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Michał Woźniak
Summary of doctoral dissertation: „Warsaw Metropolitan Area. Spatial Diversity of Suburban Area”
The dissertation deals with the problems of various aspects of Warsaw suburbia diversity;
with the factors, which condition the diversity, as well as with its social consequences. The dissertation is aimed at showing the degree of the diversity; the levels, on which this diversity takes place; the characteristic models of spatial and demographical development within suburbia and the unique social problems connected with them.
The first chapter presents the course of urban areas decentralization in the world; the factors, which conditioned it; and the processes, which nowadays take place in the world. It also discusses the most important definitions of the terms connected with metropolitan areas as well as with the suburbia. This constitutes the background for showing the process of building up and developing of Warsaw suburbia. The chapter presents the research methods used in the dissertation, too.
The second chapter is devoted to the delimitation of Warsaw suburbia and to the dynamic of its development. It discusses the delimitation method adopted as compared with previously existing conceptions. The chapter mentions fifty eight communes, which belong to Warsaw suburbia; it shows their diversity as far as the dynamic of demographical development is concerned as well as the factors, which conditioned this diversity.
The third chapter describes some aspects of spatial diversity of Warsaw suburbia communes: the type (single- or multi-family) and standard of buildings. This resulted in the picture of Warsaw suburban area, which is strongly diverse in the two aspects just mentioned;
this is related to the equally strong social diversity of its particular parts, so this allows for searching for the repeating models of development. The research proved that both the type of buildings and (even to the greater extent) their standard is reproduced and, in most of the communes, it doesn’t change as compared to the period before the research. Apart from some historical factors, the most important distinctive factor, which differentiates Warsaw suburbia, is the geographical aspect. The chapter shows that the spatial diversity of the communes under research is related to the social and economic status of their inhabitants.
The fourth chapter contains the case studies of four communes, each of which takes different position within the outlined system of dominating type and standard of buildings;
these case studies focus on describing the factors, which shape these positions and, in
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particular, on describing the unique social problems within the communes in question. The case study presents the social conflict in Izabelin, i.e. the conflict concerning the attempts of permitting the multi-flat buildings within the commune as well as extending housing areas;
another thing, which is presented, is the process resulting in the appearance of the new multi- family buildings in Józefów, which, in consequence, caused the change of the spatial structure of the town. The cases of the two communes illustrate the way, the urbanization pressure affects the attractive territories of suburbia and the consequences and inhabitants’ reactions, which it may bring. Another commune, which is presented, is the suburban peripheral one named Prażmów; in this commune the infrastructure is insufficient and not equally available to particular parts of the commune and the financial resources for new investments are limited; these factors lead towards social conflicts; the solution of these problems is, in this very area, the increase of inhabitants’ number, which, in turn, generates the needs for the new investments within the area, which is not prepared for architecture development. The last commune described is named Marki; it is described as one of the important suburban areas, playing the significant role within Warsaw agglomeration, i.e. constituting the reservoir of relatively cheap flats of lower standard and of not very attractive location; the main problem of the inhabitants of Marki is the transportation to Warsaw, although Marki are not very far away from the Capital. The dissertation outlines three models of Warsaw suburban area development.
The first one includes the attractive areas with the single-family houses of higher standard, in particular the past Warsaw summer resorts; the second one includes the so-far agricultural communes, most often suburban peripheral ones, with the single-family buildings of lower standard. The third model, in turn, are the areas, which are the reservoirs of cheap flats in multi-family buildings.
Also, some other characteristic aspects of Warsaw suburban area diversity are shown, e.g.: the fact that some areas are not merely the housing places, but also the places where people work. Although there exist the communes, in which the organized single-family buildings investments are located, contrary to metropolitan areas of Western Europe or North America, individual investments definitely dominate within Warsaw agglomeration as a whole. The dissertation presents the stability of the situation described within the period of a few years, which followed the research. It also shows the fact that Warsaw metropolitan area, despite the dynamic development of suburbia, still remains the typical monocentric agglomeration with the dominating role of Warsaw.
