City centres are supposed to serve as focal points for the civic and social life of cities.Warsaw hasn't had a clearly defined centre since the end of the second World War. Before 1939, seven squares* surrounding the Saski Park constituted Warsaw's urban core. The demolition of the city during the German invasion in 1939 and then following the failed Jewish Ghetto and Warsaw Uprisings meant that this area had been reduced to rubble.It was possible to restore a pre-war layout of the city at least partially. It was achieved in the Old Town, for example.But in the eyes of the communist regime the Warsaw city centre was supposed to serve important propaganda functions. This was the driving force behind the construction of the Palace of Culture (Pałac Kultury i Nauki - PKiN), which to a large extent shaped the subsequent urban development of the Polish capital. Swathes of tenement houses - fully or partly demolished and some even already rebuilt after the war - were annihilated to make space for this symbol of socialist realism.Following the fall of communism the PKiN's propaganda function has become redundant and the whole area has had an identity crisis ever since. The Palace remains a huge question mark slapped in the middle of the city centre. It used to host an indoor and outdoor clothing market in the 1990s. Swathes of it are currently devoted to car parking. Although the Palace itself hosts a number of attractive cultural institutions (Kinoteka cinema, Studio Theatre, Lalka Theatre, Dramatyczny Theatre, Kulturalna cafe, Museum of Technology), the concrete jungle around it makes anyone without a clear purpose for being there want to escape as quickly as possible.It has long been acknowledged that the space needs a revamp but the debate about what shape it should take has been painfully slow. Even recently, there have been voices by prominent local and national politicians calling for demolition of the building, despite it officially becoming an object of cultural heritage in 2007! But the vast majority of Varsovians have come to accept that PKiN is a symbol of the city and needs to be preserved. This consensus has paved the way for finally agreeing a new vision for the area, under a working name of Plac Centralny (Central Square).A multiple-stage architectural competition followed by a public consultation led to the selection of the design by architects from the A-A Collective.The design aims at making the space greener by adding tall trees next to the Palace and a tree nursery on the edge of the square, as well as a pond. Almost the entire area under the square will be taken up by car parking - this is cited by the authors as the reason why there won't be as many trees as many would have hoped for.Moreover, running paths along the pre-war street grid and marking the Warsaw Ghetto border will be a testimony to Warsaw's turbulent history. A unique feature of the design is demarking the main thoroughfare of the square in such a way that it does not lead to the main entrance of the Palace. It is an attempt at softening the building's dominance.Two new buildings which had been planned earlier - the TR Theatre and the Contemporary Art Museum - have been incorporated into the design.The road to agreeing on a new vision for the PKiN area has been long and frustrating.But it isn't the first time a plan for this space has been agreed. There have been multiple architectural contests since the early 1990s. Every time, financial and ownership issues paralysed local authorities and no action was taken. While the cost of implementing the project is estimated to be relatively low given the size of the land, the fact that some parcels belong to private owners (as a result of re-privitisation) may once again turn out to be an obstacle for the city authorities. Moreover, implementing the design appears to require passing a new local plan for this part of the city, which may significantly delay the works.Let's hope that these issues can be overcome and that we are closer to getting a new, more attractive city centre for Warsaw.*Bankowy, Teatralny, Piłsudskiego, Małachowskiego, Dąbrowskiego, Grzybowski and Żelaznej Bramy (https://warszawa.onet.pl/siedem-placow-nieistniejace-juz-centrum-warszawy/9qgnc)