The Jazdów settlement in Warsaw dates back to the end of World War II, when the Finnish Jazdow houses were brought to Poland to support emergency needs. In 2011, local residents and city activists created an initiative called Otwarty Jazdów (Open Jazdów in English) to defend the historic housing estate from being demolished by the council, by hosting a series of social, cultural, educational and artistic events. The government finally agreed to preserve the houses, and the Open Jazdów initiative gradually move towards a public-social partnership model to self-govern and come up with a development strategy for the place. In 2016, with agreement from the council, the project “Community Management Model for Jazdów Settlement” started to implement. Through a series of efforts, 27 houses were preserved, together with other buildings and adjacent gardens, Open Jazdów have become the living and working environment for the residents, informal groups, urban gardeners, beekeepers, NGOs and creative minds. The bottom-up community is on its way to become a new, atypical neighbourhood [3; 4].
The history of the Jazdów estate dates back to the end of World War II. Finnish Jazdow houses, brought here in 1945, were used as apartments for employees of the Capital Reconstruction Office. From the 1960s, Finnish Jazdow houses were demolished gradually. From 2011-2014, there were heated discussions around Osiedle Jazdów, or even a civic battle, so that this place would not disappear from the map of Warsaw. Residents and city activists created an initiative called Otwarty Jazdów to defend the historic housing estate. In 2013, the Council of Warsaw adopted a resolution and agreed to carry out public consultations to discuss the future of the Jazdow estate. In 2016, with agreement from the council, the project “Community Management Model for Jazdów Settlement” started to implement [4].
The mission of Open Jazdów is to create spaces of grassroots social activities for the inhabitants of Warsaw, support neighbourly cooperation, promote an ecological lifestyle and preserve the historical and natural heritage of the estate.
To achieve their aims they organise a series of social, cultural, educational and artistic events, public consultation, competition for activities in the historic houses, meetings workshops and a conference. They furthermore are developing a public-social partnership and a development strategy for the place [1].
Currently, the area of Open Jazdów is owned by the municipality, with a small exception of parts that belong to the state treasury. Houses are a communal resource, and their use is decided by the authorities of the m.st Warsaw. All historic houses related to the initiative are managed by the residents, representatives of NGOs and informal groups. Strategic decisions regarding the estate are made by the Management Board and the District Council. Rent from activities in the properties goes to the Department of Management and Real Estate of the Śródmieście District.
A range of meetings and workshops held in the initiation stage led to the transformation of an informal group of activists and organizations into a constant informal public-social partnership with a basic organizational structure for the Open Jazdów initiative. The Open Jazdów group (NGOs and residents) meets every first Monday of the month to discuss about the processes and the issues of the place. [2; 3].
The funding sources include crowdfunding, the European Cultural Foundation and the Municipality of Warsaw. The initiative started a project called Open University Jazdów using funds from the participatory budget of the Central district, allowing them to gain an oversight of who proposes activities regarding the initiative and then choose to fund those proposals.
As a lot of the income is from events and donations by visitors, regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic made the financial situation difficult. They decided to launch an online fundraiser to target those who regularly visit Open Jazdów [1; 3].
Open Jazdów. Co-management of urban space [translated to English], https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349254974_Otwarty_Jazdow_Wspolzarzadzanie_przestrzenia_miejska, accessed August 2022
Towards the Urban Revolution: Open Jazdów – Partnership for Jazdów Settlement, a grassroots initiative that transformed the historical housing estate into socially and culturally active space co-managed by the residents of Warsaw, https://www.academia.edu/39674592/Towards_the_Urban_Revolution_Open_Jazd%C3%B3w_Partnership_for_Jazd%C3%B3w_Settlement_a_grassroots_initiative_that_transformed_the_historical_housing_estate_into_socially_and_culturally_active_space_co_managed_by_the_residents_of_Warsaw, accessed August 2022
BUILDING COMMUNITY AND CULTURE IN WARSAW’S URBAN VILLAGE – EXPLORING OPEN JAZDOW, https://cooperativecity.org/2020/10/13/building-community-and-culture-in-warsaws-urban-village-exploring-open-jazdow/, accessed August 2022
Open Jazdow’s, official website, https://jazdow.pl/, accessed August 2022