Representations and identities of Warsaw: A journey from the past, into the present, toward the future...

In the framework of social representations theory, this dissertation presents a two-fold research aimed at identifying social representations of Warsaw and Rome, according to the modelling approach. The first population under scrutiny includes 210 subjects from seven different nationalities who visit Warsaw for the first time. Their perception of the city before and after the visit is studied, taking into account their place identity, information sources and cognitive maps produced. The second population includes 30 Italian expat residents in Warsaw, and 30 Polish expat residents in Rome. Their social representations emerging from questionnaires and interviews are compared, according to modeling approach that tests a series of interrelated hypotheses. Each level of the research not only complements the other levels, but also helps to better understand the findings as a whole. Altogether, the research presents a complex picture of the cities of Warsaw and Rome, imagined and experienced, from the points of view of visitors and expat residents, based on perceptions expressed in writing, in speech and through graphic-projective techniques.