© Urban Lab RaciborzRacibórz turned an identified community gap into a thriving civic hub, giving residents, NGOs, and businesses free access to a shared space for dialogue, creativity, and collaboration.
THE SPACE RACIBÓRZ WAS MISSING
Good democratic culture needs more than elections — it needs spaces where citizens can meet, organise, and build something together. Racibórz identified exactly what was missing: NGOs lacked meeting spaces, freelancers had nowhere to work, businesses needed neutral venues, and residents had no informal place to connect. Urban Lab was created to fill all of these gaps at once, designed from the ground up with the community and shaped by participation. Free access to meeting rooms, a coworking area, and a café space made it immediately open to everyone.
BEYOND POLITICAL DIVISIONS, BUILT FOR EVERYONE
What makes Urban Lab genuinely distinctive is how it came to exist. Initiated by one political group and completed by another, it demonstrates that civic infrastructure can transcend party lines when the need is real and the value is shared. It is also the only Urban Lab in Poland co-organised with a private entrepreneur, bringing together public institutions and business in everyday practice. Regular events, workshops, and spontaneous meetings take place here, all created by residents for residents, with guidance but no cost, turning participation from an occasional event into a daily reality.
1,748 HOURS OF OPEN CIVIC LIFE
Within just six months, the results were clear. The space was open for 1,748 hours, hosting thousands of participants across 195 free room reservations and 89 open events. Two new non-governmental organisations were established as a direct result. Local communities significantly strengthened their networks of cooperation and partnerships. Most importantly, Racibórz now has a permanent, recognisable space for dialogue between residents, NGOs, government, business, and education — a living example of what local democracy looks like when it is built around people's actual needs.
