Abstrakt: | The monograph is situated within the scope of the Conzenian urban morphology and
concerns the transformation of urban space in terms of morphology, in conjunction with
changes within its functional structure. The considerations are based on the example of
Katowice—a city of a short but turbulent history, the space of which was influenced by
numerous variable and diverse factors, and which has been recently transforming into
a modern city—post-industrial and post-socialist. The main objective of the study is to
demonstrate the evolution of the urban space of Katowice, and in particular, to answer
the questions: how has the today’s morphological character of Katowice been formed,
and in which direction will it be transforming? To accomplish the objective, a multi-step
morphological analysis of the space of the city has been carried out, in accordance with
the guidelines of Conzen’s methods with the employment of GIS tools.
Firstly, the reconstruction of the formation of the space of Katowice, which was indispensable
for further research, was undertaken. Genetic factors conditioning the course of
the evolution of the city, as well as the stages of its morphological and spatial development
were determined, and settlement units located within its boundaries were identified and
arranged stratigraphically. 70 historical settlements were identified—diverse in terms of
the time of their formation, their origin and incorporation in the borders of Katowice.
Subsequently, the morphological structure of Katowice was characterised. The city
was described in terms of its morphogenesis, physiognomy and layout. These three elements
were employed as criteria to determine 48 classes of structural units of the study
area and 178 units representing 19 of these classes. These units are arranged in a mosaic
and non-uniformly fill the space of individual districts. Therefore, Katowice has a highly
complex morphological structure.
In the following stage of the work, the evolution of the urban space of Katowice,
which has been occurring through the morphological and functional transformation,
was examined. These transformations were analysed both in time and in space, with attention
focused on their causes, directions and intensity. As a result, the phenomenon of
morphological and functional succession was observed in the space of Katowice. Further
research led to identification of the stages and types of this phenomenon.
The morphological and functional evolution of Katowice, over its entire area, was
characterised by isomorphism. The most important reason for the occurrence of the
evolution was industrialisation, while the other reasons were complementary or secondary, or referred only to a small part of the city. The main directions of the transformations
consisted in locating and developing industrial plants, and spreading of the residential
area. Currently, emphasis on the elimination of the industrial plants and the development
of services has been placed, however many new residential projects have been carried out.
The morphological and functional transformations in the urban space have been
resulting in replacing the existing morphological forms with new ones, and in changes
of the functions performed by this space. Taking into consideration the number of
transformations of the space in Katowice, three types of morphological and functional
succession were distinguished, and subsequently these types were divided in view of
the direction of the transformations into subtypes (32). The surface of the areas that
corresponds to the individual types is inversely proportional to the complexity of the
transformations characteristic of these types—the areas in which the succession has
not yet been revealed are predominant, whereas the smallest surface is occupied by the
areas that have undergone a three-phase succession. In addition, it may be observed
that the succession took place predominantly in the areas in the northern part of the
city, in the latitudinal belt.
In the last part of the monograph, the trends in the transformations emerging currently
in the morphology of Katowice (after 1989) were focused on. They are the result of the
interaction of two groups of factors—the consequences of the political transformation,
and the activities and plans of municipal authorities and social initiatives. The greatest
impact has been exerted by the revitalization of both degraded post-industrial areas and
urban areas, however the intensity and direction of the transformations of these two
types of areas are different. The revitalisation projects additionally vary in terms of the
impact on the morphology and function of the space. The most intensive changes occur
in the central part of Katowice and are related to the aspirations towards transforming
the centre of Katowice into a modern service and culture centre, the origin of the metropolis
of Upper Silesia. These transformations are accompanied by the development
of other parts of the city, oriented towards increasing its importance as a regional and
national centre. |