THE GLORY OF THE CITY. PUBLICATION

publisher: Fundacja Bec Zmiana

ISBN 978-83-62418-21-3

Warsaw is promoted today primarily as a city of wide-open spaces, attracting investors with the promise of the architectural projects they can build here while generating a high rate of return on their investment. Warsaw is thus presented as a city of modern office buildings, a destination luring tourists with (contemporary) landmarks and lavish sports infrastructure. But for a decade we have observed in Warsaw an increase in grassroots interest in the city and its architecture: urban movements have been launched, and numerous studies of urban phenomena conducted. Initiatives deepening the knowledge of the city are often begun by enthusiasts, not backed by any institutions but motivated by a sincere desire to know more about their own local environment.

Thus the publication we have prepared contrasts the official depiction of the city as a municipal corporation, shaped and promoted by public officials attending investment roadshows around the world, with Warsaw as a city of significant achievements by architects and urbanists whose innovative and experimental initiatives may today provide fertile ground for a better understanding of the city by its inhabitants.

Orders: sklep@beczmiana.pl

01/2013