LEVEL AND DIVERSITY OF HOUSING CONDITIONS OF THE POPULATION OF RURAL MUNICIPALITIES IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA OF POZNAŃ

Abstract

The main objective of this article is to assess the level and identify occurring differences in the level of housing conditions of the population of rural municipalities in a selected metropolitan area in Poland in 2004 and 2019. The Poznań Metropolitan Area (POM) was analysed. Studies were carried out based on data from the Local Data Bank of Statistics Poland (Polish Central Statistical Office). In the first stage of the study, selected indicators that illustrate the housing conditions of municipalities situated in the POM in comparison with other rural municipalities in the Wielkopolskie voivodeship were evaluated. In the second part of the study, a synthetic assessment of the level of housing conditions and their changes over time in rural municipalities located in the POM was carried out using the TOPSIS method. As a result of ongoing demographic changes in rural areas around Poznań, associated with the phenomenon of suburbanisation and the change in the functionality of these areas, which perform residential and service functions increasingly often, the level of housing conditions of the population is clearly improving. Better housing conditions distinguish rural municipalities situated in the POM in relation to other rural municipalities outside this area, yet the latter are distinguished by higher dynamics of changes in housing conditions in numerous study aspects.