Europe & Central Asia » Poland » Poland
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Poland Fractal Urban System |
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| Poland is defined by its position within the European geo network. Halfway between central Europe and Russia Big Bear, it is the necessary passage between east and west avoiding the Alpes system. Two main axes determine this role. The one that goes from Berlin to Moscow through Warsaw and the one that goes south to Ukraine through Wroclaw and Krakow. This distributor role has marked the dramatic history of Poland and the territorial shifts pushed from the east or the west whenever the neighbors became powerful enough to bully Poland.
The pushpin of Poland has always been Warsaw. Pushed to the east or pushed to the west, Warsaw has always been the essence that defined Poland. It is not thus surprising that the Capital defines the urban system of the country along the axis between Berlin and Moscow. The peripheral border towns, especially the linear system on the foothills of the Tatra Mountains, is the second defining element. Cities, halfway between Warsaw and the periphery complete it, with special relevance for Poznan, Gdansk, and Wroclaw, as stepping stones to the outer world. What should be the completion strategy for Poland? First, the sustainable development of abandoned areas of the country with economic potential and social legitimate rights. Second, the strengthening of the urban network where each city could play the role it corresponds, according to the position rank and geographical location. Third, understanding that the future of Poland is not only Polish. Not even European or Westerner. It is Global. Paraphrasing JF Kennedy, ‘what can Poland do for the world’ is the challenge, not ‘what can the world do for Poland’. Poland has to find that role and establish an adequate socioeconomic strategy to fulfill it to its best. If Poland doesn’t, someone else will do it for her. |
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