Publications - Page 3 of 4 - Mazowieckie Biuro Planowania Regionalnego w Warszawie

CIVITAS.NET implemented under the URBACT program

The URBACT program was established by the European Commission in 2003. Its main idea of the program is to organize a network of European cities to increase the effectiveness of policies in alleviating economic, social and environmental problems in cities. The program places particular emphasis on spreading knowledge about integrated urban management and exchanging experience in this field.

Within the framework of this program, the Mazovian Regional Planning Office participated in the project CIVITAS.NET – The role of regions and metropolitan units in urban revaluation. The project was aimed at developing methods to effectively prevent the emergence of neglect and, where it occurred, methods for social activation and the creation of tools for improving regional and metropolitan policies in efforts to address declining urban areas by properly supporting local governments. The Working Group, led by the Generalitat de Catalunya, included the following regions: Mazovia (Poland), Glasgow and Clyde Valley (Scotland), Emilia Romagna (Italy) and the Hungarian government.

The work carried out within the framework of the Working Group allowed participants to familiarize themselves with the ways in which revitalization projects are being implemented in cities in other European regions. The analyses carried out identified the strengths and weaknesses of the revitalization projects presented, and in particular pointed out how regional authorities participate or should participate in the renewal of degraded urban areas. The experience gathered made it possible to develop appropriate conclusions so that regional participation in urban revitalization can become more efficient and effective.

The result of the joint work is the Final Report Civitas – A Regional Approach: The Added Value of Urban Revitalization, which describes examples of revitalization projects in member regions.

The program was implemented between October 2005 and May 2007.

Project NODUS

The NODUS project – in its initial phase – implemented under the URBACT II program.

Housing & Planning: integration of urban regeneration policies in the general regional development policies (Housing & Planning: Integration of urban regeneration policies in the general regional development policies).

Since mid-2008, MBRP has participated in the NODUS project – Housing & Planning: Integration of urban regeneration policies in the general regional development policies, which is a continuation of the CIVITAS.NET project. This project is being implemented under the URBACT II program. The theme of the project is the integration of urban revitalization policies into regional policies, relating mainly to housing, planning and transportation.

The Working Group is addressing the issue of how urban projects, carried out within the framework of revitalization programs, affect the balance of metropolitan and regional land use. It attempts to coordinate regional spatial planning with urban revitalization policies leading to strengthening the positive impact of urban, revitalization projects on regional development, and to maximize the positive impact of those regional policies that contribute (or could contribute) to the success of city-led revitalization activities. Conclusions and solutions developed as part of the project will be applied in drawing up (updating) future program documents of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship, e.g. development strategy, spatial development plan or Provincial Program for the Care of Monuments.

The leader of the project is the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of the Region of Catalonia, Spain), the other partners taking part in the work of the project are: Emilia Romagna Region (Italy), the City of Amsterdam, the City of Katowice, the City of Dobrich (Bulgaria), and the Alba Iulia Region (Romania).

Substantive work is currently underway. In the project, four thematic areas have been identified, which each partner must discuss in detail based on the example of their experience. These topics are:

identification of the supra-local level of administration – identification of the administrative level that could be the basis for the development and integration of revitalization projects with regional spatial policy, identification of problem areas – identification of real indicators, universal for all cities/regions, for the designation of problem areas, designation of these areas and debate on the mechanisms and criteria for identifying these areas,topics of intervention programs carried out in problem areas – determination of the content of intervention programs necessary for implementation in the designated areas (internal integration of sectoral policies in a specific area),monitoring of the sustainable functioning of intervention activities – definition of mechanisms to control and guarantee the sustainable impact of interventions throughout the area, both territorially and functionally, allowing the creation of links to coordinate revitalization policies with spatial, sectoral and strategic planning.

At the same time, in accordance with the requirements of the URBACT II program, a Local Support Group was organized to help clarify needs and identify the best ideas and practices proposed for use in the project. Also, it verifies the work and results of the project during and after its completion.

