Marlena Happach is an architect and a planner. Since 2016, she has been working as the director for the Department of Architecture and Planning for the city of Warsaw. She pays special attention to the creation and planning of public spaces, design of public buildings and revitalization projects in Warsaw. Seemingly, the city authorities are looking for new spaces for urban development, and new ways to prosper the city. And, this process requires bold strategies, a paradigm shift in city making. Warsaw metropolitan area has total population of 2.7 million inhabitants. The city faces the issues of high costs in public transportation, low quality of green spaces, low densities, unemployment, stagnation and finding itself a new identity which keeps up with the 21st century.
At reSITE 2017, she explains how the city authorities of Warsaw have been trying to make Warsaw like Copenhagen in terms of greenery, quality of public spaces and smarter transportation strategies. She puts it clearly that without considering the quality of space in urban development, economic development may not be guaranteed for the long-term. Therefore Warsaw is now more focused on walkability, density, identity, defining spaces for buildings, the quality of greenery, polycentric city, multifunctional and attractive spaces, green infrastructure and sustainable mobility to make the Polish capital “a dynamic, developing all the time and nice to live in city.”
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(c) reSITE 2017
reSITE is an international nonprofit platform based in Prague. We work at the intersection of architecture, urbanism, politics, culture, and economics. We act as a catalyst for social action and innovative leadership.
We encourage an exchange of ideas about making cities more livable, competitive and resilient. We protect and promote public space, architecture, and sustainable development in cities.
Why? To stimulate action for sustainable urban design and therefore better cities. We stand for public space.
