New city centre drives quality of life and investment: Maciej Fijałkowski, City of Warsaw

Warsaw’s long-term transformation of its city centre is strengthening the quality of life, attracting talent, and boosting private-sector investment, according to Maciej Fijałkowski, secretary of the City of Warsaw. Speaking to Real Asset Media at EXPO Real 2025, Fijałkowski said the Polish capital’s strategy focuses on combining heritage, contemporary development, and future growth, while positioning Warsaw as an open and inclusive city. “Our transformation track is one of combining history, contemporary and future in the city, along with a specific approach of being an open city for everyone who would like to come to the city of Warsaw,” he said. “Our goal is to make the city as good for living as possible — a city of high-quality services, but also a green city.” Fijałkowski said Warsaw is now one of Europe’s greenest capitals, supported by strong public transport connectivity and a high standard of urban services. A central pillar of this strategy is the redevelopment of the city centre, branded by the municipality as the “new city centre”. “Our priority in the last years and in the following years is the transformation of the city centre,” he said. “We transform public spaces and create better quality public space in markets, squares and parks to make the city as liveable as possible.” He added that high-quality public spaces, combined with safety and cleanliness, are key to Warsaw’s appeal for both residents and newcomers. “Warsaw is a very safe city — which is not obvious in European cities — it’s a clean city, and that makes it good for people to live in,” he said. According to Fijałkowski, improving liveability also supports economic development by expanding the city’s talent base. “By building high-quality public spaces in the city centre, we encourage people who already live in the city and those who would like to come but are looking for a place to move,” he said. “We try to show them it’s a good place for you.” He said this talent attraction is directly linked to investment potential. “If we enhance this pool of talent, if we encourage people to live and work in Warsaw, it gives them the opportunity to develop their skills and their dreams,” he said. “It also helps potential investors to make new projects.” Fijałkowski added that successful urban development depends on a balanced ecosystem. “All this requires all elements to work together — good investment projects from the private sector, high-quality services from the public sector, and demand from people,” he said. www.RealFDI.com www.realassetmedia.com