Polish Local Government’s Perspective on Revitalisation: A Framework for Future Socially Sustainable Solutions

Abstract

The principal goal of this paper is to investigate the views of local government officials on revitalisation priorities in Polish municipalities. To accomplish this, the perception of revitalisation objectives by local government representatives (who, according to Polish regulations, are responsible for revitalisation planning and carrying it out) was examined. A catalogue of revitalisation objectives, which were assessed by the respondents, was drawn up on the basis of a review of research on the conceptualisation and measurement of sustainable revitalisation and social sustainability at the local level. Exploratory factor analysis was the method used in the study. In total, the list of the examined revitalisation objectives includes 26 objectives related to the following revitalisation dimensions: infrastructure, community, economy, environment, space, co-governance, and inclusion. A survey of the executive bodies of 573 municipalities in Poland revealed a discrepancy between the sustainable approach to revitalisation advocated by the researchers and the perception of revitalisation objectives by the local decision makers. The study demonstrated that decision makers ranked objectives related to the physical dimension of revitalisation and selected objectives related to the social dimension of revitalisation and oriented at counteracting social exclusion by far the highest. The proactive objectives, related to the engagement, mobilisation and integration of the inhabitants, improvement of human capital, stimulation of the local economy and residential satisfaction, were viewed as definitely less important. The challenges facing revitalisation in Poland still fail to be perceived holistically by decision makers, which may hinder the building of strong and sustainable communities.

Bottom-Up Initiatives Undertaken by Local Governments to Support Entrepreneurship

“…We provide other training and consulting services 12 We provide advisory services regarding external financing opportunities for enterprise supporting the preparation of applications for EU funds) 13 Our entrepreneurs benefit from training courses organized by the community 14 We provide information on the community website about initiatives/events/proje development programmes 15 We provide information on the community website about available premises/real est regardless of whether they belong to public or private entities) 16 We provide information about available common (co-working) spaces available to entre of whether they belong to public or private entities) 17 We provide information on the community website about current competitions enablin innovative activities, such as vouchers for innovation Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.…”

“…Local government (LG) is increasingly involved in supporting entrepreneurship and local development [8]. The role of LG in local development has been widely discussed in research studies [9][10][11][12][13][14][15], which have pointed out that local, regional, and national entrepreneurial development programming is complex, dependent on the type of organization and stakeholders involved, and requires coordination. The research findings published in [16] indicated that policy makers need to understand the role of public sector institutions in the creation of local entrepreneurship, as this role can extend into innovative leadership in governance of enterprises and entrepreneurship at the local and regional tiers.…”

“…Predictors: (Constant), INCOME, EXPEND, UNEMPL; d. Dependent Variable: ACTENT. Source: Authors' own compilation based on IBM SPSS Statistics 26.Energies 2021,14, 6328…”

Use of public-private partnerships for revitalization initiatives in Poland

“…In the contemporary global landscape, sustainable development is increasingly central to urban planning and growth management, as highlighted in recent studies on sustainable cities (Przywojska 2021). Revitalization, which focuses on enhancing city identities, conserving resources, fostering economic development, and elevating the quality of life, is considered integral to sustainability (Ragheb & Ragheb 2021).…”

Assessing the Success of the Development Strategy of the Cittaslow Movement: An Analysis of Revitalisation Programs and Experts Insights on the Model for Small Towns’ Sustainable Development

“…Engage the community: Engaging the community is critical for the success of revitalisation efforts. Community engagement can involve public meetings, workshops, and surveys to gather input and feedback from residents and to encourage participation in revitalisation initiatives [13,[22][23][24][25].…”