Background

The second of the series of Future City Games ‘With and for Praga’ played in cooperation with the authorities of Praga Północ district took place on September 8, 2010 at Sen pszczoły club.

Objectives

The streets, courtyards and old tenement houses of Praga are a magnet for representatives of the creative sector. From one side - post-industrial buildings, old tenement houses - an atmosphere of streets filled with people; on the other - the possibility of quite cheap studios or offices. Praga also has a superb location close to the city centre. The popularity of the district among representatives of the creative sector lasted since the end of the 90s. The clubs, galleries and studios present here for a long time influence its current attractiveness.

During the second Future City Game, the participants sought answers to the following questions: how to combine the development of the creative sector in Praga with the creative development of district’s space? How can residents, clerks, activists, artists and entrepreneurs cooperate within this process? Which particular places of Praga have the power to stimulate the district’s development? Where to seek common ground for the local community’s cooperation? How to make better use of commercial premises, giving easier access to people willing to rent them to work, organise meetings, create, act? Which particular places in Praga have the potential to become lively public spaces?

Winning idea

Praga’s cyclical event
The proposed cyclic event would primarily address the need for socio-cultural animation and breaking down barriers between creative industries and the residents, using the potential of collectively acting for the recovery of public spaces. The event would happen on every first Saturday of the month. All galleries, cafes, clubs, craft workshops and creative enterprises would be open to the public. The event would be located in the historical areas of Praga, and in summer the main street - Ząbkowska – would become a pedestrian zone.

It is important to enliven Praga’s courtyards – introducing flee markets there, displaying exhibitions, organising contests for the nicest courtyard, etc. The local community should be involved in all the activities relating to the event, under the watchful eye of a coordinator responsible for the event’s programme, information flow and promotion.

Winning ideas from the other teams

Forum of Initiatives
A new place providing a space for meetings and exchanging experience, ideas, needs and services, in order to create a new vision and activity of the district. The primary goal is networking people and initiatives for joint projects. The place would be an incubator for initiatives, a space for co-working, with places for rent for associations or entrepreneurs, conferencing facilities for workshops and other meetings.

It is important that the centre coordinated by an open-minded administrator – the Forum of Initiatives can not operate within the working hours of the local municipality office only; it has to be accessible almost around the clock. The mission of the Forum would be to map and monitor the activities of NGOs, promote their presence in Praga, link them with local entrepreneurs and residents, responding to the needs of proper communication and informoation flow in relation to the life of local communities. The Forum would provide professional support - legal, educational and psychological consultations on projects’ implementation.

Praga’s Dance Centre
The idea is based on the popularity of dance in pop culture and the lack of a professional contemporary dance centre in Warsaw. Praga’s Dance Centre would develop activities already existing in Praga, such as the ones performed at Wytwórnia Theater. Praga’s Dance Centre would bring together experienced dancers, choreographers and directors, regularly produce dance events, and invite guests from other parts of Poland and abroad to cooperate. The institution would cooperate with a particular group of residents for the ensuing years and stimulate their development, not only when it comes to dance, but anything related to it: scenography, promotion, production, etc.

Neighbourly activities
This is an idea for enlivening the ‘neighbourly movement’ in the district and networking rank-and-file initiatives with the activities of NGOs, local authorities office and entrepreneurs. The process should be coordinated by an individual/team located by the local authorities office. Activating the local community should happen through regular meetings in chosen urban spaces, made available by the city itself, or in cafes or similar spots. It should be taken into account that many of the people who would like to attend these meetings work during the day, so meetings should be held in the evenings.

The proposals for specific events: barbecue with neighbours; contests for children and youth for the most interesting courtyard; shows by local talent; meetings concerning the future of the district.

Spaces of social importance: Bazar Różyckiego (Różycki Marketplace) and the bank of the Vistula
There are places of some significance to Praga residents such as e.g.: Bazar Różyckiego (Różycki Marketplace). There is no revitalisation strategy for this spot; the problem lies also in the disintegration of property rights (there is not only one owner of this area) and lack of funds for revitalising it. If this were possible, Bazar Różyckiego could become another tourist attraction. Again, public-private partnerships are an opportunity for this. Bazar Różyckiego could also serve as an information point on nearby shops, services and cultural happenings.

Another idea for the local community aims at ‘taming’ and enlivening green spaces by the Vistula, as they are still unused (Praga is close to the river).