The main purpose of this article is to present facts related to the history of Port Praski located on the right bank of the Vistula river in Warsaw, which is currently being built. The subject of the consideration is the area and development of the former Port Praski, which project and the fi rst works began after the First World War. It’s spatial and functional connections with the downtown area and surroundings are also key issue. The article presents plans, concepts, projects and investments, furthermore theirs level of implementation. Signifi cant eff ort was made to answer the research questions concerning social expectations regarding the function and the direction of Port Praski development. In the final part of the article was made a comparison of existing revitalization works in Port Praski with HafenCity – the district of Hamburg, where the revitalization project has been already implemented for 20 years. However, comparative analysis revealed several signifi cant differences, allowed to conclude that Polish model of revitalization is only a partially identical with the approach applied in Western Europe.

Pojęcie centrum cechuje pluralizm semantyczny, gdyż nawet w dyscyplinie naukowej architektury i urbanistyki znaczenie uzależnione jest od skali ujęcia zagadnienia. Autorka odwołuje się do badań nad definiowaniem centrów i śródmieść z okresu drugiej połowy XX wieku konfrontując je ze współczesnymi teoriami (przestrzenie przepływu) we wszystkich aspektach środowiska miasta.