The Mazovia Support Group consists of:

representatives of the Office of Housing Policy of the City of Warsaw,representatives of the Warsaw School of Economics from the Department of Investment and Real Estate,representatives of the City Hall of Minsk Mazowiecki,representatives of the Radom City Hall,representatives of the Revitalization Forum Association,representatives of the Office of the Marshal of the Mazovian Voivodeship in Warsaw from the Department of Strategy and Regional Development.

As part of the project, a Local Action Plan is being prepared.

Local Branches

Specializations of branch offices of Mazovia Office of Regional Planning.

Branch office in Ciechanów

Environmental issues including:Environmental protectionEcological corridors and the green belt around WarsawNational parks, reserves and landscape parksProtection of forest areas

Branch office in Ostrołęka

Agricultural issues including:Rural and peri-urban areasAgricultural production

Branch office in Płock

Cultural and national heritageInterregional cooperationPopulation-related issues including:The labor marketSocial infrastructure

Branch office in Radom

Technical infrastructure issues including:The transport systemThe water and sewage system

Branch office in Siedlce

Urban development issues including:The power and energy sectorCity networkTourism and settlements

Finance and Accounting Unit

The Finance and Accounting Unit is responsible for day-to-day transactional accounting and ensuring timely payments of accounts by the Mazovian Office.

The Unit carries out a preliminary verification of economic and financial operations in terms of compliance with account plans. Documents are also verified in terms of completeness, trustworthiness and validity of documents before they are submitted for approval to the Office Director.

The Unit’s employees prepare numerous monthly, quarterly and annual reports regarding the Office budget, as well as reports on projects co-financed from EU funds.

Organizational and Administrative Unit

The Organizational and Administrative Unit is supervised by the Office Deputy Director for Logistics. Its main task is to provide organizational and administrative services for the entire Office. The tasks carried out by the unit include:

property management and upkeep, maintaining the Office archives, maintaining a storage of office supplies, supervising IT equipment, databases and the Office webpage,managing the IT network,planning and managing public contracts,purchasing materials, assets and services,securing transport needs,providing front office service,ensuring safety and hygiene at work,providing service for employees’ foreign business trips;providing service for projects being implemented by the Officeworking in the field of public relations.

Publishing Unit

The Publishing Unit is responsible for:

acquiring texts for publication, preparing texts for publication, managing the editorial process, graphic design, proofreading, typesetting and preparing materials for print, preparing public relations materials.

The Publishing Unit prints: large-format maps, mapping studies, promotional materials designed by the Unit (bookmarks, flyers, folders, calendars, business cards, banners, etc.) and the monograph series “MAZOWSZE. Analizy i Studia” (Mazovia: Analyses and studies).

The Publishing Unit coordinates the publication process of a local scientific periodical „MAZOWSZE Studia Regionalne” (Mazovia: Regional Studies).

Spatial Planning Unit

The main tasks of the Spatial Planning Unit belong to the category of managing spatial development. They include preparing the Spatial Development Plan for the Mazovian Voivodship and the Spatial Development Plan for the Warsaw Metropolitan Area. The two basic documents that define the conditions, goals and directions of spatial development of the region and the Warsaw Metropolitan Area.

The Spatial Planning Unit is also responsible for: monitoring the implementation of the regional spatial development plan and evaluating its validity, preparing studies and analyses in the field of spatial planning as well as preparing opinions, agreements and decisions concerning investments and local spatial planning documents defined by national law.

The Spatial Planning Unit has participated in several European projects: QULAIR (ARC), Nodus (URBACT II), Intra Policentricity (Metrex) and cooperates with foreign spatial planning institutions.

Participation in Projects:

ongoing:

Airport Regions Conference (ARC is an association of European regional and local authorities with an international airport situated within or near their territories)

accomplished:

D-Air– low – carbon airport areas (under Interreg IV C),QLAIR (ARC), Civitas.Net (URBACT),NODUS (URBACT II),Intra Policentricity (Metrex)Rail Baltica Growth Corridor – Baltic Rail – Growth Corridor (within the Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007-2013)

About office

The Mazovian Office for Regional Planning was established by resolution No X/37/99, adopted by the Mazovian Voivodship Regional Council on the 17th May 1999.

