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Description
The aim of the project is to support the community of the Doły-Marysińska Estate in the City of Lodz in resolving a conflict between the Estate’s residents, the City’s authorities and an investing company. The conflict arose in 2021, when the City sold the former gymnasium building with adjacent area to the company. The plan is to demolish the building, cut down old trees and build eight high-rise buildings. The decision to sell the land was not effectively consulted with residents – they found out about the investment by accident. Residents are protesting because they fear increased traffic, noise, traffic jams and smog. In addition, the narrow streets on the Estate, unsuitable for heavy traffic, could be damaged. And the blocks will be built on unstable ground and cracks may occur. Residents are demanding that the City buy back the area and open a primary school in the building of the former gymnasium. The municipality ignores the residents, does not reply to their letters and does not meet with them. The conflict is escalating and intervention is needed. In our conversations with the residents the need has arisen to publicise the issue and mobilise more people to act. Support in dealing with officials and the investor is also necessary. As part of the project we will organise meetings for active residents of the Doły-Marysińska Estate (a group of about 20 people), provide them with legal support, advice and assistance in conducting the campaign. The residents of the Estate will learn about the planned investment and its consequences, including its negative impact on their lives. We will support them in their contacts with the City’s officials and the investing company (the parties involved in the conflict). We will encourage all residents of the City of Lodz to support the residents of the Doły-Marysińska Estate, and to get involved in changing the local policy regarding consultation of planned investments with the residents.
Summary of project results
Problem to solve:
A conflict arose between the community of the Doły-Marysińska housing estate in Łódź, the City Hall (UM) and the investor, because the Municipal Office, without agreement with the Housing Estate Council and the residents, decided to sell the school building to the developer and grant a permit for its demolition. On the school site, 8 blocks of up to 11 floors were to be built. Additionally, eighty- and hundred-year-old trees were planned to be cut down.
The residents'' need was to provide their children with access to a school or a place of social integration, and not to expand the estate, expose them to additional noise, traffic jams and cut down trees.
Schools around are overcrowded and children need a facility close to home. Despite this, the Municipal Office decided to sell the area and demolish the school (building a new facility would cost PLN 30-40 million, while the renovation of this one would cost PLN 1-2 million. Residents felt helpless that officials omitted them in such an important decision-making process, and we wanted to support them in their efforts to restore the building''s function as an educational institution.
The aim of the project was to create a space for talks between the City Hall and the developer, provide substantive support to residents and prepare them for talks, mobilize a larger number of Łódź residents to take action and limit to a minimum the investor''s plans related to the destruction of spatial order.
We supported the residents: we helped them mobilize and prepare to act for the common good and ensure sustainable social development (this is a lasting effect of the project). We provided them with substantive support, improved contacts with officials and councilors, and supported the publicity of the topic in the media.
In the long term, the project showed officials and the developer that the issue is important for residents who want to participate in shaping urban policies by changing local law and take legal action in public authorities and courts to fight for their interests.
Completed activities and products:
1. 15-min. film reportage and 2-3-min. spot.
Report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QuK1OypBhw
Spot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qzi-ZcEgHR8
2. Constant communication (e-mail, telephone) with a group of approximately 20 residents gathered around the "Doły Housing Estate Defense Committee".
The main group of recipients are people aged 30-64 associated in the "Defense Committee...", to whom we provided substantive support and in terms of publicizing the topic.
3. On May 30, 2022, approximately 40 members of the "Doły-Marysińska" Housing Cooperative participated in the meeting we organized between residents, officials and investors. We invited, among others: councilors (Bartłomiej Dyba-Bojarski was present), city authorities and the development company JHM Development and the Mirbud group. During the meeting, we showed the film report "Protest Harcerska 8/10" and facilitated an open discussion among residents on further directions of action.
4. Preparation of 2 articles and 1 podcast, their promotion in social media. and in the Civil Affairs Weekly.
Number of views in the period 01/01/2022 to 30/06/2022:
Spotify: 140.
YouTube: 147.
www.kampanierzy.pl: total number of users: 735; number of views: 1504.
website of the Institute of Civil Affairs: total number of users: 193,427; number of views: 317,108.
5. Developing and consulting with residents a proposal for a local resolution on informing residents by the office about planned investments. Nearly 500 people signed letters of support for the project.
Article on collecting signatures for the resolution: https://kampanierzy.pl/z-frontu/nie-chcesz-wiezowca-pod-swoim-oknem-przylacz-sie-do-akcji-pomoz-w-zbiorce-podpisow
Draft resolution amending the resolution on the principles of purchasing and selling real estate, leasing or renting it and putting it into use: https://instytutsprawobywatelskich.pl/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/WZ-OIU_Projekt_Uchwaly_11_04_2022.pdf
6. Organization of press conferences (April 7 and April 28, 2022)
Thanks to our experience in running campaigns, we were able to provide residents with support in the field of legal advice, procedures at the Łódź City Hall and support in soft skills (e.g. how to talk to officials and the developer).
Thanks to intensive cooperation with approximately 20 members of the Doły-Marysińska Housing Estate Defense Committee, the residents'' awareness and knowledge increased, which translated into a better quality of their activities. Our constant substantive support was crucial in helping residents plan legal actions (e.g. creating appeals and letters to officials and courts). In addition to measurable effects in the form of submitted letters and conversations, it also allowed for maintaining the civic involvement of residents and maintaining their willingness to conduct further substantive dialogue with officials and the investor.
Moreover, residents, equipped with knowledge and competences, have gained greater independence and faith in the sense of civic activities, which they will be able to use for other activities in the future.
The implementation of the project also brought results in the integration of various groups struggling with a similar problem, thanks to the media publicity of the protest.
Residents of other districts (e.g. Park Promienistych (Szary Szeregów), the Józef Montwiłł-Mirecki estate, the Retkinia estate at ul. Maratońska) received a signal that the matter could be effectively publicized and thus show the authorities that the residents want to be heard and feel the need for real participation in the processes of building a city or housing estate.
In turn, thanks to our preparation of the Citizens'' Legislative Initiative project, we were able to influence various groups of residents of other housing estates and officials. The implemented activities showed the officials that there is a need to change the process of informing residents about planned investments, so that they can effectively co-decide on the elements of the surrounding landscape, which constitutes the common good of all of us.