Abstract
The paper focuses on the downtown built environment (downtown waterfronts) and also on individual architectural objects which have an important function in such a space. The quality of the built environment affects its surroundings not only in a physical but also in a social way. To find the most appropriate ways of preventing the occurrence of the built environment pathologies in downtown areas, the study used the diagnostic technique of functional performance understood, among other things, as the ability to satisfy the stakeholders' needs and the impact of stakeholders' actions on their living environment. During the research, a comparative platform was found for the functional performance, the imperative of sustainable development and the ecosystem services of rivers and reservoirs. The investigations resulted in the creation of success indicators illustrated by examples of six voivodeship capital cities in Poland which have the strongest connection with the downtown built environment in waterfront areas, namely: Gdańsk, Szczecin, Warszawa (Warsaw), Kraków (Cracow), Wrocław and Poznań.