Social Significance of Technical Water Purification and Treatment Plants – on the Cusp of New Functions of the technical Service Buildings of Cities

Abstract

Departure from environmentally unfriendly public attitudes and the increasing awareness of environmental protection and the management of natural resources among the residents of cities lead to pro-environmental design efforts—including planning and urban-design-related ones, for the shaping of urban structures. One of the elements of cities that, on the one hand, stir public emotions and on the other constitute an inseparable element of the urban organism, are structures that provide technical services to cities. Examples of these structures include wastewater treatment and water purification plants. The goal of this article is an attempt at finding an answer to the question about what role do wastewater treatment and water purification plants currently play in the structure of Polish cities and what other roles can they play. Particular emphasis was placed on the public reception of such structures. Based on Polish cases, this reception appears to most often be either neutral or negative. The author explores the mechanism of these reactions and their causes, particularly in reference to other structures that provide technical services to cities (e.g. eco-incineration plants, whose construction is faced with intense opposition from residents in Polish conditions almost every time). The author searches for an answer to the question about the cause of public opposition to the construction of these types of structures, and whether we can—and if so, then how—prevent such public attitudes in relation to these types of structures.