Ocena potencjału terenów poprzemysłowych w Ozorkowie – kontekst rewitalizacji

W artykule przedstawiono założenia i wyniki oceny terenów poprzemysłowych Ozorkowa – małego miasta leżącego w województwie łódzkim. Analizą objęto 12 obszarów w kontekście ich endogenicznego potencjału do wdrażania działań rewitalizacyjnych. Większość z omawianych terenów to korzystnie zlokalizowane pozostałości po XIX-wiecznym przemyśle lekkim. W ich współczesnej strukturze kluczową rolę odgrywają usługi, powrót do funkcji produkcyjnej i magazynowej, a także mieszkalnictwo. Znaczna ich część pozostaje jednak niezagospodarowana. Wyzwaniem jest także skomplikowana sytuacja własnościowa. Największym potencjałem cechują się niewielkie, centralnie położone tereny związane z XIX-wiecznym przemysłem lekkim. Najniżej oceniono z kolei predyspozycje najbardziej rozległych, peryferyjnie zlokalizowanych terenów po socjalistycznych zakładach włókienniczych i odzieżowych.

The article presents the assumptions and results of the evaluation of post-industrial areas in a town of over 18,000 inhabitants – Ozorków, located in the metropolitan area of Łódź. The analysis covered 12 areas abandoned, at least temporarily, by industrial activity, and it concerned the usefulness (potential) for the implementation of urban regeneration activities. The focus was on individual features of the areas and their immediate surroundings, ignoring external and general factors such as national law, the presence of an investor, or financial resources for investments. Post-industrial areas were assessed in five categories: physical characteristics, economic and legal factors, land development, the development of its surroundings, and transport accessibility. The study was general in nature, i.e. not focused on a specific type and purpose of the revitalisation project, which on the one hand constituted a significant obstacle in the selection of indicators for assessment, while on the other hand, it provided the basis for flexible use of the proposed procedure in comparisons on a larger scale. Post-industrial areas in Ozorków have their roots in the 19th-century textile and clothing production, which used to be typical of the Łódź Industrial District. The majority of the areas in question are the remains of the textile industry – wool and cotton spinning mills as well as fulling and weaving mills. Some of them were accompanied by traditional mills and dyehouses. For this reason, most of them were located near surface hydrographic objects (on the Bzura River banks and by three artificial water reservoirs). Taking into account the contemporary spatial and functional structure of Ozorków, apart from individual exceptions, the areas selected for the analysis are located in the oldest, central part of the city, surrounded by residential and service-type buildings of the rental type. The further away from the city centre, the younger and larger the post-industrial areas are. Those areas are generally characterised by good transport accessibility. Services, returning to production, and storage functions as well as housing all play a key role in the contemporary structure of land use. However, a significant part of the examined areas is undeveloped or returned to the state of urban fallow land, thus enabling the implementation of ‘greenfield’ investments. The complicated ownership situation is an important aspect affecting the possibility of re-integrating the analysed areas into contemporary spatial and economic structure of the city. On the other hand, a significant share of ownership or co-ownership of the Municipality of Ozorków may be considered an advantage. The procedure proposed in the article suggests that the greatest potential for urban renewal is attributed to small, centrally-located areas originated in the 19th-century light industry. On the other hand, the biggest challenge turned out to be the most extensive areas – the remains of the largest socialist textile and clothing factories, located on the outskirts of the town.