Lodz : city of water

Despite being a landlocked city in the centre of Poland, water flows through the history of Lodz – indeed, its very name means boat. The 18 waterways that run through the city made a substantial contribution to transforming Lodz from a provincial town to a major manufacturing and textile centre, known as ‘the Polish Manchester’. However, industrialisation also contributed to destroying the natural resources that had been so important to the city’s development. The rivers were buried underground and eventually became part of the sewerage system. The 1930s depression and the economical transformations in Eastern and Central Europe in the 1980s destroyed the city’s textile industry. Since then the population has fallen to just under 800,000 inhabitants. Today Lodz is once again looking to its waterways to revitalise the city, in part by restoring polluted streams that were canalised or buried. An alliance of city managers, government agencies, academics, activists and investors came together to put water centre stage in the new urban development. Ecologically-focused restoration of rivers and green spaces was planned to reduce the risk of flooding, improve water quality in streams and aquatic habitat, and generate sustainable economic development. [authors abstract]