Characteristic Features of Urbanization on the Area of Silesian Province (Poland) on the Beginning of 21st Century

Abstract

The article discusses the specific problems of urbanization development in the area of the Silesia Province in Poland. The specifics of historical and economic development, as well as, the characteristic arrangement of towns, determine the shaping of many specific phenomena and processes relating to urbanization. These processes are unusual for Poland and also not often encountered in other European metropolises. The article describes the phenomenon of transformation of the Katowice Conurbation, the functioning of the so called “non-metropolitan” agglomerations or the collapse of the hitherto prevailing administrative structures due to the separation of some of their districts. A characteristic phenomenon is also city shrinkage and the specific trajectories of the suburbanization process.