Fundacja Na Miejscu is a Warsaw-based foundation working where urban research, community participation and spatial design meet. Its stated aim is to create conditions for people in cities to come together, and it works with public authorities, businesses, designers and local communities on the social life of public spaces.5
The foundation uses placemaking to involve residents and other local actors in planning and carrying out changes to shared spaces. Its methods include co-design, spatial audits, action research and citizen science; its work ranges from courtyards and school surroundings to neighbourhood-scale projects.35 Its focus areas include sustainable mobility, ageing in the city, cohousing and climate adaptation.112
The organisation reports creating 25 initiatives, transforming 10 public spaces in Warsaw, and working with 150 residents to build five play gardens. It also reports designing eight pieces of urban furniture for older people, collaborating with 45 partners from 11 countries over 11 years, and publishing 17 research reports.1 These figures point to a Warsaw-centred practice with international partnerships and projects addressing wider Polish and European urban challenges.1710
Among its projects, Let’s Live Together is developing and testing a support service for cohousing initiatives in Poland, including research, co-design and proposed architectural, legal and financial tools.46 CoMobility used research, citizen science and co-design to develop mobility solutions around schools, while Get It Done in the City has worked since 2022 to improve access to public toilets in Warsaw.810 The foundation’s play gardens, created with residents and Warsaw’s Greenery Board, offer another example of its participatory approach.11