Contemporary revitalization of public spaces in Łódź. The role of squares, streets and courtyards in creating the genius loci based on the historical heritage

Abstract

Despite its medieval origins (1423), the city of Łódź is young. It flourished as an important industrial center in the nineteenth century, becoming the second largest city in Poland in the twentieth. Its “American” plan with one main street and districts developing around factories is unusual in Poland and leaves little room for city squares and public space. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, Łódź has been trying to create more shared areas because they underwent far-reaching degradation after the transformatio of 1989 and the economic crisis of the 1990s. Nowadays, however, these areas are being revitalized. There are many competitions and projects concerning both the rehabilitation of existing city squares and the creation of new ones. However, the term “city square” has largely lost its original, traditional meaning, with “square” now covering a variety of open spaces, ranging from pedestrian streets to courtyards. The article discusses selected examples of municipal and private investments in squares, streets and parks. Despite the positive reception of these urban changes, the “renewal” of the city is criticized by specialists and considered controversial.The article attempts to analyze these solutions in terms of urban planning as well as urban landscape and ecology, also venturing to gauge whether such solutions can be considered modern and adequate to the requirements of twenty-first-century urban planning.