Płock
Płock is a city of over 110,000 inhabitants, located in Mazovia, 100 km from Warsaw. Its proximity poses the risk of an exodus of young people, but also offers the opportunity to live away from the hustle and bustle. The city is experiencing migration changes, refugees from Ukraine and economic migrants from Asian countries have arrived in Płock. Poland’s largest river, the Vistula, flows through the city, and a route along its banks connects two peripheral settlements: Borowiczki and Winiary.
Each of us has taken coffee to go. Sometimes out of haste, sometimes to warm up, or to celebrate small pleasures in non-obvious places. Being able to drink coffee where we want, rather than where it’s appropriate, makes us feel free and safe. We build relationships with others then. By being in non-obvious places, we create them, and we challenge ourselves in new ways, improving our comfort level.
This is precisely the idea behind the plan. Culture, like coffee, can be brought from places “specially” designed for it, into places where people meet, where we feel “at home”. Then culture becomes a tool for social animation, building partnerships and strengthening social resilience.
Płock built the CuReAP based on conversations and the needs of residents. The results are the attractive location of Płock, with its centre located on a hill; city’s territorial layout and two watercourses that naturally cut off the Borowiczki and Winiary neighbourhoods from the centre.
It is therefore necessary to build social resilience in a bottom-up and partnership manner among residents who are most vulnerable to it. On top of this, peripheral settlements do not generate cultural offer on their own, undertake incidental integration activities, and form small neighbourhood groups that show potential for action.
Project activities will be carried out in two small peripheral settlements: Borowiczki and Winiary. Each of these settlements has its own peculiarities, which inspire the search for out-of-the-box solutions.
Will CuReAP, over the course of almost a year’s implementation, have a chance to create and implement the “culture to go” model, so that it becomes a pleasantly hot coffee drunk in the best natural circumstances? We are almost certain of this, but we would like it very much to find out in practice.