The aim of the article is to show the opportunities and threats for the center of Kraków generated by the design solutions developed by a team led by Stanisław Hager in 1964 in the General Masterplan of the City of Kraków and adopted for implementation in 1967. The article discusses a set of ideas for the redevelopment of the traffic and transport arrangements around the railway station and compare them with paradigms for the development of city centers.

Using SHSB technique, composites "in situ" based on intermetallic phase Ni3Al reinforced with particles of titanium carbides or borides were fabricated. The reinforcing phase was generated by spontaneous exothermic reaction proceeding in metal bath in a metaVnon-metal powdered briquette. Thus fabricated composites were free from porosity, possessed high thermodynamic stability and were characterised by absence of chemical reactions at the matrix-reinforcing particle phase boundary, which effectively prevented structure degradation under high-temperature service conditions. The nucleation of the reinforcing phase in molten metal matrix produced clean interfacial surface, free from the presence of oxides and adsorbed gas, and better wettability and coherence between the matrix and reinforcing particles. Owing to the possibility of controlling the parameters of the reaction kinetics during composite synthesis it was possible to generate particles of a required diameter, volume content and distribution and to obtain, consequently, the required level of the mechanical and tribological properties. An important advantage of this method is the possibility of finally shaping by means of casting process the elements and parts of machines. In accordance with ANSI H35. I we use such nomenclature of composite for example Ni3AVfi05p - matrix Ni3AI, type of reinforcement TiC, vol fraction 5%, p - particles.