Earlier last year, in March, when my family was visiting Radom for an open house for a school, we first stopped by the American Corner Radom.
I had reached out to the Corner last Summer (2024) after my first visit to Radom and out of curiosity to network there. So later in Spring 2025, when we visited again (getting more serious about moving), we stopped by the Corner for some tea and coffee and a nice chat with the ladies working there.
They mentioned that if we moved there, they usually have a weekly conversation club, and the last person leading it recently went back to the USA. I thought it seemed like a neat volunteer opportunity.
Fast forward to late October 2025, when I led my first Conversation Club there.
The conversation club was set to begin at 16.30. We arrived early, around 15.45 and there were already 4 people waiting.
People started steadily trickling in and were eager for conversation. Copies of a recent Radomska Gazeta were on the table, and I knew the translation of the headline as I had stacks of this one at home for collaging with the primary school classes I work with.
Everyone took turns going up to the writing poster board and adding their thoughts about what they felt were the strengths of the city, while we also had a conversation about it.
So I started a conversation based on the translation of the first headline, ‘What is the power/strength of your city?’
By 16.30 we had about 12-13 people who joined in the conversation.
Everyone took turns going up to the writing poster board and adding their thoughts about what they felt were the strengths of the city, while we also had a conversation about it.
There was quite a lively discussion about the potential of Żeromskiego street and the role that the historic buildings and heritage play in this, including some barriers to revitalization such as complicated preservation laws, higher prices, and infrastructure updates needed.
Later on there was also a lot of discussion about the (positive) change of safety over the years but also how Żeromskiego street, in the minds of the older people present (we had some retired individuals and upper middle aged) used to be a lot more vibrant and how interesting it was for them to hear the perspective of the younger people present about this.
There was quite a lively discussion about the potential of Żeromskiego street and the role that the historic buildings and heritage play in this, including some barriers to revitalization such as complicated preservation laws, higher prices, and infrastructure updates needed. This first meeting and dialogue held the seeds to what would become our first study and survey in Radom.
At that first conversation club, there was a robust and fascinating discussion about this street- memories of locals of different generations about how that street was in decades past- eras of a vibrant pedestrian street, eras of decline and unsafety, and a mixed view and experience today.
When I walk the street, I value its length and pedestrianized character. I, of course, see the empty storefronts and buildings and sense the atmosphere of decline but also that of potential. As I speak with local residents, business owners, experts, and city officials, I begin to get a picture of the diverse challenges to revitalization – many of them, in my observation, being quite specifically issues of historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and also city image. The issues are, of course, very unique to the local context and quite fascinating.
I’m also transported, mentally, back to my ‘homeland’ where issues of Main Street revival are front and center in many local and regional discourses on revitalization, heritage, local economy, and community.
This coming week, we will host our first workshop for a community-engaged research study on a very specific and landmark space in the city of Radom – Żeromskiego Street. We are beginning with a workshop at a local senior center, where retired senior locals will have the opportunity to engage in transcribed interviews and a survey experience on their memories and perceptions of this street, as well as some other aspects of local urbanism.
The American Corner is an institute to foster cooperation and exchange between Poland and the USA. Thanks to Ula and Karolina of the American Club in Radom for this opportunity to engage with the community. Thanks as well to everyone who joined!
-Annika
Thank you to all who participated in this session, and hope to see you at future sessions and workshops!