The planning stage of the investment–construction process is of a crucial importance. Its overall impact on the costs, construction time and the quality of design solutions is huge. However, in practice, little attention is given to this pre-design stage, except for public buildings or other buildings of particular importance. In consequence, the results of investment and construction activities are unsatisfactory. Therefore, the issue has been given careful consideration in this paper. The paper discusses the issue of programming urban revitalization, emphasizing its socio-economic importance. To illustrate the complexity of revitalization projects planning, the author draws attention to social, economic, technical and organisational factors, such as public participation, reorganization and revaluation of land use planning, rationalization of energy use, organization and management of revitalization processes, as well as technical progress. Summarising the paper, the author concludes that in order to improve the quality of life of town residents and to protect material national heritage, it is indispensable to continuously revitalize subsequent town areas.