Dimensions of urban degradation in Poland

As a result of research conducted by the author, there were 120,200 hectares of areas identified in Polish cities that require regeneration, which constitutes a little more than 21% of all invested and urbanized areas. In terms of surface area and frequency of occurrence, the main problem is the one, which concerns old downtown districts. Drab prefabricated towerblock housing estates which, according to many municipal authorities are in a crisis, occupy a much smaller surface area of 14,000 hectares, yet the number of their residents approximates that of the old downtown districts and amounts to ca. 2.1 million people. The conducted research shows that there are 4.4 million people, who live presently in degraded areas and in areas that need to be regenerated. Also 24,000 hectares of postindustrial areas were identified. Other estimates indicate that there may even be twice as much of those post-industrial areas (40,000 hectares) but due to their contained nature and limited accessibility municipal authorities are not always aware of their existence. Based on the estimates of PKP S.A. Railways authorities one can assume that already today ca. 15,000 hectares of post-railway areas might be subjected to regeneration and reuse, including 100 multi-mode railway stations, which are critical for urban development. In 140 Polish cities and towns there were ca. 11,800 hectares of post-military areas identified, the majority of which have already been developed or adapted for urban purposes. Still there remain ca. 4,000 hectares of areas that require specific actions.