground floors of
case the transport accessibility of the district (A2 motorway and the residential buildings, with the exception of two small shopping malls
second subway line in the future) caused that the prices of apart- (not more than dozen economic entities). The “Wilanów Town” is also
ments are higher, equipped with public and commercial medical and educational facil-
3. the development of the office sector in Warsaw takes place in two ities. Parking spaces for residential are located in underground parts of
districts – Mokotów and Wola. Office development is also conducive buildings, at the same time in public space the number of parking places
to housing investments and the best example is Mokotów, where is limited, in many places parking is prohibited, which results in a car-
residential buildings are located between office buildings. free space. The “Wilanów Town” is an example of reconciling the need

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M. Fuhrmann Cities 94 (2019) 286–295

of fencing with the openness of the space. The whole area of the town is 5. Improvement of transport and built environment
accessible to everyone, pedestrian routes, streets and bicycle routes
enable communication. At the same time, individual housing develop- 5.1. Public transport
ments are available only for residents and additionally protected (se-
curity services and monitoring). The result is public, semi-public and The first plans to build a subway in Warsaw were made in the
semi-private spaces as well as private spaces (small courtyards, archi- 1920s. Initially two lines were to be built, but in the 1930s the plans
tectural interiors and home gardens). included the construction of as many as seven underground railway
lines (Chwiałkowski & Kucharski, 2009). However, these plans were not
implemented due to the outbreak of World War II. After the war, the
4.2. Skyscrapers and office buildings idea of building an underground railway was reinstated, and the plans
at that time included the creation of 3 underground lines. The technical
One of the phenomena determining the development of Warsaw approach to the construction of the underground was also changing –
after 1989 is the appearance of skyscrapers and office buildings in the before the war a shallow railway was to be built, in the 1960s a deep
city landscape. The first high rise buildings in Warsaw were built before railway, and in the 1970s the idea of a shallow railway was returned to
1989, but it was only during the system transformation that the con- reality. The shape of the underground line was influenced by the spatial
ditions for creation of high rise buildings in the city were created, and development of Warsaw and the intensive development of housing in
Warsaw began to become an attractive place for this type of investment. Ursynów the southern part of the city. The decision to build the un-
Currently Warsaw offers 5,22 million m2 of office space and only in the derground was made in 1982 after martial law was declared. Con-
period from January to October 2017 205 thousand m2 of new offices struction started a year later. Originally the section connecting Kabaty
were created, and another 802 thousand m2 were under construction with Młociny (the south and north part of the city), was to be put into
(Polish Commercial Market I-III quarter, 2017). The development of the operation in 1994, but it actually took place in 2008, and in 1995 only
skyscrapers and new office space is quite concentrated. The following half of the first line was put into operation – from Kabaty to Technical
areas of concentration of such development can be distinguished in University.
Warsaw: The Warsaw Metro was a success and the changes in ground
transport were carried out taking into account the metro route, so that
1. city centre – 20 buildings over 80 m high; formation of a specific city its availability was as high as possible. The construction of the subway
landscape (CBD). entailed spatial changes and, above all, the development of areas along
2. Mokotów district – concentration of office space in lower buildings, the subway – the creation of new services and the intensification of
the largest office district in Poland; a specific part of the district was housing development. In the latter case, the neighbourhood of the
to be built in post-industrial areas, according to estimates there are subway contributed to a significant increase in the prices of flats and
