Human – river relations at various stages of development of water front factory settlements in Łódź

The purpose of this article is to analyze and clarify the circumstances which led to the current condition and degradation of the watercourses and rivers of Łódź. These rivers were the decisive factor in initiating and stimulating the industrial development of the city. A detailed analysis examined changes in the management of river waters in the vicinity of the socalled water-front factory settlements (referred to locally as “posiadła”) in the River Jasień valley. This was the location of one of the first industrial settlements within the city of Łódź and took place shortly after the city was included by the Polish Kingdom authorities (in 1821) in the group of so-called factory cities intended for the development of the textile industry - initially with emphasis on the cloth and linen making industry, with further transformation into the cotton industry. The article presents the forms and methods of use of the River Jasień in the period from the beginning of the 19th century up to the present. The specification assumed therefore the period of agricultural usage in the form of water mills, through textile manufacture, industrial production and the period after the fall of the textile industry. The River Jasień is an outstanding example of the way, in which people have “treated” the river during the successive stages of technological development of textile production. How close to the river they settled at the early stages of industrial development, slowly “moving away” from the river, leading to its gradual degradation, and abandoning it, restraining it to a covered channel, to ultimately forgetting it ever existed. The changes in these man - river relationships, as described in this document, can lead to conclusions for the future direction for the current spatial policy of the city. Also about these riverside post-industrial areas, with regard to the need to restore their original values and the need to protect and conserve their unique natural character and cultural heritage.