The foresight study, report and The Polish Cities of the Future 2050 ranking were prepared by a team of experts from the Polish Society for Futures Studies, Saint-Gobain Poland Group and the 4CF Strategic Foresight consulting company.

Warsaw took the top spot in the ranking. Wrocław and Katowice were also on the podium, closely followed by Kraków.

– The Polish Cities of the Future 2050 ranking could not have been created without foresight research on the probable paths of long-term development. Various scenarios of the cities’ development over the next three decades were identified, which allowed us to determine reference points for the ranking criteria – Henryk Kwapisz from the Saint-Gobain Group.

– Local government officials, urban planners, investors and the inhabitants themselves are gradually becoming aware that the transformation of Polish cities related to climate change and lifestyle evolution is inevitable. The outlined scenarios may surprise you, but the famous American architect and futurologist Buckminster Fuller stated that we should be the architects of the future, rather than its victims. Therefore, they should be treated as a warning and an incentive to change what we still can, even if time is running out – adds Norbert Kołos from the 4CF consulting company, which cooperated with the Saint-Gobain Group on the foresight aspects of the project.

Over the next 30 years, the development of Polish cities may follow one of the paths described in the report’s scenarios. Life could, therefore, become more complicated than it is today.

For more information, visit ptsp.pl or saint-gobain.pl.