about 100 thousand people working in the office space every day, an commercial real estate. However, for a city with well over 1,5 million
additional magnet is one of the most popular shopping centres in inhabitants and an area of over 500 km2, with a simultaneous high
Warsaw – Galeria Mokotów. The creation of such an office district inflow of daily population (daily migration to school and workplaces)
has had many negative consequences, especially traffic jams and one metro line proved to be insufficient. The planning of the second
problems with parking spaces. The scale of the problems and the underground line started in 2005 and the decision on the location was
character of this part of the city may be determined by its common made in 2006, with construction starting in 2011 (Ryncer, 2015). The
name, given by the users themselves – “Mordor” (Fuhrmann M., impulse to accelerate the works on the development of the subway was
www.money.pl). Currently the district is developing in further di- to grant Warsaw the organization of the EURO 2012 Championship,
rections, especially toward the first line of the subway, and the of- however, the subway has not been built by that time, it was not until
fice buildings are complemented by intensively developing re- 2015. The first section of the second line was 6,1 km long and con-
sidential buildings. Criticism of creating such a part of the city nected the Daszyński Round in Wola district (a former industrial dis-
focuses on the monofunctionality of the area, which generate ev- trict, now an office area) with the Warszawa Wileńska Railway Station
eryday migrations on large scale. A characteristic feature of this area (in Praga Północ, on the other side of the Vistula river). The construc-
is the demolition of office buildings erected after 1989 (which in the tion of the second line is the largest local government investment in
present conditions are inefficient and uneconomical) and the crea- Poland. A characteristic feature of this line is the fact that it runs 8 m
tion of new office buildings of housing developments in their place. below the bottom of the Vistula river. A further westerly section of the
3. Wola district – 12 buildings over 80 m; the creation of second office line is currently under construction. There are also plans to build a third
district in the post-industrial area in the vicinity of the second metro line to the east and south-east part of the city.
line; the increasing density of buildings and the increase in the Apart from the construction of the first and second underground
number of users led to the calling this part of the city “second lines, Warsaw's transport has undergone a major modernization. First of
Mordor”. Interestingly, some of the companies originally located in all, the spatial development of the city resulted in the necessity to de-
Mokotów change their location and continue their operations in velop bus and tram networks. The second aspect is to strive to ensure
Wola. that transport operates in a sustainable way. The changes that have
taken place in the field of public transport have included
Warsaw's skyscrapers are mainly used for offices purposes, but one (www.ztm.waw.pl, access 10.06.2018):
quarter of them also offer flats. An example of such investments is a
skyscraper located in the city centre, designed by Daniel Libeskind 1. expansion of the bus network to 267 lines (including 42 nightlines)
(Złota 44, 192 m high, 52 floors), offering the most expensive apart- allowing connection within and between the neighbourhoods, and
ments in the city. The hotel function is of the least importance. In the with the municipalities bordering the city. The fleet of more than
coming years further high rise buildings will be built in Warsaw – 6 of 1500 buses includes only low-floor buses,
them are under construction (the highest one Verso building will be 2. extension of the tram network to 26 lines (more than 800 wagons),
310 m high) and 7 are in the planning phase. These facilities are to be 3. adapting public transport to the needs of the elderly and disabled
constructed in the area of the existing concentration of skyscrapers users,
(Nerlo, 2016). 4. construction of 13 “park and ride” car parks, which are used free of
charge by persons having public transport tickets; the project is
aimed at reducing emissions of the exhaust gases and air pollutants,

