Cold shouldered Warsaw's forgotten waterfront

As Warsaw is still awaiting the run-off election of its mayor in what will become a race between Lech Kaczyński of PiS and SLD-UP Marek Balicki, the winner will be dealing with questions from planners on exactly why the city turns its back on the waterfront.
It has long been pointed out that while cities like Paris or London, as well as Prague and Budapest, have embraced their rivers, Warsaw has always shunned the Wisła. Last summer, Paris authorities lined the banks of the Seine with tons of sand, to create one of Europe's largest man-made beaches. What does Warsaw's riverbank have to offer, apart from a maze of dubious beer gardens that multiply near the Old Town every year? In his last display of power, the outgoing Mayor of Warsaw has recently taken part in a conference that was organised to initiate public discussion regarding the future and revitalisation of Warsaw's riverfront.
Mayor Wojciech Kozak, architect and urban planner Krzysztof Domaradzki and hydrologist Janusz Żelaziński held a public conference on the future of the capital's waterfront and whether it would ever open up to development. The experts agreed that the revitalisation of Warsaw's riverbanks is essential to the further development of the city, as well as attracting potential investors.

For a long time the Wisła has served only several basic function for Warsaw's inhabitants, namely as a water source, potential means of transportation and a receptacle for sewage from the surrounding areas. Traditionally the city centre has always been facing away from the river, mainly because of annual floods. Anyone who witnessed the 1997 flooding of western Poland and recent natural catastrophes in Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic can understand Warsaw authorities' concerns for flood safety in the city. It now remains the last great unregulated river in Europe.
Although two new bridges have been constructed recently on the river, their contributions to improving the traffic in the city have been marginal.
"A key issue for Warsaw is the construction of more bridges - the river cannot keep on dividing the city," Kozak said. "Between 2004 to 2006, the construction of two more bridges could be possible."
The project of bringing the city closer to the river started with the concept of putting the Wisłastrada motorway, which separated the Old Town from the Wisła, in a tunnel. A year on, the project is almost completed and the debate regarding the development of the freed up area has intensified.
"Personally, I would encourage mixed-use schemes, but the area should be more campus-like in character," Kozak said. "The developments should be quite scattered and non-intensive."

Domaradzki supports Kozak's development concept for the area, but also said that he thinks the river ought to be left unregulated as much as possible.
"The river should remain the way it is, but the surrounding areas should be ordered and developed within reasonable limits," he said, adding that the overall plan for the area's development must address important issues such as safety and general planning.
But Kozak does not seem very supportive of a full-scale development in the area, even though the city could make up to €51 million from the sale of the land in Powiœle, according to some analysts.
Although Kozak agreed that the major deterrent from the riverside is the pollution, he was quick to point out that most of the pollution occurs before the water even arrives in the city.
"About 33% of Warsaw sewage is treated before it is put in the river," he said.
Although the recent construction of several sewage treatment plants in the area is an admitted success, the percentage of sewage treated from a city with two million inhabitants is still very small. The problem could be overcome through the construction of new sewage treatment plants for the city, and in particular for its environs. Whether this will happen now, as the city has just abandoned its division into smaller gminas and is drifting back to centralisation, remains to be seen.
While these plans certainly cater to the more developed and wealthier left bank of the Wisła, the right bank remains even wilder and more neglected. This could change when the mega-development, Port Praski, receives a green light from the Warsaw authorities and the investors.

This is where Praga's new centre should be located, according to Kozak.
"We need the kind of architecture and development as in the London docks," Kozak said. "It should have a central function and share it with an office function. That is where buildings more than 100 metres should be located."
But even with the new developments and anti-flood barriers permitting, Warsaw will never be able to approach the river on the same scale as other major European cities.
"The Warsaw riverbank can never be like Paris - the water level can differ from zero to seven meters in 12 months," Kozak said.
Janusz Żelaziński, a hydrologist, agreed, emphasising the reinforcement of Warsaw's anti-flood measures has been somewhat forgotten recently. According to Żelaziński, the only way Warsaw can move towards the river is without solid construction and with small-scale developments, such as Saska Kępa and Żoliborz. He recommended development no further than near the anti-flood barriers and not always immediately next to the river.
"The University Library is too close to the river," he said. "I'm afraid that one day it could get flooded."
Domaradzki defended the neglect of the river and its interests, blaming it on lack of public debate or a clear development plan.
"A city on a river can look in many different ways," he said. "It has always been Warsaw's tradition that the centre never got to the banks, but also the subject of the river has never really been discussed."

While this recent initiative is admirable and should only be imitated by others - the new mayor in particular - it should perhaps also gain more exposure. Warsaw's residents do not seem concerned by its fate unless it affects them or their allotment gardens directly. What was missing from the debate was the presence of more influential decision-makers, who although certainly well acquainted with future plans, should perhaps be more involved in public discourse with the city's inhabitants.
City officials and urban planners agree that very little is likely to change without a binding zoning plan for the area. Without it, the land remains easy prey for random investors, random developments as well as the forces of nature. With the current local elections, zoning plans and other similar issues finally falling under the competence of one person, the mayor of Warsaw. There is hope for Wisła's riverbank still, provided the new mayor will use his powers wisely.