Two-Column Notes

Date: Name: Cassie Brown Class/Subject: EDTL 6940

6/14/2017
Topic or Chapter
Shaping the Economic Landscapes of Postsocialism? Labour, Workplace and Community in Nowa Huta,
Poland
Page # The Text Says I Say
Notes (key concepts, direct quotes, etc.) My notes, commentary

Pg. 762 Policies were adopted that, in theory,
reoriented attention toward the workers and
their needs in the construction of socialist
landscapes. The remaking of space to reflect and
support the new socialist order in this region
demanded developments that would provide
new workers and their families with the space
for social mobility and personal transformation.
Pg. 763 Each peoples democracy included, or was
supposed to include, a new city, built up around
a steelworks or some other industrial facility
occupying a key position in the first five- or six-
year plan.
With a surplus of workers and their families to
provide for, it is not only an opportunity for a new
industry but also necessary to some degree to boost
the economy. With such an addition to the industry,
it also promotes social changes in the area. Once an
area is provided with a substantial opportunity for
citizens, it begins to grow the city to include the
services that the average citizen needs on a regular
basis. It creates an industry for education, restaurants,
night life, car sales, grocery stores, and other
institutions that could benefit from such a
population.
While a great idea to promote job growth, what
happens when the industry falls flat and is no longer
needed? In that case, an entire city has been built
around one institution and it leaves a lot of workers
with little to no options, particularly those in the
industrial field with a lack of education. Often times,
theyre forced to vacate the area entirely to find work
elsewhere. The situation described in Nowa Huta is

Pg. 764 a cultural centre that organised a wide range of
clubs and evening classes, schools, bars and
restaurants, sports clubs and holiday facilities
Pg. 767 Solidarity was a union built on its community
alliances; it fed on these coalitions to maintain
its strength, especially at times of particular
threat, and it acted for the wider community,
representing community concerns in dialogue
with the state and providing for everyday needs
within the community.
unfortunately not unique to just Poland. In a
neighboring city from where I grew up, there was a
steel mill that brought workers from miles around
and the city was built around the industry. Today the
steel mill has since gone idle and the businesses
around the city are struggling to survive. The city not
only has lost many people but it became very
apparent that the steel mill and its workers is what
made the city so great. While unfortunate, there
should often be a plan to turnover failing industries
to keep a city from falling flat.
This quote reflects a series of businesses that rely on
an industry and the workers and their families that it
employs. Not only do they thrive due to the workers
from the large industry, but their workers also rely on
the business of those that live in the area to work.
Given that the article notes the families that the
workers bring with them, these additional businesses
that create around the main industry can provide
even more jobs for these family members.
The term strength in numbers often rings true
when it comes to the strength of organizations,
especially within the labor movement. If an
organization is divided, it makes it more difficult for
such an organization to operate effectively. The
united plan provides a sort of strength and common
ground for a group of individuals to have. Especially
if there is a situation of a common enemy or a
common goal, a constructed plan with widespread
 support would increase the likelihood of executing
such a plan.
Pg. 769 Across the region, the strongest tendency The text notes how the burst of activity gave
within the labour movement is toward hope that new forms of mobilization would develop
fragmentation following a burst powerful voice for workers, but acknowledges that
of activity and new trade-union formation in the the reality has been much more pessimistic,
early 1990s. characterized not only by fragmentation but by an
overall decline in unionization. It reflects the
reinvention of industry and their labor unions,
particularly after the fall of communism. But between
differing ideas and not enough momentum in one
area, unionization did not succeed but rather
declined.
Connections Is there a solution? How can these cities be reinvented so they dont lose population and large
to previous crowds that support their local businesses? I found that this topic is best related to the points made in in
reading (s) MR 1. While there are professional jobs in a society that require education and do well to support the
economy, an economy cannot go without industrial jobs to help the economy thrive. With that being
said, I believe a successful society is best suited when it works to support industries that positively
contribute to the economy. In addition to it supporting the economy, it provides for workers a livable
wage that then leads to citizens that find individual success.
In closing, the build up of a city around an industry is a great an idea initially but can be detrimental
if it eventually fails. In such a situation of failure, citizens and city officials should actively work to
reinvent the industry to continue revenue for the city and its workers.