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M. Fuhrmann Cities 94 (2019) 286–295

5. construction of 6 “kiss and ride” car parks, 5.3. Retail market in Warsaw
6. the purchase of 25 electric and 5 hybrid vehicles for public bus
transport and a plan to increase this number to 1600 by year 2020. As Warsaw opened up to the free market economy in 1989, it slowly
began to attract foreign investors in retail trade. Since the mid-1990s,
An important investment bringing Warsaw closer to the idea of foreign retail chains began to appear in Warsaw, creating also first
smart city is the construction of a network of city bicycles – Veturilo. generation of shopping centres. An example of such centre is HIT su-
The network, which was established in 2012, is constantly developing, permarket located at that time in Kabaty (near the last station of first
new stations are being built and electric bicycles have also available for underground line). Until 2001, new shopping centres were established
the users. The Warsaw Public Bicycle System comprises about 300 in Warsaw, offering their customers a multi-branch super- or hy-
stations (www.veturilo.waw.pl, access 10.06.2018). The main objective permarket as well as some basic services. The breakthrough was in
of the investment was to support public transport, as well as to en- 2001, when Warsaw was enriched by two new-generation shopping
courage the inhabitants to use non-emission transport. centres, both located in the Mokotów district – Galeria Mokotów and
Private cars are a huge challenge for many large cities, and a means Sadyba Best Mall. Firstly, these were facilities whose main part of the
of individual transport they are often referred to as inefficient transport. offer were shops (often belonging to foreign and polish chains) and
Attention is also drawn to the need to reduce pollutant and noise services, and the super- or hypermarket was of secondary importance.
emissions, as well as to the spatial problem of the organization of Cinema (and the leisure services) and a well developed food court were
parking spaces. The latter issue is the subject of many discussions in elements increasing the attractiveness and distinguishing these malls
Warsaw, which focus on plans to increase the parking fee of limit entry from others centres. Additionally, the Sadyba Bes Mall attracted visitors
to the city centre of private cars. It also worth noting that private with its IMAX cinema. Since then, similar facilities have been created in
companies are active in organising individual transport. Recently, Warsaw, located in other districts, competing for customers with dif-
Warsaw residents have the opportunity to use car rental services in the ferent offers and attractions (free sports field, art galleries, etc.).
“car for minutes” system. Resources of several companies are available, Currently, Warsaw offers shopping centres of different generations
and an interesting feature of one of the networks is the ability to park (diversification of offer) and with different scope of spatial influence
the car in any park place in the city (no need to build separate parking (Dudek-Mańkowska, Fuhrmann 2009).
spaces). Car sharing in Warsaw is also assign of a change in the way In order to show the development of retail market and the direction
people travel around the city and a change in role of owning cars, and which Warsaw is heading, it should be mentioned that eight facilities of
the use of individual transport has become more rational (Fig. 4). the highest generation have been located in the city (the offer includes a
cinema, food court, post offices, banks, medical services and office
5.2. The role of Vistula river spaces). The most recognizable is – mention earlier – Galeria Mokotów,
but also Arkadia, Złote Tarasy, Wola Park and Promenada. The centre
Warsaw is a city located in the river (Vistula River), which divides Złote Tarasy is located in the vincinity of the Warszawa Centralna
the city into eastern and western parts. The role of the Vistula River in railway station and connected to it, is characterised by its special lo-
the development of the city was grates in the 19th century, when the cation. A characteristic feature of Warsaw's shopping centres (especially
river had an important transport role. Currently, these functions are of the largest ones) is their constant development. One example is Galeria
marginal importance (Dolińska, Sławiński). In the case of Warsaw, it Mokotów, which was extended three times, which resulted in a sig-
can even be stated that the spatial development of the city in the years nificant increase in the number of shops and the total sales area. The
1945–1989 resulted in the “turning: away from the river, which is a Promenda shopping centre has also been greatly transformed. Until
process noticeable in many cities in Poland (Fijałkowski, 1995). In 2017, experts pointed to the saturation of the Warsaw shopping centre
addition to the social benefits of the river, the flood risk of the river is market, but it can be assumed that the market contradicted these pre-
also an important factor considered in spatial planning (Kundziewicz, dictions (Warsaw shopping centre market…). The proof of this is the
Zalewski, Kędziora, & Pierzgalski, 2010). In Warsaw, this threat occurs creation of new facility (Galeria Północna) and the continuous exten-
in the southern part of the river. Along the river, on its right and left sion of the existing facilities (Wola Park, Targówek). The facilities lo-
side, there are wide routes connecting on each side the south with the cated in the suburban area of Warsaw are also being extended, as the
north of the city. The availability of the sides of the Vistula River was largest shopping park in Janki, located near the western border of the
spatially limited for many years. For example, on the left side, at the city.
level of the old town, the access to the river was possible only through Another characteristic feature of Warsaw (as well as other large
an underground passage. It is also worth noting, that the right and left cities in Poland), apart from the developing shopping centres, is the
side of the river have different nature – the right is more natural then “discountization” of the urban space. This phenomenon means in-
the left (NATURA 2000) (England, Angiel & Bukaciński, 2015). Trans- tensive development of discount chains, which are located all over the
formation of river area is necessary due to the role of the river in city. Due to the domination of one of the discount chain (Jeromino
shaping the city and satisfying the needs of its user, including tourists Martins), this phenomenon is called “biedronkization” (Fuhrmann,
(Lorens, 2004). For these reasons, the city authorities have led to many 2017). Currently, there are over 110 Biedronka stores in Warsaw. These
transformations, especially on the left side. The changes that were made shops, with their characteristic logotype, have “mastered” the whole
included: city, are located in each district, and one shop serves an average of
4,5 km2 of city space. What makes the phenomenon so interesting, that
1. constructions of road tunnel, the traffic on the left side takes place it has a separate name? Biedronka is discount chain which offer goods
underground for distance about 1 km (central part of the river in at lower prices and is traditionally associated with customers with
Warsaw), lower incomes. The development of the chain led to a change in the
2. construction of the University Library and the Copernicus Science offer, which only partially resembles a discount chain, and on the other
Centre above the tunnel; the part of the site was used for urban hand, elements of delicatessen shops or classic supermarket appeared.
greenery and public spaces, Rebranding of the chain increase the popularity of the brand, which led
3. construction of Vistula boulevards, which have become an im- to an increase in the number of shops in Warsaw. Since 2011 the chain
portant leisure destination, has been developing intensively, and store locations are sometimes
4. use of part or the area on the right side of the Vistula River for surprising. Shops are located in prestigious places (Nowy Świat Street),
beaches and public spaces. central places (Warszawa Centralna Railway Station), in the area of
higher standard housing estates (Miasteczko Wilanów/Wilanów Town),