The office was set up after the administrative reform of Poland in 1999 by merging five spatial planning offices from the former regional capitals.Currently the organizational structure of the Mazovian Office for Regional Planning incorporates the Warsaw Office and 5 local branches in Ciechanów, Ostrołęka, Płock, Radom and Siedlce.

The statutory activity of the Mazovian Office for Regional Planning is fulfilling tasks set by the Mazovian Regional Government in the field of regional politics and land-use planning which include:

elaborating and updating The Spatial Development Plan of the Mazovian Voivodship – a regional planning framework which specifies the intended use, zoning and land development, as well as the distribution of public purpose investments,elaborating and updating The Regional Development Strategy of the Mazovian Voivodship,elaborating The Spatial Development Plan for the Warsaw Metropolitan Area,conducting studies, preparing analyses and reports in the field of regional development and spatial planning,elaborating and implementing projects financed by the European Union,evaluating applications under the Regional Operational Program,monitoring and maintaining a spatial development database and cooperating, in reference to the Mazovian Spatial Information System, with the Geodesy and Cartography Department of The Mazovian Voivodship Marshal’s Office,participating in working out regional development projects,evaluating government programs, directed to accomplish regional public objectives,publishing a scientific journal – “MAZOWSZE Studia Regionalne” (MAZOVIA Regional Studies),evaluating the key municipal documents in the field of spatial planning,preparing reports for the Regional Government,supporting the regional Committee of Urban Planning and Architecture, professional associations, and local authorities in field of regional development.

The NSB CoRe project – North Sea Baltic Connector of Regions

The Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw on behalf of the Regional Government of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship was participating in the NSB CoRe project – North Sea Baltic Connector of Regions. The project was financed in 85% from the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme. The total budget of the project is 3 307 648 euros, of which 140 000 euros were funds for the implementation of tasks of the Regional Government of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. The project was implemented between May 2016 and April 2019.

The NSB CoRe project, led by the Helsinki Uusimaa Regional Council, was continuation of the Rail Baltica Growth Corridor project, which was implemented by the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in 2011-2013.

The NSB CoRe project aimed to improve the sustainable accessibility of the Eastern Baltic Sea Region (EBSR) to freight and passenger transport. NSB CoRe focused its activities around the TEN-T core network corridor North Sea – Baltic, of which a key element is the E75 – Rail Baltica railway line. The project focused on supporting entrepreneurship in the corridor, creation and promotion of access points (railway stations and logistics centres) and spatial planning issues, including the use of the new TEN-T core network corridor North Sea – Baltic Sea to increase the capacity of metropolitan transport systems. Cooperation with the business sector and transport operators aims to increase interoperability and to contribute to the elimination of bottlenecks in border crossing areas.

The project involved 16 partners – cities, regions and institutions from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Germany and Finland and associated organisations – business support organisations and national ministries and agencies active in the field of transport and logistics. The Polish partners: the Regional Governments of the Mazowieckie and Podlaskie Voivodeships and the Institute of Logistics and Warehousing in Poznan. Other institutions involved in the project: the cities of Bialystok, Poznan and Elk, the CETC-EGTC Central European Transport Corridor Ltd. and the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure and Development.

Meetings such as international conferences, workshops and on-site visits were the basic forms of activity and co-operation between partners in the NSB CoRe project. Moreover, individual studies and analysis were conducted; entrepreneurs and local government units were involved in cooperation in the survey research.

For the Regional Government of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship and the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw – as the unit responsible for the implementation of the project, NSB CoRe was an opportunity to study the effects of Rail Baltica investments on the Warsaw Metropolitan Area urban node.

You can find more information about the NSB CoRe project on the project page