The reconstruction and modernization of many inner-city complexes in Polish cities – started at the beginning of the 1960s – was largely based on Western models and experi-ences, as well as the doctrine of intensive development and industrialization. Movement and transport were one of the main assumptions of the Athens Charter, a document shaping the thinking of generations of urban planners and architects. Its creators, fascinated with motorization and the advantages of individual transport, designed a model of a city for cars. The adoption of these assumptions became the starting point for the acceptance of a number of transport interventions in the historic structures of cities. The aim of this article is to define the doctrinal premises and to analyze the phenomena in the reconstructed historical cities in terms of communication solutions. The article discusses the doctrinal assumptions, the evolution of transport and motorization, and describes the development of urban transport in Polish cities, as well as their impact on the transformation of historically shaped downtown areas.