Abstract

The turn of the twentieth and twenty-first century is a unique period in Polish history, which results from the economic and political changes taking part at this time. These processes, reflected their mark also in the city space of Lodz. one of the negative effects of the transformation is deepening the contrasts in the use of space, occurring already in the urban space.. Several characteristic fragments of the city’s downtown (surrounding areas of Wolnosci Square, Reymont Square and Niepodleglosci Square) were analyzed and the new luxury housing developments, both located in the centre (barcinski Park) and on the rural outskirts (Nowosolna). A common feature of surveyed parts of the city is the appearance of very large contrasts between the old aesthetic forms of investing space and new buildings introduced in recent years. In addition to its own assessment of this phenomenon the authors try to objectify it, by examining the perception of new space by the users, residents, employees or customers visiting these contrasting objects. The scale of these contrasts in the opinion of the inhabitants of the city and the need for further changes in the urban space was analyzed and the direction of needed changes was determined.