They talk about the importance of water for the city. The Water - City - Quality of Life Congress has been launched

The aim of the City - Water - Quality of Life Congress is to identify measures to level out or eliminate the negative effects of the interaction between the urban and water environments. Hence, the event's participants discuss current challenges related to the economics of water cities, the water environment and how water management affects cities and their residents.

This is an important event on the map of intellectual events in our city. They refer to us as the Venice of the North and the City of a Hundred Bridges. We are the fourth city in Europe in terms of the number of bridges. This only proves how much the Oder River influences our lives. All of western Poland is strongly connected to the river. This greatly affects the quality of life.

Bartlomiej Ciazynski, deputy mayor of Wroclaw

Water is an element that changes the city

According to Prof. Arkadiusz Wojs, rector of Wroclaw University of Technology, water in connection with the city is an important area for the university. Its traditions are quite closely linked to the river. Meanwhile, the cities of the future are currently among its research priorities. So the congress' theme fits perfectly with the Polytechnic's profile.

The relationship between the city and the river is manifold. We know well that water is an element that can attack a city. On the other hand, the river connects the city to the rest of the world, it also adds to the city's attractiveness, charm, changes the city's appearance and air. It creates a city in an aesthetic and architectural sense. Besides, water is necessary for life, both for the residents and for the companies that install themselves here. Sometimes access to water can be a limiting factor.

Prof. Arkadiusz Wojs

Discussions in three thematic blocks

During the Congress, discussions are held in three leading thematic blocks:

• City

This block focuses on the relevance of the presence of water in cities not only as a resource, but also as an element of landscape, architecture, culture and economy. Hence, the thematic tracks presented deal with resilient and climate-friendly cities, as well as water in architecture.

• Water

Within this block, the focus is on maintaining the quality and quantity of water sufficient for the development and functioning of cities. Experts discuss effective urban water management, urban water policy in practice, and the development of effective urban water management under crisis conditions.

• Quality of life

Within the framework of this thematic block, participants discuss the implementation of programs that develop social responsibility for water and how it can be incorporated into the mechanism of urban development.

Relevant issues for cities along rivers

Among the topics discussed at the congress were "The water sector in the urban closed-loop economy," "The biodiverse city - the role of cities in environmental regeneration," "The healthy cities index," "The role of cities in countering the climate crisis," "The role and use of groundwater in urban development "and "The Oder River - a river without borders."

The main organizers of the congress are Open Eyes Economy and the city of Wroclaw, while the co-organizers are Wroclaw University of Technology, MPWiK Wroclaw, Foundation for Economy and Public Administration and Convention Bureau Wroclaw.

The 5th City - Water - Quality of Life Congress is being held both in a stationary format at the Congress Center of the Wroclaw University of Technology and online. To participate, one must register on the event website. The congress will last until October 25, 2023.