Dostępność dzienna w układzie miast wojewódzkich w Polsce = Daily accessibility among Poland’s voivodeship cities

Abstract

Daily accessibility as one of the measures of transport accessibility is an indicator that can be used, i.a. as relations between a given area’s transport system and spatial planning are analysed. The indicator provides a broad field for assessing the effectiveness of the transport system and spatial planning operating at a given time, while simultaneously indicating directions by which these may be improved. The main aim of the work detailed here was to assess whether and to what extent the current road system, as well as the layout of railway lines and connections, creates positive conditions for the development of the network configuration of Polish metropolises. In terms of application, the aim is to assess the level of implementation of the polycentric metropolitan network referred to in the KPZK 2030 document (i.e. Poland’s National Spatial Planning Concept through to the year 2030). The paper thus presents an attempt to determine the potential for mutual functional and spatial connections to be established or reinforced within Poland’s system of voivodeship cities. That estimation of potential was based on analysis of daily (i.e. within-the-day) accessibility among the cities in question. The measurement of daily accessibility was based on the time of individual (car) travel or that involving rail transport. The analysis further included three variants for travel within the space of a given day (i.e. with 4, 6 or 8 hours available at the destination). This allowed for the development of a synthetic index of daily accessibility by which to characterise selected voivodship cities, which might then be classified in terms of their potential for establishing functional and spatial interrelatedness. The results of the research conducted offer a broad insight into the potential for selected voivodship cities to benefit from participation in the inter-agglomeration network. Moreover, thanks to our research, it was possible to identify peripheral areas (in which development potential was relatively lower) – which therefore require the kind of additional activation and compensatory action foreseen by KPZK 2030. Such actions should certainly relate to improved transport accessibility among the system’s largest centres.