Inventing Urbanity: Urban Movements in Poland

Abstract

The article discusses the process of formation and transformation of urban movements in Poland. Conclusions are based on the data collected during the research project “Urban Social Movements in Poland” supported by the National Science Centre. For the requirements of the project was adopted a method of qualitative research using the techniques of in-depth narrative interviews, participant observations and secondary data analysis. The author conducted 30 in-depth interviews with leaders of urban movements from sixteen cities. The article describes the process of structuralization and the creation of the identity of the Polish urban movement and their role on the local political stage, stressing, in particular, their significant role as creators of a new discourse in Polish cities.

Theorizing Urban Movements in Pierre Bourdieu’s Terms—the Example of Warsaw, Poland

“…The rise of associations in both districts coincides with the dates typical for the emergence of urban social movements in Poland and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, namely, from 2007 to 2008 (Kubicki, 2020;Pluciński, 2015). However, in both of the cases studied, the milestones that initiated mobilization were different.…”

“…Over time, activists' demands came to focus on the poor quality of existing public services. As is typical of Polish urban movements (Kubicki, 2020), the organization was predominated by people of a similar age from 30 to 40 years, who had school-age children. They directly experienced problems related to education, such as overcrowding of facilities and the inconvenient working hours of after-school activities.…”

“…This has sparked interest among researchers from various academic disciplines, such as sociology, anthropology, geography, and cultural studies. Notably, authors have pointed out that classical social movement theories are incapable of grasping all aspects of the functioning of urban movements (see, e.g., Jacobsson, 2015;Kubicki, 2020;Pluciński, 2015). Since Manuel Castells (1977, 1983 introduced the term urban movement to describe collective behavior in cities, urban mobilization has evolved, and new forms of activism have emerged.…”

“…Although many researchers have analyzed the development of urban movements in Poland, to my knowledge, none of them have done so applying Bourdieu's theoretical perspective. The authors mainly drew on the theories of new social movements (see, e.g., Domaradzka, 2018Domaradzka, , 2021Kubicki, 2020), critical urban studies (see, e.g., Piotrowski & Lundstendt, 2016;Pluciński, 2018), or protest analysis (see, e.g., Kowalewski, 2016). An emphasis was placed on the values and identity-building process (Kostka & Czarnota, 2017; see, e.g., Kubicki, 2020;Łuczak, 2015).…”

“…The authors mainly drew on the theories of new social movements (see, e.g., Domaradzka, 2018Domaradzka, , 2021Kubicki, 2020), critical urban studies (see, e.g., Piotrowski & Lundstendt, 2016;Pluciński, 2018), or protest analysis (see, e.g., Kowalewski, 2016). An emphasis was placed on the values and identity-building process (Kostka & Czarnota, 2017; see, e.g., Kubicki, 2020;Łuczak, 2015). Few researchers have addressed the problem of the interconnectedness of social status, financial resources, social networks, and cultural competences behind the demands of urban movements.…”