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Does One Decade of Urban Policy for the Shrinking City Make Visible Progress in Urban Re-Urbanization? A Case Study of Bytom, Poland

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  • Iwona Kantor-Pietraga

    (Institute of Social and Economic Geography and Spatial Management, University of Silesia in Katowice, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland)

Abstract

Planning and managing the declining fortunes of shrinking cities are essential in shaping urban policy in post-industrial urban societies, especially in Central and Eastern European states. Many studies emphasize city management and redevelopment as important policy constituencies for driving revitalization. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about policy-making and the underlying political and socio-economic disagreements that impact successful measures to reverse urbanization and regenerate post-industrial cities. This paper provides a case of urban policy-making for Bytom—a severely shrinking city in southern Poland. This article aims to clarify the mismatch between the city’s policy and the socio-economic situation Bytom after 2010. This discrepancy could have weakened effective policy to address shrinkage and revitalization. Statistical and cartographic methods (choropleth maps) helped analyze the socio-economic changes in Bytom and its shrinking. The issues related to the city’s policy were based primarily on free-form interviews and the analysis of municipal and regional documents concerning Bytom. The conducted research shows the need for concerted and coordinated policy direction that considers the real possibilities of implementing pro-development projects. Such expectations also result from the opinions of local communities. Finding a compromise between the idea of active support for projects implemented in a shrinking city and an appropriate urban policy is expected. Such an approach also requires further strengthening of social and economic participation in local and regional governance.

Suggested Citation

  • Iwona Kantor-Pietraga, 2021. "Does One Decade of Urban Policy for the Shrinking City Make Visible Progress in Urban Re-Urbanization? A Case Study of Bytom, Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-17, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:8:p:4408-:d:536658
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    1. Maksymilian Solarski & Robert Krzysztofik, 2021. "Is the Naturalization of the Townscape a Condition of De-Industrialization? An Example of Bytom in Southern Poland," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, August.
    2. Iwona Kantor-Pietraga & Aleksandra Zdyrko & Jakub Bednarczyk, 2021. "Semi-Natural Areas on Post-Mining Brownfields as an Opportunity to Strengthen the Attractiveness of a Small Town. An Example of Radzionków in Southern Poland," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-18, July.
    3. Monika Janiszek & Robert Krzysztofik, 2023. "Green Infrastructure as an Effective Tool for Urban Adaptation—Solutions from a Big City in a Postindustrial Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Yuanping Wang & Mu Lin & Jingxin Gao & Zhaoyin Zhou, 2021. "Fading Attraction of the Shrinking City: An Empirical Study from an Urban Resource Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.

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