Fostering Local Urban Centers in relation to district train stations as part of the transition from a post-industrial to a sustainable city: a case study of Katowice

Abstract

The research problem investigates the application of the concept of local urban centers (LUCs) in transforming post-industrial cities into sustainable cities. The subject of the study is Katowice, undergoing a transition towards modern services, while also grappling with an industrial legacy that results in an imbalance of development processes. The idea of LUCs, developed in relation to existing and new district train stations, based on the concept of the 15-minute city, was proposed by the authors within the Katowice development strategy and further tested within the Urban&Business Lab workshops. The research showed, that although in a model approach, service concentration points and public transport nodes should be closely linked, in the existing conditions of Katowice, they almost always deviate from the ideal model. Nevertheless, in each of the cases analyzed, elements of functions and spaces can be observed that have the potential which have the potential to foster LUCs.