IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i18p11572-d915812.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Planning “the Future of the City” or Imagining “the City of the Future”? In Search of Sustainable Urban Utopianism in Katowice

Author

Listed:
  • Valentin Mihaylov

    (Institute of Social and Economic Geography and Spatial Management, University of Silesia in Katowice, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland)

  • Stanisław Sala

    (Institute of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University of Kielce, 25-406 Kielce, Poland)

Abstract

In constantly expanding its fields of application, sustainable development is becoming the basic approach to planning and governing the twenty-first century city. This article examines sustainable urban development policies through the lens of utopian thinking and indicates the opposing scholarly interpretations of modern utopianism. On the one hand, this is approached as dreaming and fantasizing about the future; on the other, it is approached as well-calculated planning activities. More specifically, this article explores how the urban community in a post-socialist, post-industrial city faces the implementation of the challenge of a twenty-first-century sustainable development project. Using the example of the city of Katowice in southern Poland, the article examines three discourses of sustainable urban utopianism. It is first seen as strategic planning for a pursued better future; second, it is seen as an image of the city of the future; and, third, it is seen as a difficult-to-achieve vision for the city of the future in light of specific local barriers to development. Apart from Katowice’s successes in transforming its traditional industrial profile—based on coal mining—this study also draws attention to the successful construction of a new image for economic changes, urban design, and sustainable development, which has been confirmed by numerous recognitions at the national and international scale.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentin Mihaylov & Stanisław Sala, 2022. "Planning “the Future of the City” or Imagining “the City of the Future”? In Search of Sustainable Urban Utopianism in Katowice," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-23, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11572-:d:915812
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/18/11572/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/18/11572/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Seunghwan Myeong & Yuseok Jung & Eunuk Lee, 2018. "A Study on Determinant Factors in Smart City Development: An Analytic Hierarchy Process Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Dongho Han & Ji Hyun Kim, 2022. "Multiple Smart Cities: The Case of the Eco Delta City in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Carlo Francesco Capra, 2016. "The Smart City and its Citizens: Governance and Citizen Participation in Amsterdam Smart City," International Journal of E-Planning Research (IJEPR), IGI Global, vol. 5(1), pages 20-38, January.
    4. Anna Runge & Iwona Kantor-Pietraga & Jerzy Runge & Robert Krzysztofik & Weronika Dragan, 2018. "Can Depopulation Create Urban Sustainability in Postindustrial Regions? A Case from Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-18, December.
    5. Valeria Saiu, 2017. "The Three Pitfalls of Sustainable City: A Conceptual Framework for Evaluating the Theory-Practice Gap," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-23, December.
    6. Xuemei Bai, 2007. "Integrating Global Environmental Concerns into Urban Management: The Scale and Readiness Arguments," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 11(2), pages 15-29, April.
    7. Rob Roggema, 2017. "The Future of Sustainable Urbanism: Society-Based, Complexity-Led, and Landscape-Driven," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-20, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq & Cheuk Yin Wai & Nitin Muttil, 2020. "Vulnerability Assessment of Ubiquitous Cities Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-21, December.
    2. Ernestyna Szpakowska-Loranc, 2021. "Multi-Attribute Analysis of Contemporary Cultural Buildings in the Historic Urban Fabric as Sustainable Spaces—Krakow Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-25, May.
    3. Alessio Russo & Giuseppe T. Cirella, 2019. "Edible urbanism 5.0," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Cho, Ji Yeon & Park, Soo Kyung, 2023. "Key factors for sustainable operation of smart rural communities in aging societies: Voices of Korean community leaders," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Issah Justice Musah-Surugu & Albert Ahenkan & Justcie Nyigmah Bawole, 2019. "Too weak to lead: motivation, agenda setting and constraints of local government to implement decentralized climate change adaptation policy in Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 587-607, April.
    6. Tao Lin & Yunjun Yu & Xuemei Bai & Ling Feng & Jin Wang, 2013. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting of Urban Residential Consumption: A Household Survey Based Approach," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(2), pages 1-12, February.
    7. Karina RADCHENKO, 2024. "Factors influencing the content of Smart City initiatives(particularly based on institutional theories of organization)," Smart Cities and Regional Development (SCRD) Journal, Smart-EDU Hub, vol. 8(3), pages 55-64, April.
    8. Dirk Heinrichs & Kerstin Krellenberg & Michail Fragkias, 2013. "Urban Responses to Climate Change: Theories and Governance Practice in Cities of the Global South," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(6), pages 1865-1878, November.
    9. Jaroszewska Emilia, 2019. "Urban Shrinkage and Regeneration of an Old Industrial City: the Case of Wałbrzych in Poland," Quaestiones Geographicae, Sciendo, vol. 38(2), pages 75-90, June.
    10. Shuyi Xie & Elena Batunova, 2019. "Shrinking Historic Neighborhoods and Authenticity Dilution: An Unspoken Challenge of Historic Chinatowns in the United States through the Case of San Francisco," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-20, December.
    11. Francesco Pinna & Valeria Saiu, 2021. "Greenways as Integrated Systems: A Proposal for Planning and Design Guidelines Based on Case Studies Evaluation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    12. Azevedo, Isabel & Delarue, Erik & Meeus, Leonardo, 2013. "Mobilizing cities towards a low-carbon future: Tambourines, carrots and sticks," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 894-900.
    13. Jason Corburn, 2009. "Cities, Climate Change and Urban Heat Island Mitigation: Localising Global Environmental Science," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 46(2), pages 413-427, February.
    14. Yuta Uchiyama & Ryo Kohsaka, 2020. "Access and Use of Green Areas during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Green Infrastructure Management in the “New Normal”," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-9, November.
    15. Zsuzsanna Katalin Szabo & Zsombor Szádoczki & Sándor Bozóki & Gabriela C. Stănciulescu & Dalma Szabo, 2021. "An Analytic Hierarchy Process Approach for Prioritisation of Strategic Objectives of Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-26, February.
    16. Roman Roaljdovich Sidorchuk & Anastasia Vladimirovna Lukina & Sergey Vladimirovich Mkhitaryan & Irina Ivanovna Skorobogatykh & Anastasia Alexeevna Stukalova, 2021. "Local Resident Attitudes to the Sustainable Development of Urban Public Transport System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-25, November.
    17. Cezary Stępniak & Dorota Jelonek & Magdalena Wyrwicka & Iwona Chomiak-Orsa, 2021. "Integration of the Infrastructure of Systems Used in Smart Cities for the Planning of Transport and Communication Systems in Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-19, May.
    18. Karvounis, Antonios, 2022. "City diplomacy and public policy in the era of COVID-19: networked responses from the Greek Capital," Studia z Polityki Publicznej / Public Policy Studies, Warsaw School of Economics, vol. 9(2), pages 1-16, August.
    19. Margarida Rodrigues & Mário Franco, 2022. "Bibliometric review about eco-cites and urban sustainable development: trend topics," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(12), pages 13683-13704, December.
    20. Seunghwan Myeong & Khurram Shahzad, 2021. "Integrating Data-Based Strategies and Advanced Technologies with Efficient Air Pollution Management in Smart Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-14, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:18:p:11572-:d:915812. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.