Common Science Zone – directions for the development of the area of the Rawa Riverside
The University of Silesia acting as the leader of the acad. consortium K-ce-City of Science in cooper. with the Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolis and the City of K-ce, is preparing the assumptions for the redevelop. of the Green Science Zone in K-ce, which incl. the renaturalization of a section of the Rawa River valley and the transform. of related publ. spaces within the univ. campus. The aim of these activities is to strengthen the recreat. ecolog. and research funct. of the design. area
Local
Poland
City of Katowice (K-ce), the Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolis (GZM)
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): The University of Silesia in Katowice Type of organisation: University or another research institution First name of representative: Ryszard Last name of representative: Koziołek Gender: Male Nationality: Poland Function: Rector Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Bankowa 12 Town: Katowice Postal code: 40-007 Country: Poland Direct Tel:+48 32 359 13 00 E-mail:rektor@us.edu.pl Website:https://us.edu.pl/
The main objective of the SZ is to change publ. space according to the principles of sustainable develop., which will become a space involving local commun. in the process of popularising science and an example of the socio-econ. transform. of the region. The objective of the consolidation and the ECS is the impact of science on social and econ. life, and social and econ. life on the shape of science. The shift of emphasis on the dependence of science on life shows the considerable role it plays in society, for it is primarily in science that society seeks answers, solutions and support for all key dilemmas and challenges–environm., health, mobility, and other problems presently contribute today to a need for a profound civilisation transform. which is particularly intensely felt in the Silesian region. Working on the SZ’s assumptions will increase the visibility of the K-ce academic environment, which in the new model of change will create a new quality of publ. space management by integrating science and publ. space according to the sustainable develop. principles and including all the proj. stakeholders.
The concept of the initiative is to organise the area’s develop. around 2 axes that can function relatively independently. The 1st area is the Rawa riverside, primarily for relaxation, science and educ. The 2nd is the promenade extending across the campus area of the US in K-ce. The subject of the proj. is conceptual and analytical work aimed at creating spatial assumptions for the SZ, which will identify areas and optimal forms or structures for closer cooperation between univ. and, above all, influence the future development of the downtown area of K-ce, integrating science with publ. space. The aspiration of the proj. is also to build a community around SN, which will jointly create assumptions for changes in the space, where one of the main areas of exploration will be the analysis on storage and use of rainwater in the urbanized part of the city.
transformation
inclusivity
mitigation
green public zone
sustainability
The objective of the project: to create a riverside park with a recreational, retention, and laboratory function. It will be necessary to rebuild the Rawa riverbed and remove parts of the paved areas in adjacent spaces. The transformed area is planned to be filled with plants that are easy to maintain and care for. Neat the riverbed, greenery will be introduced to support phytoremediation processes, planted in such a way as to ensure that its effectiveness can be monitored in the framework of research conducted in the US. The most critical challenge: to create solutions for the riverside, functioning alternately as a leisure and educational area and a floodplain polder. At further stages of the work, the assumptions will be analysed and evaluated in terms of the impact of the design solutions on the conditions for the location of buildings in the neighbourhood and the possibility of reorganisation of the technical infrastructure network, as well as modelling preceded by the inventory of tributaries and calculations of the volume of water that can be discharged from areas located in the Rawa basin. The scope of the research includes: geology, channel construction, flood protection, hydrogeology, sewage system, social sciences, natural sciences, architecture, arts and others. The concept considers ideas for increasing the pedestrian accessibility of public transport stops: a new railway stop, an existing railway station, and bus and tram stops in the surroundings of Market Square. In addition: traffic calming, establishing a priority for pedestrian traffic, including for people with special needs (30 km/h zones, residential areas, pedestrian areas with occasional access to academic facilities, additional footbridges over the river) and limiting parking in this area. Restoration of native biodiversity – according to all analyses conducted for this area. Add. component: activities related to the use of rainwater, their storage and studies related to flood management.
