Metropolitanization and Population Trends: A Case Study of Two Polish Voivodships

Abstract

The transformations of large cities and their surroundings leave significant traces on the regional landscape in terms of spatial polarization. We consider metropolitanization as a fundamental trigger for this polarization, resulting in the ongoing saturation of central urban agglomerations at the expense of more remote areas. This phenomenon is examined through two examples of Polish voivodships that are comparable in size, with their largest cities also being similarly sized. The difference lies in the settlement structure, where one is monocentric, and the other has two core areas. Hence, the goal of this paper is to examine possible differences of polarization patterns in regions with different number of cores. The analysis focuses on population changes in municipalities (gminas) over consecutive periods, delineated by significant events and phenomena such as EU accession and the economic crisis. The results reveal divergent trends within the regions; central agglomerations consistently grow, with the exception of the pandemic period, gaining regional significance, while residual areas in the region experience population decline. The results indicate that the settlement structure does not exert a significant influence on the speed and magnitude of metropolitanization.