Geography Matters. Environmental Factors that Affected the “Take-Off” of Lodz

Abstract

Zarys treści: Niniejszy artykuł, na przykładzie analizy gospodarki miasta Łodzi, stanowi kolejny przyczynek w coraz obfi tszej literaturze na temat czynników pobudzających wzrost gospodarczy. Autorzy pokazują, w jaki sposób czynniki geografi czne mogą stymulować bądź hamować rozwój gospodarczy w różnych okresach. W artykule omawiają przyczyny gospodarczej stagnacji miasta przez pierwsze cztery stulecia jego istnienia i następujący po tym jego szybki rozwój. W toku badań ustalili przede wszystkim, że w przypadku Łodzi długofalowy rozwój nie byłby możliwy bez kilku czynników środowi-skowych, które pozwoliły podjąć dobre decyzje i zapewniły miastu stabilność instytucjonalną. The content outline:The paper contributes to a growing body of literature on factors triggering economic growth by providing an analysis of the case of city of Lodz. We demonstrate how geographical factors can play their roles as incentives or hindrances of economic development in different periods of time. The paper discusses the reasons for the city's economic stagnation for the four fi rst centuries of its existence and the subsequent rapid growth. The main fi nding is that in the case of Lodz, the long-term development would not be possible without a few environmental factors which supported to make good decisions and to impose institutional stabilization of the city.

The Role of Immigrants in the ‘Take-Offs’ of Eastern European ‘Manchesters’. Comparative Case Studies of Three Cities: Lodz, Tampere and Ivanovo

“…We should agree that the geography mattered. 40 But was also mattered was the significant scale of immigration. The German and Jewish immigrants (in different periods they were minorities, and once even the majority) strongly pushed Lodz on the path of dynamic development.…”

Cotton Matters. A Recognition and Comparison of the Cottonopolises in Central-Eastern Europe during the Industrial Revolution

“…The first one was in 1423, when Lodz received the city charter. The second one appeared in the 1820s and was linked with the decision of the authorities of the Kingdom of Poland (KP) to designate Lodz as a new industrial centre [7].…”