The campuses of 2 univ. (US and UE) are located in downtown K-ce, and Rawa combines urban and university spaces. The Rawa river and boulevards are part of the city's blue and green infrastructure. This area has a large spatial, natural and, above all, social potential. Today it is an inhospitable, degraded and mostly concreted space. The idea is to restore the degraded environment to respond to the most significant challenges of climate change and, above all, create spatial conditions by introducing new features that respond to the needs of its users. The quality of urban space and urban development plays an essential role in the aesthetics and quality of life of residents. The characteristic feature of large cities is the disappearance of local relationships, and thus loneliness and alienation of their residents. The design of public spaces should therefore express integration and social inclusion. Public space in the everyday life of its users plays a vital role in meeting their various needs. Social contact with other people is a natural need for man, and the nature of the space we are in influences whether or not this contact is initiated. That is why it is so essential to design and transform public space in such a way that it promotes interaction between people.
The public space is designed to respond to the real needs of its users, i.e., residents. The assumptions proposed in the project are based on the best examples from Poland and abroad. At this stage of the project, a scenario is drawn for shaping the Science Zone area by: dismantling a concrete riverbed while separating the water stream and creating meanders and green areas of the campus storing the riverside rainwater. There are also plans to set up a laboratory in the Rawa riverside, prepare experimental gardens and create teaching and debating areas.
The design of publ. spaces, including acad. campuses should be an expression of the value of social inclusion and integration, and open access for all ages and people with disabilities is the crucial spatial determinant of SZ. The quality of publ. space – its architecture, furnishing, and design, as well as the accessibility and openness to inhabitants' different needs–directly impacts the number of users and the quality of their experience. The most desirable attributes are: greenery, spatial connections with cycling paths and other recreational areas, and multi-functionality – the spaces should also have a social function, serving as a meeting place for local and acad. communities. Designing multi-functional areas of the SZ aims to: use natural mat. to teach how vital contact with the natural environment is, expected to foster the strengthening of ties between the acad. and local community memb., and provide urban experiences focused mainly on pedestrians, air, and water quality. In the proj. assumptions, an important feature is that the planned publ. space allows users to enter the landscape and be an integral part of it. The Rawa riverside's planned area also considers all natural values: land morphology, local building mat. and plant species and history. The designed area will be equipped with small archit. facilities, water objects, and places for leisure, activity, and educ. purposes – they will be friendly for young and older users, with various needs and limitations. The presence of designed water areas will contribute to reducing summer heat and attracting and strengthening local biodiversity. The SN space has the potential to become a shining example of sustainable development using high-quality, innovative solutions. There is great potential at the consortium's universities to experiment and test concepts that respond to today's challenges of climate change, rising temp., new mat., increasing green space in cities, or improving local biodiversity
An essential element of creating the Science Zone is the involvement in the discussion of people already using the area being transformed. Participation was an essential and fundamental component of the actions taken through an unusual experiment made on campus. It consisted of the joint, actual construction of a temporary arrangement of a small fragment of the campus – a section of Pańki Street in the vicinity of the rectorate and the Faculty of Social Sciences – a place to talk about how users imagine the Science Zone. The prototype was organised around the needs of pedestrians – members of the academic community, employees or students of the US and residents resting by the river or moving along the riverside.
Fundamental changes took place on the fragment of Pańki Street and in the space adjacent to Bankowa Street, which is currently the main university square.
Area no. 1: we closed the road and removed two parking bays to build urban furniture and pots there, and in the installation thus prepared to plant a new composition of trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses.
Area no. 2: we set picnic benches that could be combined into one long table or separated and set up on the promenade with greenery, and seats.
We used "The Rawa Colour Chart" prepared by Prof. Justyna Szklarczyk-Lauer from the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice based on the photographic documentation of the river. For the pigmentation of paints needed for painting prototype elements, we chose a card made for the university section.
