RESEARCH TEAMS:
• Municipal Revitalisation Programme for Warsaw until 2030
Project leader:
Sylwia Dudek-Mańkowska, PhD
Team: Mirosław Grochowski, PhD
Karolina Sitnik, MA, Maciej Misztal, MA
This project was carried out in cooperation with the Institute of Urban and Regional Development and Utila Sp. z o.o., commissioned by the City of Warsaw.
• Cultural Ecosystem Services
Project leader: Prof. Sylwia Kulczyk
Team: Prof. Marta Derek,
Prof. Edyta Woźniak (CBK PAN),
Tomasz Grzyb, PhD
Spatial diversity in the flow of cultural ecosystem services in a large city. How much nature is there in contact with nature?
NCN OPUS Project 2018/31/B/HS4/01381 (2018–2024)
In cities, where every square metre counts, nature and social infrastructure play a crucial role in enhancing quality of life. Research on cultural ecosystem services demonstrates that public green spaces are not only places for recreation but also areas fostering social relationships, local identity, and daily wellbeing. Simultaneously, revitalisation initiatives, such as those carried out in Warsaw, address complex social, spatial, and environmental issues, offering residents tangible improvements in living conditions. Smart use of green spaces and revitalisation constitutes an investment in a healthier and ecologically sustainable city.
The research project on cultural ecosystem services aimed to understand how public green spaces shape human-nature relationships in urban settings. We developed methods to evaluate these services by integrating spatial analyses with social research—from cartography and satellite imagery to social media data, interviews, and questionnaires. Our findings indicate that interaction with nature is highly valued, a perception strengthened during the pandemic. Recreation and aesthetic experiences are particularly significant, but equally important are place attachment, social interactions, and tranquillity. Large, diverse green spaces—even when distant—are visited more frequently than smaller parks, although small parks still play important local roles. Patterns of green-space use notably depend on weather, season, and temperature. Parks with higher degrees of naturalness offer benefits comparable to suburban forests, attracting both individuals seeking encounters with wild nature and those seeking social meeting points. Local nature is often viewed as an element of identity, distinct from nature in general. Consequently, decisions made by green-space managers significantly influence social bonds and overall quality of life. Meanwhile, local government actions, despite their image-building potential, often diverge from the actual needs of users. Commissioned by the City of Warsaw, we also developed the Municipal Revitalisation Programme up to 2030, prepared by a consortium including the Institute of Urban and Regional Development, the Faculty, and Utila Sp. z o.o. Our team conducted an extensive diagnosis of the revitalisation area and defined the directions for its development. The revitalisation area covers parts of the districts of Praga Północ, Praga Południe, and Targówek—2,232 hectares inhabited by 156,000 residents, accounting for approximately 5% of Warsaw’s area and 9% of its population. It is characterised by concentrated social, economic, and spatial problems as well as significant development potential. The identified issues include inherited poverty, low education levels, weak neighbourhood ties, limited access to services and green spaces, building degradation, and pollution. Revitalisation aims at sustainable development, preserving the unique character of each of the eight sub-areas while simultaneously improving their coherence and spatial quality. Revitalised Warsaw aims to be a place where residents enjoy an increasingly better quality of life—through improved infrastructure, access to greenery, services, aesthetics, and communal spaces.
Upper graphics:
↑ Relationship between various landscape components and ecosystem services provided by green spaces in Warsaw and its surroundings. Source: Derek M., Kulczyk S., Grzyb T., Woźniak E., 2025b, ‘This is my magical place here’. Linking cultural ecosystem services and landscape elements in urban green spaces. Ecosystem Services, 71, 101699.
Lower graphics:
↑ FROM THE LEFT.
Combining data on green spaces with their spatial context allowed for the identification of five types of publicly accessible green areas larger than two hectares in Warsaw and neighbouring municipalities. Source: Derek M., Woźniak E., Kulczyk S., Grzyb T., 2025a, Neighbourhood havens or city hotspots? Social-ecological typology of public urban green spaces, Cities, 162, 105999.
Assessment of access to green spaces (elaborated by S. Dudek-Mańkowska).
Elements of nature encouraging residents of Warsaw and surrounding municipalities to visit green spaces and recreational areas.
Source: Survey on a representative sample of residents conducted in the first half of October 2020 (n=1000).
Functional and spatial structure of the revitalisation area (elaborated by K. Sitnik).
RESEARCH LOCATION: Poland (WARSAW)