Even a few years ago, no one would have conceived a thought of Katowice becoming a city associated with culture. Yet, following a brief but intensive period of investment in its cultural infrastructure and cultural events, 2015 saw Katowice join the exclusive international club of UNESCO Creative Cities.

Has the city undergone a true cultural revolution? Is Katowice’s current en-vogue status just a passing fad, or could it be a herald of major changes in the city centre?

In order to find out, we teamed up with cultural researchers, designers, programmers and analysts to study responses given by 3633 participants in over a dozen local events, and analyse tens of thousands of posts published in social media and web-based information services. Although the presented results do not offer ready-made solutions and answers, they certainly do provide the data and tools necessary for the discussion and decision-making needed to navigate the city’s future development paths.

Shared Cities: Creative Momentum is a European cultural platform addressing the contemporary urban challenges of European cities. SCCM is a joint project of Goethe-Institut (DE), Czech Centres (CZ), reSITE (CZ), Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava (SK), Association of Belgrade Architects (RS), Hungarian Contemporary Architecture Centre – KÉK (HU), Katowice City of Gardens (PL), KUNSTrePUBLIK (DE), Mindspace (HU), Old Market Hall Alliance (SK), Res Publica – Cities Magazine (PL). Co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.