At the same time, as part of the analytical work of the project, studies, i.e., surveys and qualitative interviews, were conducted on a group of more than 300 respondents, appropriately selected in terms of a representative sample. There have also been more than 100 mini-interviews gathering opinions on how the area of the Science Zone operates and how it should be used in the future. The consultation process will continue throughout the project.
The Rawa proj. is very ambitious, and the final result will be the physical transform. of the SZ, so it requires an understanding of the subject and concrete solutions. Creating the comm. around the proj. is also crucial for the SZ. Due to the proj. nature, scale and location, it required developing a community-based process. For participant involvement to be satisfactory, it must be a coherent part of the decision-making process and take place by listening to users' opinions and involving a wide range of stakeholders (prototyping).
The list of key stakeholders includes: the acad. community, entrepreneurs, investors, artists, local assoc., civil society groups, and others. The fact that several intertwining instit. were involved and will be involved in the transformation process required the creation of a working group that started cooperation at a very early stage of the proj.
Stakeholder involvement at different levels is a crucial aspect of the initiative:
•local level: includes residents, the academic community, social groups and local companies. This part of the process is being implemented, i.e., by meeting with the community, working groups and questionnaires/interviews, and prototyping to gain opinions and comments on the initiative.
•reg. level: this includes provincial and Metropolis GZM officials, reg. organ. and companies. Cooperation with the Marshal's office and GZM has already been initiated. Meetings, conferences and workshops were held where the initiative was presented to obtain opinions and substantive support.
•national level: incl. govern. officials, organ. and companies from the country. Cooperation has been established with the Ministry of Science, which has supported univ. consolidation processes, including initiative.
•Europ. level: this includes EU officials, organ. and companies. This part of the cooperation requires implementation, but the application submission is one of the first steps in presenting the initiative at the EU level.
The first activities connected with the proj. began in ‘21, during ŚFN. Specialists from many scientific fields discussed how to restore the Rawa River and its boulevards - a degraded space - to nature and residents. One of the activities was the exhibit. prep. by the ASP "Theme River." For the artists, the river became a point of inquiry on industrial change, urban progress, environ. degradation, and modernity. The proj. is part of the interdisciplinary trend in urban studies. It addresses themes of the problem related to selected important aspects of the funct. of the modern city and its inhabitants. The adopted research assumptions allow for both the diagnosis of the current situation in the proj. concerning the aspects of the city's functioning analysed and the presentation of suggestions for change that could be made in K-ce resulting, i.a., in the use of dormant urban potential.
The basic concepts around which the proj. was constructed were the blue-green infrast. and the academisation of K-ce. These two general cat. are linked in a spatial context related to the area around the Rawa, especially the Rawa Boulevards, which are the axis connecting the city centre from the market square through the US to the UE.
The initiative requires cooperation between different fields and disciplines to effectively address problems related to sustainable develop. and the design of aesthetic spaces. Represen. of various fields, such as: environm. sciences, econ., sociology, archit., design, engineering, and communication, work together to provide interdisciplinary solutions and prospects for solving sustainable develop. problems.
Added value: representatives of different areas can complement each other with their specialised skills and knowledge, providing more comprehensive and thoughtful solutions. Collaboration between disciplines allows for better solutions to complex problems and contributes to more innovative and forward-looking solutions.
The ECS plans to create exceptional, distinctive spaces in which science responds to the most important challenges of the degraded region. In the case of Katowice, this role will be played by the Green Science Zone. It will cover the area on the banks of the Rawa river. The design of this space is done using modern, engaging methods such as the prototyping process near the Rawa. The residents, students, and employees of the US and consortium univ. were invited to work together to physically create the solutions desired by the users of the city space. All this was done to reject the hitherto dominant, investment-only nature of planning for change in the city. However, the Green Science Zone is not only places but also people, new perspectives, a fresh look at the world and an atmosphere of mutual trust.
