Small towns in Poland - barriers and factors of growth

Abstract

Abstract The paper focuses mainly on the factors influencing the growth of a small town by giving the rank of all small towns in Poland. In addition, the author stresses the role of the land ownership structure for the future development of towns. The urban settlement system in Poland consists of 891 units among which there are 39 big and 180 middle sized cities. Small towns with the number of inhabitants lower than 20 thousand clearly dominate in this differentiated collection of all 891 cities in Poland (2007). 672 towns make over 78% and are inhabited by more than 21% of the country urban population. It can be said that the development chances of the country are influenced by the condition of small towns. Small towns differ significantly due to their origin ranging from the 13th century ones to the very newly established towns. Towns differ due to the population, from the smallest with the population less than a thousand to almost 20 thousand inhabitants what makes them similar to the middle sized towns, both in functions and morphology. The functions of small towns ranging from the agriculture centres, industrial towns to local services centres are also the factor of differentiation. Presenting the rank of all small towns in Poland, the author focuses on the problem of the landownership structure of towns, which seems to be an important element influencing their harmonious growth on the one hand and being a barrier to the future development on the other.