My new online project...

▼

Sunday, 6 November 2011

Town planning and the Sublime Aesthetic

Are we in New Mexico? Is this Aquacaliente? Or Iridium Springs in Arizona? No, this is Warsaw's new exurbs, a new estate being built in Nowa Wola, in the fields between Zgorzała and Nowy Podolszyn.

(The mud-spattered walls, lack of pavement and asphalt are typical of Polish town planning: build the houses, and in a few years the infrastructure will follow).

In terms of the architecture, this I like. Bold, moderne, flashing me back to the near-past yet into the future - the essence of the Sublime Aesthetic - the sunset helps too. This is ul. Plonowa ('harvest street'), formerly nothing more than a track running through fields between Nowa Wola and Zamienie.

Looking west towards the setting sun; we can see the radio transmission tower at Raszyn (well, Łazy actually). Note how flat the landscape is. Agriculture as far as the eye can see.

Question is though, for how long? Google Earth's current image for this area (dated April 2009) shows no sign of development here whatsoever. Zumi.pl (from this year) does. Now, six houses are complete (one's a show house) with a further eight in various stages of construction. Another development is going up on ul. Plonowa nearer Zamienie.

The pros and cons of living here? The pros - it's far from the madding crowd. The cons - it's far from the madding crowd. To get from here to Jeziorki in the morning would take 15-20 minutes by car (assuming dry dirt-track road and the level crossing gates not being down). Right now, it's all fields (left, look at that cabbage in the foreground). Trouble is, with the economy as it is, it's unlikely there will be much by way of infrastructure any time soon.

This time last year:
On the long road from Zero to One

This time two years ago:
Łódź Rising
at

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous7 November 2011 at 09:31

    Well, there are two types of development projects - "w centrum" or "w kapuście"...
    Whoever is stupid enough to develop (and buy) w kapuście should not expect that city auhorities will rush to cover the fields in the middle of nowhere with asphalt. There's still so much to be done "w centrum" and priorities must be kept...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7 November 2011 at 10:10

    You goota love Warsaw and the complete lack of zoning regulations. I live in a quiet suburb Jelonki. Residential houses. House across the road just built a second house - in the garden!! Old house with orchard next door has now been bought with view to demolishing and turning into 6 apartments. Further down the street we have a metal bashing business, a wood cutter, doctor. Higgelty piggelty and until it is sorted Warsaw will remain a 3rd class city for international people to live in. Not everyone can live in the more modern cafe society of centrum

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous7 November 2011 at 12:10

    @anon Either you accept second (or third) class civilizational standards, dreads of commuting and lack of sewage but still enjoy "quiet suburb" OR you don't and move to the city. You can't have it both ways - city in the suburbs.

    As for zoning regulations, you are correct. Urban sprawl is evil and development in Jeziorki should be banned.

    ReplyDelete