A City Built Together. Preparation and Implementation of the New Lodz Development Strategy Until 2030+

The aim of the chapter is to discuss the process of preparing and implementing the development strategy for the city of Lodz by the year 2030+. The document was written and adopted as one of the first in the country after the amendment of the act on the development policy planning. The preparation of the document was a long-lasting process, and one of the main challenges faced by its authors was to find an approach that would keep the strategy up-to-date also after facing unpredictable occurrences and shocks.
The draft strategy was developed in a mixed participatory and expert model. Public consultations were announced four times during the work on the document. The vision of the strategy states that Lodz is to be a co-created city that fully uses all available resources. The main basis for development is social capital, and the city’s competitiveness is to be built on the maximum use of all its resources. The strategy assumes the implementation of 4 strategic goals, formulated in response to the questions: “How to survive? How to develop? How to be attractive? How to offer something extraordinary?”. The document contains all the compulsory components, including a spatial model consistent with the Study of the Conditions and Directions of Spatial Development. Such a structure of the strategy was approved during public consultations. Nevertheless numerous proposals of the participants of the consultations was submitted, what allowed to upgrade the document in particular ideas and notes.
The Development Strategy for the City of Lodz 2030+ sets the framework for the decade of the city development, staying in line with higher-level strategic documents. According to the document, Lodz is to be a sustainable city with a high quality of life, taking care of spatial development discipline, which will bring the effectiveness in use of its infrastructure. Due to the fundamental role assigned to the co-management of the city by residents, it will be crucial to find the right formula for effective cooperation.