The great advantage of prototyping is that it simply and tangibly shows the nature of the changes. This is not another abstract discussion but real action and checking its effects in practice. Moreover, each person participating in the event could have proposed improvements to the space using their experience. The thing is "here and now”, so the participants in the prototyping could immediately look at the consequences of their actions.
Thanks to ongoing conversations and observations, the organisers gained invaluable knowledge of how to arrange such a place in the future in line with the needs of users.
An extremely important assumption of the project is the integration of space and science. The consortium of 7 public universities made a commitment to creating initiatives that will be included in the Green Science Zone and will be an innovative model of science in public space. Networking knowledge and competencies of researchers and integrating space users through prototyping and planned communication activities create the conditions for building an interdisciplinary community of the Green Science Zone.
The assumptions of the SZ are based on current and planned acad. infrast. and on knowledge gained from scientific research and practical exper. The initiative envisages the creation of recommend. for the managem. of complex proj. on space and science integration. Their universality will allow it to be implemented on campuses of acad. cities.
The initiative also focuses on creating a model for the process of changing publ. spaces on which the assumptions of the SZ will be developed. An important elem. in creating the whole process is the context of sharing knowledge, as well as involving all stakehold. in creating the object. of the SZ. Therefore, the prep. of tools such as a scheme or visualisation of the assump. of the future SZ becomes extremely important in the context of the expansion of the target group, as well as the possibility of consultation and communic. of the whole process of change implement. First of all, these tools provide opport. for use in all inform. channels of both the univ. and the city. Under these assump., both the websites and soc. med. will become the primary tool for the popularisation and consultation of the SZ object. The results of this process will be made available during events: SFN or organised within the ECS, as well as during various conf. and presentations. The implement. of the SZ objectives will max. the social impact and the visibility of univ. and create the basis for develop. cooperative proj.
The proj. can become a case study on dealing with water in urban areas in a more sustainable and effective way, how to prototype publ. spaces, how to involve local comm. in the proj. process, how to communicate about change, how to create sustainable, friendly and inviting spaces, how to integrate science into publ. space, how to promote science. The proj. could also become an open showroom to demonstrate the potential for recycling rainwater and wastewater from surrounding buildings in a significant and positive way.
Our action is based on two directions of work, according to the principles of EMN (create, collaborate, experience, change):
Technical: Analysis, strategy, and planning. Analysis of existing information, development of a strategic vision for the area covered and specific implementation stages.
Social: Consultation, communication and commitment. Connecting with key stakeholders (institutions, experts, organisations, and citizens) and understanding their needs, opinions and priorities. The process will include meetings, visits, workshops or surveys to consult, submit proposals and obtain feedback.
Actions related to the technical approach to the process:
•the collection of technical information (research, maps containing information on, i.a., topography, soil, hydrology, existing underground infrastructure, information on water and historical data, regulations and provisions in force in the area concerned, etc.);
•understanding existing objectives, specific plans and programmes;
•conducting on-the-spot observation and documentation;
•creation of operational databases and tables with the necessary parameters (water, water levels, parking spaces, parking occupancy, etc.);
•collecting local, national and international good practices as references to projects of similar scope and scale, with particular emphasis on successful water landscape projects;
•design of graphic diagrams and examples of individual strategies.
Actions related to the social approach to the process:
•identifying and contacting key stakeholders;
•meetings with key stakeholders to understand their views, roles and plans in relation to space and transformation processes;
•identification of methodology, dynamics and technical needs for organising a series of workshops with key stakeholders;
•defining the specific objectives and methodologies of the workshops.
The model we are working on constitutes an annexe to the application.
