Profile

Martyna Obarska is an avid proponent of interdisciplinary approach to cultural and urban studies. She researches urban evolution and writes about it in scholarly and popular publications. She is interested in initiatives that bridge architecture, urban planning and civic initiatives in Poland and other countries.

She is the leader of the “Odporne Miasto” (Resilient City) program carried out by the Center for Research on Climate Change and Sustainable Development. She leads a team of SWPS University academics who have been developing a new strategy for the city of Sopot. She also lends her expertise to research on the needs of city dwellers, investors, and public administration. She co-authored numerous research reports, proposals, and strategies commissioned by municipalities, private entities, and NGOs.

She has extensive experience (over ten years) in conducting training sessions for municipal administration employees and stakeholders in urban processes.

Martyna is an experienced editor and journalist. She is Vice-Editor in Chief of Cities Magazine, the only Polish magazine about cities in Poland. She co-hosted an urban podcast at TOK FM, a news and talk, cross-country, radio station operating in numerous cities in Poland and online.

She is a co-founder of SAS Szkoła Architektury Społeczności (School of Community Architecture), a platform for education and reflection on the social role and responsibility of architects. To promote the ideas of SAS, she teaches classes at the Faculty of Architecture of the Warsaw University of Technology.

At SWPS University, she is the Coordinator of the Urban Semester of the School of Ideas program. Additionally, she teaches classes for students in humanities and design programs.