The urban local centre: from the centrally-planned economy to the capitalist city. The experience of the Ursynów district in Warsaw

The polycentric structure of the city reflects the role of various stakeholders, public and private, in shaping the urban development and life quality. The paper investigates the role of the public and private sector in creation of the local centres in neighbourhoods, hubs concentrating the services and amenities indispensable for modern life. The analysis is based on the case study of the Ursynów district in Warsaw, designed and constructed mainly in the 1980s, but with several infrastructural, housing, and commercial investments realised after 1989. The study encompassed the location of local centres, their functions, and spatial forms. The findings demonstrate that both public and private sectors play intertwined and significant roles for the local centres and create a synergy effect in such areas. The results of the study also show the evolutionary nature of the local centres’ development. The main elements of the design persist, but the market-oriented economy and decentralised democratic institutions allowed them to continue the original plans, while making the local centres more attractive and richer function-wise than it was possible during the centrally-planned period

Institutional potential and barriers for a circular economy. The case study of Warsaw

The paper presents the study conducted in the Mokotów district in Warsaw, encompassing circular practices of eight chosen local entities, from private, public, and NGO sectors. The choice was based on the preliminary research showing that the entities were already engaged in some form of the circular transition. The definition of the circular economy applied in the study was based on the one proposed by Kircherr, Reike, and Hekkert [2017] describing a circular economy as an economic system based on business models replacing the ‘end-of-life’ concept with reducing, alternatively reusing, recycling, and recovering materials in production/distribution and consumption processes. The aim is to accomplish sustainable development, by creating environmental quality, economic prosperity, and social equity to the benefit of current and future generations.The goals of the study encompassed:• verification if there is a common understanding of what the circular economy is;• identification and comparison of circular practices introduced by various actors;• identification of existing incentives for circular practices and expected benefits;• pinpointing the obstacles and barriers, both within organisations and outside.The identified practices were also verified to support more specific goals of the circular economy, present in the literature. The findings show that current benefits of the circular transition are limited and the actions are mostly driven by personal involvement. The lack of the support of local administration is evident, as well as the limitation of market solutions. Networking turns are to be one of the most important aspects of efficient circular practices

Sustainable city – flexible or durable? Socio-economics aspects of urban patterns

The book fits into a multidisciplinary research approach. The articles are the result of research conducted by eminent international economists, authors representing academic centres in different countries. The articles address current phenomena observed in the global economy. The authors do not aspire to comprehensively explain all the very complex and multi-dimensional economic developments, but illustrate many of these phenomena in an original way. The multi-threaded and multi-dimensional nature of the discussion in particular articles deserves attention. These include theoretical and methodological articles as well as the results of empirical research presented by the authors. The book is addressed to those persons interested in issues of economics, finance, regional economy, and the management sciences. It can be valuable for economic practitioners, members of management and supervisory boards of companies, and financial analysts, and the articles may also be useful for academicians and students.This paper’s goal is to introduce an interdisciplinary assessment of urban patterns as a factor of socio-economic development, presenting selected examples of how different urban patterns (compactness, complexity, decentralisation and porosity) influence family economics, risk management for city dwellers and entrepreneurs, labour market and social inclusion or inequality. Urban patterns and socio-economic aspects of urban life are closely linked in a complex and manifold way. The main topic of the paper will be the assessment in what way durability or flexibility of a built environment influences urban sustainable development. It is not possible to identify one spatial pattern that in the best way meets the need to adapt to new challenges and threats. However, case studies can point to certain features of cities, especially their diversity, as being the most important for their proper functioning

New craft production in Europe : between creative class and industrial manufacturing

PURPOSE: This article presents research regarding “new craft”, an emerging and developing part of the local economy in many European cities. The term refers to types of work between traditional manufacturing and creative industries, more innovative and individual than the former and more tangible than most of the latter.APPROACH: The study was based on a literature review, interviews and analysis of a case study - the post-industrial Praga district of Warsaw, which is an original work of the authors from Warsaw School of Economics and OpenHeritage, a Horizon 2020 project.FINDINGS: The findings encompass specific aspects and characteristics of jobs located on the edges of two groups – traditional manufacturing and creative industries. This research helps to fill a previous gap in the European statistics regarding small-scale production and manufacturing. This part of locality is gaining importance due to (1) a recent stimulus in new forms of production and the testing of innovative, large-scale manufacturing (2) the reintroduction of urban manufacturing which now raises less concern about possible negative environmental impacts (3) the role of local networks during the Covid-19 pandemic.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: New craft production is a significant and growing trend in numerous European cities. It should be based on two elements: (1) traditional high quality European craft and manufacturing (2) innovation and creative industries in which the EU wants to be a global leader. Therefore, there is a need for policies, financial mechanisms and statistical recognition that will bring benefits to craftsmen and municipal decision makers.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: According to the authors, new craft production to some extent replaces traditional craftspeople but more importantly stimulates innovation. Therefore, its role and characteristics should be discussed further – especially in new post-Covid 19 reality – as a factor in stimulating the development of local economies, including districts and cities.peer-reviewe

