Podział terytorialny Rzeczypospolitej - spojrzenie krytyczne

Territorial division of the Republic of Poland - a critical view

Summary: The aim of this paper is the evaluation of the present division of Poland into the administrative provinces (voivodeships) established in 1999. Although some voivodeships bear historical names, the current divisions are based mainly on functional criteria. However, the present territorial system is different from any administrative division project presented before. For that very fact, it is worth examining whether some simple criteria have been fulfilled. Namely, the choice of cities designated as voivodeship capitals, the adjustment of provincial borders to reflect settlement structure, and the size differences among the voivodeships were taken into consideration. Table 1 shows the population of the 39 largest Polish cities and towns. Voivodeship capitals are marked with a bold font. Based on the size criterion, the choice of 11 voivodeship capitals is quite reasonable. Doubts arise when it comes to the next 7 capitals which count less than 300,000 inhabitants each. In addition to size, another important issue that arises when a city is being considered a potential provincial capital is its distance from other large cities. Figure 1 presents a combination of both criteria for towns inhabited by 100,000 to 300,000 people. It still does not explain the selection of smaller cities as voivodeship capitals. Radom, for example, is disqualified to be a voivodeship capital by its size as is Gorzów. Częstochowa has twice as many inhabitants as Gorzów and is not a provincial capital either. The most debatable case is that of Opole. It is a voivodeship capital with a rather small population and is located not very far from large metropolitan areas such as Katowice and Wrocław. Figure 2 presents towns with over 40,000 inhabitants with voivodeship boundaries cutting across their environs. The agglomeration of Katowice in the Śląskie Voivodeship is an important example of this. The boundary with the Małopolskie Voivodeship runs through the eastern suburbs of Dąbrowa and Sosnowiec. The agglomeration of Kielce and Radom is divided among three provinces. The border between the Mazowieckie Voivodeship and the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship cuts across the outskirts of Ostrowiec, Skarżysko-Kamienna, and Starachowice. Bielsko-Biała, Gorzów, Elbląg, and Tarnów are other examples of cities situated in close proximity to provincial frontiers. Most voivodeships differ significantly in terms of area and population as presented in Tables 3 and 4. Some provinces are closer to the average for the former 49 voivodeships (in existence prior to 1999) than to the average for the present ones. This fact cannot be explained in terms of population density differences as seen Figure 3. The largest voivodeship - the Mazowieckie Voivodeship - is quite populous. At the other end of the spectrum, there are some provinces with population densities lower than the average for Poland. These include the Lubuskie, the Opolskie, and the Świętokrzyskie voivodeships.

Słowa kluczowe: podział terytorialny, województwo, kryteria, ocena

Słowa kluczowe (w języku angielskim): territorial division, voivodeship (province), criteria, evaluation

Prace Geograficzne, 2009, z. 121, s. 263-275.

Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UJ

ISSN 1644-3586

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