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M. Fuhrmann Cities 94 (2019) 286–295

Fig. 4. Current and planned underground lines in Warsaw.

Source: Metro Warszawskie (http://www.metro.waw.pl/metro-w-warszawie, 27.03.2018).

and in the vicinity of other services (e.g. casino). Undoubtedly the right of a poviat. New areas have also been added to the city (the
Biedronka chain changed the landscape of Warsaw, as well as the current district of Wesoła). The new districts of which there were 18,
perception of discount chains. The next stage may be even greater in- had less competences and no legal personality (Ustawa z dnia 15 marca
tegration of shops with the city space, in particular by changing the 2002 r. o ustroju miasta stołecznego Warszawy, Dz.U. 2002 Nr 41 poz.
visual identification of the brand and even better adjustment of shops to 361, n.d.).
the surrounding areas (Fuhrmann, 2017). Other discount chains play The land use structure is dominated by built-up and urbanised areas,
much smaller role – there are only 20 Lidl stores and only 3 Aldi stores. which constitute 55,9% of the entire city area. At the same time, the
percentage of agricultural land (22,3%) and forest land (16,9%) is high,
6. Urban development and governance and the parks themselves cover 6,1% of the city's area, which makes
Warsaw one of the greenest cities in Poland (Panorama dzielnic
6.1. Administrative structure of the city Warszawy, 2016). A significant role in the structure of the city is also
made by water areas, including the Vistula River, which runs from the
Warsaw currently covers an area of 517,2 km2 (from 2002). In the south to the north of the city.
years 1990–1993 the city was divided into 7 districts, and since 1994 An important moment in the city's spatial development was the
eleven units have been separated and granted the status of communes decision of Bolesław Bierut (President of the National Council) in 1945,
(independent units with legal personality). This situation lasted until under which all land within the pre-war Warsaw became the city's
2002, when after the entry into force of the new Act on the Warsaw property. In practise, the town became the owner of tenement houses as
System, the division into districts was restored and the city had the well. The effects of this decision are now being felt. First of all, the

292
M. Fuhrmann Cities 94 (2019) 286–295

Fig. 5. Districts in Warsaw and localization of Wilanów Town, Marina Mokotów and office districts.
Source: own study.