Streptococcus suis in invasive human infections in Poland : clonality and determinants of virulence and antimicrobial resistance

The purpose of this study was to perform an analysis of Streptococcus suis human invasive isolates, collected in Poland by the National Reference Centre for Bacterial Meningitis. Isolates obtained from 21 patients during 2000–2013 were investigated by phenotypic tests, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), analysis of the TR9 locus from the multilocus variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis (MLVA) scheme and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of SmaI-digested DNA. Determinants of virulence and antimicrobial resistance were detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and analysed by sequencing. All isolates represented sequence type 1 (ST1) and were suggested to be serotype 2. PFGE and analysis of the TR9 locus allowed the discrimination of four and 17 types, respectively. Most of the isolates were haemolysis- and DNase-positive, and around half of them formed biofilm. Genes encoding suilysin, extracellular protein factor, fibronectin-binding protein, muramidase-released protein, surface antigen one, enolase, serum opacity factor and pili were ubiquitous in the studied group, while none of the isolates carried sequences characteristic for the 89K pathogenicity island. All isolates were susceptible to penicillin, cefotaxime, imipenem, moxifloxacin, chloramphenicol, rifampicin, gentamicin, linezolid, vancomycin and daptomycin. Five isolates (24 %) were concomitantly non-susceptible to erythromycin, clindamycin and tetracycline, and harboured the tet(O) and erm(B) genes; for one isolate, lsa(E) and lnu(B) were additionally detected. Streptococcus suis isolated in Poland from human invasive infections belongs to a globally distributed clonal complex of this pathogen, enriched in virulence markers. This is the first report of the lsa(E) and lnu(B) resistance genes in S. suis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10096-016-2616-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Social e-atmospherics in practice (or not): a French and Turkish web designers’ perspectives

Little is known about the development of social e- atmospherics. And yet, e-atmospherics havemotivated an emerging body of research which reports that both better layouts and‘recognized’ atmospherics encourage consumers to modify their shopping habits. While the literature has analyzed mainly the functional (design) aspect of e-atmospherics, little has been done in terms of linking its characteristics’ to social (co-) creation. This paper attempts to redress the imbalance by exploring the anatomy from a website designer perspective of the social dimension of design in relation to e-atmospherics, which includes factors such as the aesthetic design of space and the influence of visual cues as a socially constructed meaning. We identify the challenges that web designers as social agents, who interact within intangible social reference sets, restricted by social standards, value, beliefs, status and duties, face daily within their work. We aim to review the current understanding of the importance and voluntary integration of social cues displayed by web designers from a mature market and an emerging market, and provides an analysis based recommendation towards the development of an integrated e-social atmospheric framework. Results report exploratory findings from questionnaires with 10 French and 16 Turkish web designers. These allow us to re-interpret the web designers’ reality regarding social e-atmospherics. We contend that by comprehending (before any consumer/client input) social capital, daily micro practices, habits and routine of designers, a deeper understanding of social e-atmospherics possible functions in the future will be unpacked

