Urbanization taking place in Poland in the second half of the twentieth century was characterized by high dynamics. The development of residential architecture in the years 1945‒1989 should be considered in the strict context of the Polish former economic system, which determined the framework for the development of the country. Due to the political transformation that occurred in 1989, Polish architecture preceded to then opened up new opportunities for residential development. The aim of the paper is to present contemporary housing conditions in Poland. The housing environment can be separated into three areas each based the relationship between the space and its user. In the first is the urban scale attribute of the public space in the housing estate (complex). The second the semi-public space character at the neighborhood level; and the third is the private space being the interior of the flat where the inhabitants have greatest ability to change. The paper focuses on the urban scale attributes of the housing environment and the quality of commonly used areas within the building.

Urbanization taking place in Poland in the second half of the twentieth century was characterized by high dynamics. The development of residential architecture in the years 1945‒1989 should be considered in the strict context of the Polish former economic system, which determined the framework for the development of the country. Due to the political transformation that occurred in 1989, Polish architecture preceded to then opened up new opportunities for residential development. The aim of the paper is to present contemporary housing conditions in Poland. The housing environment can be separated into three areas each based the relationship between the space and its user. In the first is the urban scale attribute of the public space in the housing estate (complex). The second the semi-public space character at the neighborhood level; and the third is the private space being the interior of the flat where the inhabitants have greatest ability to change. The paper focuses on the urban scale attributes of the housing environment and the quality of commonly used areas within the building.