Overview

Poland was one of the original nations to adopt the Growing Up in Cities project in the 1970s. Under the direction of the social psychologists Tadeusz Tomaszewski and Maria Susulowska, it was the most ambitious project base at this time, involving work in downtown districts and peripheral new highrise housing estates in Warsaw and Cracow and in the rural village of Bystra Podhalanska. In 1996, the project returned to one of these original locations, the old working-class district of Powisle near Warsaw's historic Old City. The replication and extension of research at this location was led by Piotr Olaf Zylicz, in collaboration with Andrzej Eliasz and Krystyna Skarzynska from the original Polish research team–all now with the Institute of Psychology at the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Originally one of the poorest working-class districts of Warsaw, Powisle gained a more mixed population in terms of education and professions under Communist housing schemes, and its streetscapes of old, pre-war buildings were transformed by the addition of highrise apartments in the 1960s and ‘70s. Separated from the rest of the city by the Vistula River, a steep escarpment, and busy thoroughfares, the district has retained its local tradition and identity. Eighty ten through 15 year olds participated in the project revival through drawings of their neighborhood, structured interviews, ratings of Powisle in comparison with the rest of Warsaw, and a game that simulated financial investments in the area and therefore required the children to prioritize their ideas for environmental improvements.

In general, the young people rated Powisle more positively than the rest of the city, although they considered Warsaw as a whole more interesting, often visiting big city stores, fast food restaurants, nearby streets and squares, and the Palace of Culture and Science. For these children, Poland's entry into the free market consumer culture was a taken-for-granted fact, and the momentous events of the fall of Communism in 1989 were already a vague and uncertain matter of history. When they were asked about changes in Powisle, nearly half said that they observed none, although many noticed new street names and store windows, increasing air pollution from increasing traffic, and other environmental gains and losses. About 80 per cent who noticed changes were of the opinion that the changes were for the better; but in study results that pose a challenge in terms of these young people's civic development, the majority expressed a distrust of politicians and the political system, and few believed that they could have any influence in shaping their area, despite their eagerness to work for the improvement of their environment if they could.