On November 7–8, 2023, the River in the City conference was held in Warsaw, summarizing the two-year project Urban River Valleys Ecosystems. The event was an opportunity to disseminate good practices and experiences collected during the project implementation.
The event became a forum where we discussed rebuilding the potential of river valleys, shaping waterfronts and river restoration, barriers related to restoring rivers to their natural character, and ways to overcome them. Part of the discussion also concerned changing the mentality of both decision-makers and city residents.
Conference in numbers – 2 days, 120 participants, and…
The event gathered over 120 specialists from all over Poland and created a space for exchanging knowledge and experiences in managing river valleys. Group work, networking sessions (speed dating), world cafe workshops, and local visits created a space for exchanging knowledge and contacts.
Conference – first day (Tuesday, November 7, 2023)
Ilona Gosk from our Foundation and Monika Gołębiewska-Kozakiewicz, Director of the Greenery Board of the Capital City of Warsaw, opened the conference. The Director reflected on a fundamental change in managing green areas covering river valleys – from linear design to shaping semi-natural ecosystems.
Ilona Gosk described further activities and products of the project. Ilona Biedroń, from the Hektary dla Natury Foundation, shared her observations from the study visit to Oslo, which you can read more about here.
After the opening session, Tomasz Bergier led a panel discussion. The discussion revolved around the River in the City guide in the Sustainable Development – Applications series, which had its premiere during the conference. How are rivers perceived by cities (authorities, residents, and other stakeholders)? How have this perception and attitude towards rivers changed in recent years? What are the forecasts for the future? What difficulties in river management arise in everyday practice? How do we integrate stormwater and river valley management to move closer to the Oslo model? What native experiences can we share? Tomasz Bergier asked these and other questions to his panellists.
Anna Januchta-Szostak from the Poznań University of Technology presented a short history of waterfronts, from the times when the utility of rivers was dominated by navigation, energy, sewage, and water abstraction to the present times, focused on rebuilding ecosystem services and representative functions.
Łukasz Pawlik, from the Urban Green Areas Management in Krakow, showed how river parks can help reconstruct ecological corridors. The former capital has been gradually building a blue-green network since the mid-1990s, turning it into a flagship project over time.
Agnieszka Kowalkiewicz from Gdańsk Wody emphasized that the fear of water forced the city to act. In July 2016, heavy rains caused a flood in Gdańsk, which resulted in the death of two people, and severed traction caused a temporary breakdown of the city’s communication system. Since then, Gdańsk has become a leader in rainwater management.
Against this background, the Wisła District, presented by Jan Piotrowski – Plenipotentiary for the Vistula River of the Mayor of Warsaw. Warsaw presented itself as a separate example because it also focused on entertainment. Praga’s wild bank and revitalized boulevards on the other side of the river, from the Warsaw section of the Vistula, create a social hotspot with a summer attendance of up to one hundred thousand people a day. Therefore, the needs of nature defenders, water sports enthusiasts, and people using the event facilities require reconciliation.
In the afternoon, conference participants could take part in one of three thematic workshops:
Rivers for nature, nature for people – river restoration from concept to implementation.
Ilona Biedroń and Maria Wiśnicka led the workshop. The participants analyzed the barriers to implementing the “Concept of a functional connection of the Drzewiczki, Wąglanka and their valleys with the public space of the city of Opoczno.” They developed recommendations for further actions to protect the ecosystems of these rivers and bring them closer to the inhabitants. In the summarizing session, the Deputy Mayor of Opoczno – Tomasz Łuczkowski, thanked for the joint work and declared the implementation of the developed recommendations.
Shaping river valleys and urban waterfronts
Anna Januchta-Szostak and Tomasz Bergier led the workshop. Groups worked on concepts allowing for reconciling various, sometimes conflicting, interests in shaping waterfronts based on the RGBR approach. This approach broadens the perception of problem areas. The abbreviation refers to the colors used in spatial planning, where R (ed) stands for urbanized/built areas, cultural identity, and social needs; G (gray) – for infrastructure and economic conditions; B (blue) – for the aquatic environment; G (green) – the natural environment and ecosystems. Work on the SWOT analysis revealed strengths and weaknesses, conflicts and threats, and areas of synergy and development opportunities in shaping river valleys. The heroes of the workshops were beavers, which – depending on the point of view – turned out to be a strength and a weakness, as well as an opportunity and a challenge for the sustainable management of river valleys.
Involving city residents in the protection of river valleys
Agnieszka Czachowska and Ewelina Pękała led the workshop. During the workshop, we also connected with Kirsten Paaby from Phronesis SA – the project’s partner organization- who talked about her experiences with public participation in Oslo. We wondered how to strengthen and develop the space for dialogue and cooperation in local communities. We discussed what conditions should be met for participation to bring benefits. We decided which elements of the process need special attention when planning and implementing participatory activities in the area of river valley protection. The participants emphasized how important it is for all parties to understand participation as a process ending with developing recommendations that will be considered and influence the final shape of a given action or investment. Participation cannot be just a façade that undermines trust in the institution initiating it.