decision should be considered illegal (violation of constitutional prop- included renovation and thermal modernization of residential build-
erty rights), so that the heirs of the owner of the land and tenement ings. As a result, the revitalization was point-based, with low number of
houses can apply from the city authorities for compensation and/or projects covering entire streets or quarters of buildings. The programme
restitution of property. These actions are also controversial – one the also did not lead to any change in the function of the revitalised fa-
one hand, some cases are in breach of the law and, on the other hand, cilities, which is why it should be assumed that the revitalization before
currently the tenement houses where claims are made are inhabited. 2013 was incomplete and mainly technical (Grochowski et al., 2010). In
Decisions to return real estate are a problem for current residents (in- the 2015, the conditions for revitalization process changed, first of all,
crease in rant of necessity to leave the flats). the ease to interpret the term was limited. The Act on Revitalization
from 9 October 2015 strictly defines revitalization as “the process of
getting degraded areas out of crisis, carried out in a comprehensive
6.2. Revitalization
manner, through integrated actions for the benefit of the local com-
munity, space and economy, territorially concentrated, carried out by
The development of the city, both spatial, social and economic, and
revitalization stakeholders on the basis of communal revitalization
thus the processes taking place in the city always lead to the necessity
programme”. The revitalization may not be carried out in the whole
to face the problems resulting from the clash of various social groups,
city, but only in areas covering maximum of 20% of the city's area and a
the struggle for space, migrations of the population, the appearance of
maximum of 30%of its inhabitants. Technical and renovations issues
pathological phenomena and the deterioration of the quality of devel-
cannot be the main objective of the revitalization activities, and the
opment. One of the effects of urbanisation is the revitalization process,
main reason for undertaking such activities is to social situation and
defined as a complex and multidimensional process aimed at elim-
problems. Currently, Warsaw has an “Integrated Revitalization Pro-
inating negative phenomena in the city. Revitalization may also be
gramme until 2020”, which has been prepared in accordance with the
treated as a corrective instrument for urban development (Grochowski,
new legal conditions. It covers only part of the right side districts (Praga
Fuhrmann, & Zegar, 2010).
Północ, Praga Południe) with the highest degree of social, economic
The process of revitalization of Warsaw should be divided into two
and spatial degradation. The new approach to the revitalization of
periods: 2005–2013 and after 2015, which is connected with the dif-
Warsaw will, above all, contribute to the concentration of resources on
ferent legal conditions governing the course of the process in those
areas most in need of comprehensive support and areas which should be
periods. Between 2005 and 2013, the revitalization of Warsaw took
urgently restored to normal functioning, thus becoming an integral part
place on the basis of a Local Simplified Revitalization Programme,
of the city.
which included 134 revitalization projects throughout the city. They
took place mainly in the area of prefabricated housing estates and

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M. Fuhrmann Cities 94 (2019) 286–295

Fig. 6. Housing development in Warsaw.

Source Study on conditions and directions of spatial development in Warsaw, 2018/Studium uwarunkowań i kierunków przestrzennego zagospodarowania Warszawy
2018, Urząd Miasta st. Warszawy.

6.3. A new approach to urban development 6.4. Participatory budget

The draft (prepared before 2018) of the Warsaw Development Since 2015, Warsaw residents have had the opportunity to co-decide
Strategy is a completely new approach to the development of the city. on the allocation of part or the city's budget. For this purpose, each year
An important feature of this approach is applying of a participatory the residents can submit own investment projects (e.g. related to in-
model in the development of the strategy. It means –the inhabitants frastructure), which are accepted (or rejected) by the other residents
themselves, experts and local authorities were involved in the works on through voting and implemented with the use of municipal funds. The
the strategy. The central issue of the document is the citizen who is a essence of the participatory budget concept is openness for each citizen
user or the city and its creator. As part or the work on the strategy, 3000 (including minors) and the possibility of implementing projects in line
questionnaires among the inhabitants were conducted, conferences, with local needs of the residents. In this way, residents have a real
competitions and thematic debates were organised, in which more than contribution to make to the development of the neighbourhoods (and
1500 people participated. In order to diagnose the current state of the the city), as well as a sense of co-decision about the space, both fi-
city, the Warsaw Brain Storm was prepared. Focus interview (FGI), nancially and in terms of function and infrastructure. Importantly, the
thematic debates, workshops, conferences and meetings with residents funds allocated to the participatory budget are not additional funds
served to define the objectives of the strategy. It is the first in Warsaw's raised by the city (of districts) authorities, but are part of the planned
history process of social participation conducted on such a large scale at budget. Each year, the amount allocated to the project from the parti-
every of the development of a strategic document. The previous two cipatory budget is higher – in 20,015 PLN 26 million (ca. EUR 6,5
strategic documents in Warsaw were of expert character and were million) was allocated for this purpose, and in 2018 PLN 61 million (ca
prepared without the participation of residents. The currently designed EUR 15,25 million) was allocated. The participatory budget directly
document (currently in the process of being approved) is concise and increased the participation of the inhabitants in shaping and creating
specifies three thematic fields – “Active residents”, “Friendly place”, the public sphere and local spaces in the city.
“Open metropolis” and fours strategic objectives:

1. a responsible community, 7. Conclusions

2. convenient location,
3. functional space, Warsaw is a city which for a long period struggled with many
4. innovative environment. problems as a result from the political system before 1989. Currently,
the city is still struggling with the effects of the policy development of
The implementation and results of the new strategy will be assessed those periods (spatial planning, housing, road network). It should also
by on-going and ex-post studies. emphasize that for 25 years after 1989 Warsaw quickly achieved what
other cities had been working for several dozen years. As the largest

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M. Fuhrmann Cities 94 (2019) 286–295

city, it constantly attracts new residents, thanks to whom the number of instrument zarządzania rozwojem miasta i regionu, Mazowsze Studia Regionalne 5/
inhabitants is growing, and the space of the city is changing (new 2010).
Housing policy 2030 (2017). Polityka mieszkaniowa - Mieszkania 2030. Urząd m. st.
housing estates, education services, public transport). The development Warszawy.
of the market economy caused changes not only in the economic Warsaw, Innovative (2012). Innowacyjna Warszawa – program wspierania przedsię-
structure of the city, but also in its landscape. An important feature of biorczości. Urząd Miasta st. Warszawy.
Kundziewicz, Z. W., Zalewski, M., Kędziora, A., & Pierzgalski, E. (2010). Zagrożenia
Warsaw's space is its well-developed and constantly developing CBD związane z wodą, [w:] Raport o zagrożeniach – próba diagnozy, Rozprawy Komitetu
and other office districts, as well as highly developed shopping centres. Badań nad Zagrożeniami przy Prezydium PAN.
The development of Warsaw also includes some element of smart city Lewicka, M., & Zaborska, K. (2007). Osiedla zamknięte – czy istnieje alternatywa, Kolokwia
psychologiczne nr 16.
concept, and the city authorities see a need to use such solutions in Lorens, P. (2004). Rewitalizacja frontów wodnych jako element procesu odnowy miast, [w:]
order to improve the quality of life as well as for sustainable manage- Markowska K., Przestrzeń w zarządzaniu rozwojem regionalnymi lokalnym, Biuletyn
ment of the city's space and resources. The system transformation also KPZK PAN.
Misztal, S. (1998). Atlas Warszawy – Przekształcenia struktury przemysłu Warszawy. IGiPZ
meant a change toward participation process, the inhabitants of the city
PAN.
are increasingly important in creating space and shaping the place in Nerlo, Ł. (2016). Wieżowce w przestrzeni Warszawy, praca licencjacka WGSR UW.
which the live. Warsaw is also facing new challenges. One of them is the Owczarek, D. (2011). Zamknięte osiedla, czyli dylemat współczesnych polskich miast.
spatial policy, in which it should be put more emphasis on creating Badanie porównawcze mieszkańców zamkniętych i otwartych osiedli w Warszawie.
Przegląd Socjologiczny, 60, 2–3.
spatial development plans. Another challenge is the transport network – Panorama dzielnic Warszawy. Statistics Poland.
further development of roads and underground lines. The above-men- Polska (2017). Rynek komercyjny I-III kw. Knigth Frank.
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Warsaw]. .
will allow Warsaw to make up for the lost time and bring it closer to Rędzińska, K., & Jędraszko-Macukow, M. (2013). Osiedla “Aspern Seestadt” w Wiedniu i
other Western European capitals (Figs. 5–6). “Miasteczko Wilanów” w Warszawie w świetle idei zielonej infrastruktury. (Problemy
Ekologii Krajobrazu 36).
Ryncer, G. (2015). Warszawskie metro. System DSO w II linii metra, Live sound and in-
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