The Rawa river and its blvds. are part of the city's blue and green infrastructure. The area has extremely high spatial, natural and, above all, social potential. Today it is an inhospitable, degraded and mostly concreted space. The potential of the Rawa Blvd. and its surroundings is undoubtedly an important part of the publ. urban network. Therefore, it is necessary to change the way we think about this space; it is important that this space becomes an area of inspiration and relations for the city and its inhabitants. The idea is to take steps to restore the degraded environment to respond to the greatest challenges of climate change and, above all, create spatial conditions by introducing new features that respond to the needs of its users. The creation of the SN concept poses a major challenge for both the city and universities located near it. The role of water and its importance for human life and the development of all human activities, its management and various possibilities to use it in creating a high-quality urban environment, the functioning of water and land ecosystems, ecohydrology, hydrological and hydro-technical issues, the contribution of water to shaping the urban microclimate are extremely important (f.ex. carving up the concrete trough with simultaneous separation of the water flow-water from sewage treatment plants, roads and parking lots transported by a collector, rainwater from roofs discharged into the transformed trough plus creating meanders and creating green spaces on campus to store rainwater linked to the valley). At present, in the face of global threats, it is particularly important to respect, manage and use water resources, particularly in urban areas. In the project's assump., the use of water elem. was undertaken in order to ecologically rebuild, revitalise and enhance the attractiveness of revitalised areas in the urban tissue, as has the vegetation, which will be used to preserve existing and create new ecosystems.
Work on the initiative began in ‘21 at the SFN-the largest science festival in Europe–during debates and discussions. Specialists from many fields of science discussed how to restore the Rawa and its boulevards to nature and the inhabitants. How to transform publ. areas in Europe's most degraded region? How can these activities be conducted with the idea of sustain. develop? How can science be used for this? The next step was the creation by the Pres. of K-ce of a team for the SZ, an interdisciplin. team-US, UE, PSL, GZM, the city of K-ce. The team is currently conducting diagnostic and analytical work on the area. The teamwork aims to prod a pre-feasibility study describing the most likely scenario for the proj. The next stage is the work of another interdisciplin. team consisting of 7 public univ. working together on the concept of integration of science and publ. space, creating recommendations and scenarios of the future for science in publ. space. The work of both teams will be completed in mid-2023. Coordination of the work of the teams is led by the leader of the consortium of universities: US. The teams work according to the following methodology: DISCOVERING, NETWORKING, TESTING, and IMPLEMENTING. The materials that will be created as a result of the work of both teams will form the basis for the preparation of a detailed proj. brief enabling the announcem. of the internat. competition for the design of the SZ in ‘24. The aim of the work of both teams is to respond to the needs of its users through numerous studies and prototyping of publ. spaces and to see how science can address the key issues of a degraded area and make a real transformation by ensuring that the area is returned to nature. The initiative is characterised by a systemic perspective which will help in managing, adapting and the very perception of the numerous choices we face. As the proj. evolves and becomes more complex, systems thinking provides an opportunity to spot new opportunities.
Concreted cities need natural space. Urban space should be arranged harmoniously and functionally, and city users must have space for work, rest, and recreation. The multi-functional approach is an example of revitalising the urban area and giving it new features, an example of the use of water potential and the development of the part of the city based on water and its wealth. The project shall contribute to the development of new competencies by:
• raising awareness of sustainable development – improving citizens' knowledge and skills on key sustainability issues such as climate, social equality and environmental protection.
• Reinforcing core competencies – developing core competencies: creativity, analytical and social skills that are necessary to address sustainability issues.
• strengthening cross-sectoral cooperation – strengthening cooperation between different sectors and interest groups in order to better address sustainability issues.
• support for innovation – supporting innovation and developing new solutions to help achieve the SDGs.
This project plans to create a more sustainable and aesthetically pleasing space using new technologies and solutions. The Science Zone is a project to create a science and innovation zone that will cover the area of the Rawa Riverside, where science, industry and business can develop.
The directions for the development of the Science Zone include:
• development of green technologies such as renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, innovation in the use of water resources,
• development of the biotechnology sector;
• development of a creative sector, e.g., design, architecture,
• development of the services sector, e.g., tourism, education, health, and culture.
The Science Zone project can contribute to the development of new competencies and specialisations in the region and to the creation of new jobs and investments in sectors related to science, industry and business.