ARCHITEKTURA I PRACA. DZIEDZICTWO WARSZAWSKIEJ PRAGI JAKO ŚWIADECTWO ROZWOJU GOSPODARCZEGO

Architecture and urban spatial patterns are shaped by complex processes, consisting of cultural, social and economic factors. A city adapts to the needs of its stakeholders by constantly re-modeling its space and built environment, within the framework of the existing legal, technical and financial restrictions. Thus, the city components encompass protected heritage as well as the desire or need to change, rebuild, expand and construct new buildings and create new solutions in urban planning. In the history of European cities, for many centuries, existing buildings and sites were treated primarily as an environment that should be used to best meet the current needs. Today, we perceive the inherited urban environment as an important testimony of the past, a precious heritage that should be preserved, and should remain at least partly unchanged. To what extent and what should be preserved and protected and what can or should be dismantled or reconstructed is the subject of several discussions, both ideological and practical, of a general and a specific nature. This paper’s goal is to contribute to this broad and multi-fold debate. It presents an interdisciplinary point of view in which architectural and urban heritage is a tangible representation of an intangible heritage related to labor and economic development. To illustrate this perspective, the Praga-Północ (Praga North) district in Warsaw was chosen, a traditionally industrial, workers’ and trade-craft district, which today is subject to far-reaching changes. The paper draws attention to architecture as a record of changing factors of socio-economic development.Architektura i układy przestrzenne miast kształtują się w wyniku złożonych procesów kulturowych, społecznych i gospodarczych. Miasto dostosowuje się do potrzeb swoich mieszkańców i użytkowników przez ciągłe zmiany środowiska zbudowanego, w ramach możliwości prawnych, technicznych i finansowych. Zatem chęć ochrony przeszłości łączy się z potrzebą zmiany, przebudowy i poszukiwaniem nowych rozwiązań. W historii europejskich miast przez wiele wieków istniejące budynki i miasta traktowano przede wszystkim jako środowisko, które powinno jak najpełniej odpowiadać bieżącym potrzebom. Dzisiaj zasoby miasta są dla nas zapisem przeszłości, cennym dziedzictwem, które powinno zostać zachowane, przynajmniej częściowo, w niezmienionej postaci. W jakim stopniu i co powinno w mieście, architekturze i przestrzeni być zachowywane i chronione przed zmianą, a co może lub powinno być zmieniane jest przedmiotem wielu dyskusji zarówno o charakterze ogólnym, jak i praktycznym, szerokim lub dotyczącym poszczególnych przypadków. Niniejszy artykuł stanowi głos w tej szerokiej i wielowątkowej dyskusji. Zaprezentowano w nim interdyscyplinarny punkt widzenia, w którym dziedzictwo architektoniczne i urbanistyczne stanowi materialny znak dziedzictwa niematerialnego, związanego z pracą i rozwojem gospodarczym. Dla zilustrowania tej perspektywy wybrano dzielnicę Praga-Północ w Warszawie – tradycyjnie przemysłową, robotniczą i handlowo-rzemieślniczą, która dzisiaj podlega daleko idącym zmianom. W artykule zwrócono uwagę na architekturę jako zapis zmieniających się czynników rozwoju społeczno- -gospodarczego

Revitalization as a Process of Inclusion of Large Housing Complexes in the City's Functional Structure

Wielkie osiedla mieszkaniowe (WOM) projektowano jako wyodrębnione jednostki urbanistyczne, bez kontynuacji funkcji iejskich lub wielkomiejskich. Po 1989 r. zaszły w nich zmiany związane z transformacją gospodarczą. Z perspektywy 20 lat widać, że wiele osiedli nie zostało jednak włączonych do funkcjonalnej struktury miasta i nie nabrało cech miejskich. W opracowaniu przedstawiono wyniki analizy dzielnic Warszawy o wysokim udziale WOM – Targówka i Ursynowa. Płynie z niej wniosek, że jednym z najważniejszych elementów rewitalizacji osiedli jest tworzenie powiązań między osiedlami a miastem, w szczególności centrum. Takie działania powinny prowadzić do zmniejszenia stygmatyzacji mieszkańców, wprowadzania funkcji o znaczeniu ponadlokalnym, sprzyjać istnieniu zróżnicowanych grup mieszkańców. Pomocne dla rewitalizacji jest określenie celów z uwzględnieniem całościowych planów rozwoju miasta. ednostki sąsiedzkie z centrami lokalnymi mogą stanowić korzystne rozwiązanie, ale wyraźne wyodrębnienie osiedli zwiększa ryzyko przestrzennej segregacji społecznej. Utrudnia też wykorzystanie mocnych stron i szans rozwoju, jakie pojawiają się w całym mieście. Dlatego działania, o których była mowa wyżej, mogą wzmacniać pozytywne skutki rewitalizacji, a także apobiegać jej potrzebie na przyszłość.Large housing estates were designed from the beginning as separate entities, not as a continuation of previous urban structure of a city. After 1989, the economic transformations caused a lot of changes within the cities. However, even after more then 20 years, we can observe that many estates have not been included within urban structures and they lack urban character. In this paper, we present two Warsaw districts, Targówek and Ursynów, where the majority of inhabitants live in large housing estates. The results of our analysis show the significance of the relationship between the districts and the ther parts of the city, especially its downtown area. Actions should be taken to reduce the stigma of living in an estate, introduce extra-local functions and attract diverse social groups. One of the important reasons of the degradation of large housing estates are the unseen borders – social and functional ones – between them and the rest of the city. Neighbourhood units, with their local centres, can create lively and healthy areas, yet the units with no relation to the surroundings bring the risk of social and spatial segregation. Disintegration can also become an obstacle in bringing all city's assets into play. Creating the net of relationships between the large estates and the city can make their regeneration less needed and more successful at the same time