Eight cities, eight mayors, eight questions. ULI has organised a series of meetings under the title ‘Around the City in 8 Questions’.  The first to go into the firing line is Katowice, a city that is transforming itself from an icon of the coal industry into a modern resident-friendly urban area with a knowledge-based economy centred around modern services.

Katowice on the road to transformation
Katowice is where ULI Poland has begun its series of interviews, in which it talks to the mayors of Poland’s largest cities.  The regional capital of the Silesia district is often viewed as an industrial and mining city that is struggling with demographic challenges, pollution and the redevelopment of former industrial land. The city has, however, begun the process of transforming itself and redefining its identity. “One key area for us is improving the quality of life for our residents. We want to do this through such measures as improving the air quality (subsidising changes to how buildings are heated, modernising the insulation in public buildings, running educational campaigns) engaging local people (a participatory budget, a green budget, and the wCOP drzewo and NaprawMy To applications) and running programmes specifically to meet residents’ needs (namely the KATOobywatel and Katowicka Karta Mieszkańca programmes). We are also administering long-term investment programmes especially in sustainable mobility (public transport, new city parking policies) and also in sports and recreational facilities (a city stadium),” says Marcin Krupa, the Mayor of Katowice. The mayor has also announced that over the next few years Katowice can count on major civil engineering work for its transport infrastructure including the reconstruction of the DK 81 (including the Giszowiec and Piotrowice junctions), the reconstruction of the east-bound exit road for the DTŚ motorway and the extension of ul. Stęślickiego on to al. Korfantego which will then lead on to Siemianowice Śląskie and Czeladź. The construction of a tram line is also being planned in the south of the city as well as of the Kostuchna transport hub.

100% planned over eight years
To invest effectively, urban plans are also necessary as well as clear provisions in the zoning plan. Katowice is a city where construction development is forbidden on almost half of the land, which includes forests, green areas and parks. “Around 68 pct of the land not categorised as forest for the city of Katowice is covered by an urban development plan. Around 43 pct of the land in our city is categorised as forest. This space places a significant limitation on current city planning. Looking at the same data for just the area within the city limits, 28 pct of the land under an urban development plan, while work on urban plans will cover almost 60 pct of the city’s space,” adds the mayor of Katowice. He states that these plans should be passed over the next four years, and the city could realistically be fully covered by such plans in eight years. City hall is also planning a new study for the further development of the zoning plans, which should be ready at the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022.

What will Katowice be like in 2050?
Although planning over a thirty-year term might seem senseless, especially in a time of rapid technological progress, we can try and say something of importance today about the long-term development of the city. „Over the next 30 years, the central part of Katowice should better meet its requirements as the centre of the GZM Metropolis urban area, while at the same time become more friendly to pedestrians with a more ecologically friendly urban character. The construction of tall quality buildings along the main communication routes will give the city centre an identifiable character both from the point of view of those driving along the roads as well as for those on foot, such as those in the reconstructed green areas along the river Rawa, which cut through the centre of the city. These areas will also include bicycle paths and new green squares on former industrial land as well as on the grounds of the Universities.

Further into the future, the city centre will fill with apartment and service construction sites providing an even coverage (especially in the former industrial areas),” predicts Marcin Krupa. “On the other hand, the city’s residential and service areas are sure to be further developed with more apartments over the next 30 years, because of their attractive city locations, but such development will be significantly less intensive than in the city’s central areas. Connecting these areas with their neighbouring woodlands and also improving their public transportation links with the centre will make them some of the city’s most attractive districts.  Today, however, this is one of the most difficult urban development tasks facing the city,” he adds. At the same time, he stresses that despite the relatively intensive new construction work, new constructions, as well as renovations and conversions, should fulfil the highest energy efficiency requirements and be as self-sufficient as possible with their electricity and water (using greywater and stored rainwater) and that they should also incorporate greenery within their structure to counteract the urban island heat effect.  In turn, transportation policy is to further improve access to public transport (which includes all forms such as elevated, alternative and rail) especially around the city centre and along the main north-south and east-west routes.

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