So far we’ve published 18 issues of the magazine + two English editions and over 400 articles. We write about everything that matters in cities – from urban politics, town planning, and architecture, to innovations in town management and public services, to the most creative ways to entertain yourself in a city.
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Marta Żakowska
Cultural animator and urban researcher. Co-founder of Cities Magazine. Expert in the field of sustainable urban space development. She initiated our research project dedicated to urban politics for senior citizens. In 2014 she received a scholarship from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage. Member of the Public Space Research Institute. She has written numerous articles about sustainable urban space and social exclusion, which were published in numerous Polish newspapers and architecture magazines. She leads seminars on cities and metropoles at the Public Space Research Institute.
VICE-EDITOR IN CHIEF
Martyna Obarska
Urban anthropologist. Expert on the use of innovative technologies in the city. Researcher of initiatives associated with urban architecture and social activism. Leads workshops with councillors, NGO workers, and senior citizens. Has worked with the Public Space Research Institute. She lectured on the history of residential districts in Warsaw at the University of Warsaw. Currently she is a planning assistant at a new urban studies module at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Author of a book about the MDM district in Warsaw.
VICE-EDITOR IN CHIEF
Artur Celiński
Political scientist, public life commentator, consultant, activist, expert on cultural policies and the significance of culture for urban development. Promotes innovative methods of managing public policies and introducing citizen dialogue. Vice president of the Res Publica Foundation, head of the DNA Cities team. Initiator and coordinator of the research project “DNA Cities: Cultural Policies in Cities”. Editor and co-editor of over 10 research reports on cultural policies in Polish cities. Researcher of local policies at the National Centre for Culture Poland. He was a consultant in the programme “Coalition of Cities” which was created to improve cultural policies in 7 Polish large cities. He is a guest lecturer at the University of Warsaw, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, and the Varsovian Fine Arts Academy.
Mirosław Duchowski
Co-founder of Cities Magazine. Painter, public space designer, professor at the Fine Arts Academy in Warsaw. Head of the Faculty of Art in Public Space and the Public Space Research Institute. Ecologist and cultural studies scholar. He has run the Institute of Culture and Communication (SWPS) for 11 years. Author of about 100 architectural and art projects in Poland and all over the world. He presented his art at 35 solo exhibitions and about 70 collective exhibitions.
EDITOR
Magdalena Kubecka
Editor of the column on small and medium-sized cities. She specialises in improving culture in cities, supporting local initiatives, and has expert knowledge on the functioning of public space. She has executed and supported social projects associated with the development of cultural facilities in urban areas for 12 years. Advocates for the subject of small and medium-sized cities in public debate. Popularises knowledge on the functioning of cities, she co-created the initiative “How the city works” and writes a blog “Miejski Instytut”. She spent a year in the USA studying urban studies and participating in the Placemaking programme run by the Metropolitan Planning Council. She has had a passionate relationship with her bike for several years.
EDITOR
Michał Sęk
Geographer, investigates the influence of the European Cohesion Policy on the development of transport infrastructure and cities in Poland. Works at the Centre for Member of the Centre for Research on Multiethnic Societies, responsible for the research on the role of decentralization processes in mitigating ethnic conflicts in Indonesia. Participant of the Darmasiswa Scholarship Programme organised by the Indonesian government. He has worked in the DNA Cities team at Res Publica Foundation since 2015, and has conducted research on cultural politics in Słupsk, Katowice, Jelenia Góra, and other cities.
EDITOR
Katarzyna Dorda
Landscape architect, city enthusiast, and the editor of the reSITE column. For almost 5 years, she co-created one of the largest architecture festivals in Europe, reSITE. She has mastered the art of moving home. She has worked in numerous design studios in Poland and Italy, and spent 2 years working in Prague, Czech Republic. In 2015 and 2017, she was the organiser of the exhibition cycle entitled “Design in public space” at the Cieszyn Castle. As an expert on multitasking and chaos management, she has worked on numerous projects since 2017.
EDITOR, EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
Zofia Penza-Gabler
Editor of columns Notatnik, Design, and Plus/Minus. Sociologist and qualitative researcher. Member of the DNA Cities team, where she researched cultural politics in numerous Polish cities such as Katowice, Krotoszyn, and Koszalin. She studied at the Institute of Applied Social Sciences, University of Warsaw, and the Institute of Sociology, University of Vienna. She has worked for the Stefan Batory Foundation and the Digital Centre think-tank.
EDITOR
Jędrzej Burszta
Scholar in cultural and American studies, field researcher. PhD student at the SWPS University in Warsaw. He has conducted research at the University of California, Riverside. Specialist in urban anthropology and history of American culture and society. Expert in researching links between politics and popular culture, especially interested in how Otherness is represented. He has been a member of the DNA Cities team since 2015, where he researched cultural politics in Słupsk, Katowice, Koszalin, and Łódź. Editor of quarterlies Cities Magazine and Res Publica Nowa. He co-authored a book about the memoirs of Legnica citizens from the period of the Soviet Army stationing in the city between 1945-1993. The book was written jointly with Zuzanna Grębecka and was published by Wydawnictwo Libron in 2015.