About 50 people participated in a speed dating session led by Agnieszka Czachowska. They had the opportunity to have quick conversations on topics related to the conference and get to know other participants better, which resulted in conversations lasting until late at night during the integration dinner.
Conference – second day (Wednesday, November 8, 2023)
We started the morning with a “world cafe” session. It was filled with presentations of eight good practices in river valley management. Training participants had the opportunity to sit at the table with selected speakers in four subsequent conversation sessions and ask about the details of the presented solutions. In the evaluation surveys, more than half of the respondents indicated this session as the most beneficial conference event.
Łukasz Pawlik from the Urban Green Areas Management presented local law measures that allow organizing Krakow’s rivers’ legal structure, purchasing plots, and protecting river valleys from urbanization pressure. He talked about how subsequent documents adopted by Krakow gradually contributed to building the blue-green network.
Agnieszka Mędrek from the Drwinka Association presented the activities of local activists aimed at saving the natural potential of Drwinka. Meetings with students, exhibitions, library events, and field walks combined with a reliable natural inventory and building knowledge about the river valley resulted in the Association’s success.
Elżbieta Stanke from Wodociągi Miejskie in Radom sp. z o.o. presented the restoration of the section of the Mleczna River in Radom, completed in 2021. Three hundred fifty meters of the regulated river have been restored to a semi-natural character, with the restoration of degraded habitats. Thanks to this, the rich river ecosystem is being rebuilt here, the retention capacity of the valley has been increased, and the problem of flooding after heavy rainfall has been solved.
Maciej Humiczewski from Komes Water Sp. z o. o. presented the situation of the Drzewiczki and Wąglanka rivers in Opoczno, showing how to reconcile the protection of river ecosystems with the flood protection goals. Stabilization of flows and gravel and stone rapids are just some topics discussed in this table.
Sebastian Szklarek from the European Regional Center for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Łódź presented plant treatment plants implemented in Łódź parks. They are used to treat water-supplying streams and operate despite large fluctuations in water flows and their location in a minimal space in urbanized areas. The table also included examples of investments from Gniezno and other Polish cities.
Agnieszka Kowalkiewicz from Gdańskie Wody presented the entire list of activities carried out by the parent institution, from projects with the Gdańsk University of Technology to the routine use of grass basins as part of the interventions carried out in “Black Spots” This is the internal name of flooding locations reported by residents via the hotline. Gdańsk is an example of a systemic approach to rainwater and the entire catchment area.
Joanna Rayss from Rayss Group showed designer tricks straight from the Young City in Gdańsk. Here, cooperation with a conscious developer and the need to apply the guidelines of Gdańskie Wód allowed the creation of a model housing estate with green roofs and division into micro-catchments. A follower of the “let’s design greenery, not focus on the names of solutions” method, she argued that careful selection of plants is essential.
Weronika Mazurek from the Wrocław Climate Protection Coalition focused on communication and social activities. She has enclosed her toolkit in the neat High 5! formula:
- Seeking attention, i.e., positively “irritating” the campaign’s recipients.
- Storytelling, understood as searching for the most relevant and personal stories.
- Cooperation with influencers.
- Staying up to date with hot topics in the media and allying with social movements, activists, and decision-makers who are ready to cooperate on a given river case.
This method was illustrated, among others, by media campaigns to protect Wrocław’s ecosystems.
Study visits
Nearly 90 conference participants participated in study visits organized by the conference partner, the Green Areas Management of the Capital City of Warsaw.
Some people went to the “Kamień” Educational Pavilion – the informal town hall of the Wisła District, where Iwona Zwolińska, over coffee, talked about how Warsaw cares for the sustainable development of the river valley. Then, the participants walked around the Golędzinowskie Meadows, during which Hubert Mateuszczyk talked about this ecosystem passionately.
The second group sailed in three wooden boats along the downtown waterfront of the Vistula, and guides talked about various aspects related to its maintenance:
- Jan Piotrowski talked about developing social and recreational activities on the Vistula River, attracting up to 100,000 people daily to its shores during the season.
- Paulina Pająk described how the city consistently developed the infrastructure of the waterfront and how it influenced the turnout on the Vistula River.
- Piotr Kołkowicz explained the precious ecosystem of the Vistula riparian forests and the challenges related to protecting this area, focusing mainly on education through joint cleaning and creating recreation zones that channel the activity of residents.
We want to thank the partners, panellists, and all participants for this two-day adventure!
The conference was organized as part of the Urban River Valleys Ecosystems Project. The potential of ecosystem services in the face of anthropogenic climate change.
Project “Urban River Valleys Ecosystems. The Potential of Ecosystem Services in the Face of Anthropogenic Climate Change” uses funding worth EUR 164,599.08 received from Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway under the EEA funds under the Environment, Energy and Climate Change Program program area: Natural environment and ecosystems.
It will last from February 2022 to December 2023.
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