The process of revitalization of post-industrial areas in the Silesian voivodship in Poland

The complexity of metallurgical companies' operations in the 21st century means that the assessment of the social and economic effects of metallurgical production must also refer to the rational development of degraded brownfield sites and attempts to reconstruct their environmental status before the economic period of exploitation. Revitalization is to be understood as the repair of degraded areas through total projects (integrating activities for the local community, space and local economy) territorially focused and coordinated in cooperation with the local community in a planned and integrated way by identifying and implementing revitalization programs. The article focuses on showing the quantity, status and ownership structure of areas degraded by the steel industry in Upper Silesia. The main problems of regeneration processes were defined and the principles under which revitalization can be effectively implemented were characterized. The directions of managing the revitalization process were also indicated and the main assumptions for the model of the regional regeneration operator were presented. This kind of approach is particularly important in the case of significant territorial concentration of degraded brownfield areas, which are significantly threatening the environment in the form of so called "ecological bombs". Agglomeration of the metallurgical industry in Upper Silesia predestines this region to intensify its efforts to restore the environmentally sound areas of the region.