Berlin and Warsaw: in search of a new role in the European urban system

Abstract

After 1989, the cities of Central and Eastern Europe were engaged in an inter-urban competition, a process characteristic of the urban scene since the beginning of European integration. Being a topic of great interest to researchers, a large body of literature has accumulated on the observed role of capital cities in the region as well as on their potential role in the future. Several researchers have focused on the position as well as the interdependence of Berlin and Warsaw—two urban nodes in what is hypothesized as a future West–East development trajectory (see Domanski, 1999). The present paper deals with the emergence and development of metropolitan functions in these two cities. It is based on a comparative research project, which involved a series of structured, in-depth interviews with planners and policy-makers in Germany and Poland conducted by the author during the period 2001–2003. The paper discusses the development factors and their contributions to the metropolitan potential of Berlin and Warsaw. The identification of these factors is a starting point for determining the future position and rank of these two capital cities in the European urban system. The analysis is complemented by a comparison of trends in the employment structure of Berlin and Warsaw during the period 1994–2002. The results allow the author to evaluate some hypotheses posed in strategic planning documents concerning Berlin and Warsaw.