A SMALL TOWN – BIG CHALLENGES. PERCEPTION OF A LOCAL REVITALIZATION PROGRAMME – A CASE STUDY OF NOWY STAW IN POMORSKIE VOIVODESHIP

Abstract

The author presents the results of a survey conducted among selected inhabitants of Nowy Staw in Pomerania, a small town, which – after the collapse of industry in the 1980s and the 1990s – is looking for solutions to overcome the socio-economic crisis. Research has shown that the most serious problems faced by the residents, are not only the lack of jobs, but also degraded urban areas, lack of public rest areas, access to services and other facilities. The town undertakes remedial actions, involving extensive revitalization and revalorization of the urban tissue, to attract new investors. Beside improving the quality of space, this is to be the beginning of solving social problems and bringing back the times of town’s development. In this context, social perception of the outlined changes by the small town community seems to offer an interesting research problem.