Evolution of the regional and local settlement network in Poland in the light of the idea of sustainable development

Abstract

Sustainable development in Poland is a constitutional principle and therefore should underlie all actions. For this reason it should be expected that this principle be present in legal regulations concerning development policies at various levels of the territorial organisation, including the spatial policy. The possibility of the implementation of sustainable development in different
spatial scales is determined, among other things, by the manner in which population is distributed in a given area. The aim of the article is to define which settlement network, regionally and locally scale, will support the implementation of sustainable development. Next, the paper also aims to analyse whether there are references in Polish legal regulations to the development of a network that will be compatible with sustainable  development. The analysis shows that it is predominantly a polycentric settlement structure that will help to achieve the objectives of such development, both on the regional and local scale. The Act on Planning and Spatial Development currently in force in Poland makes no references to the policy or regulations governing development of settlement networks, which may be one of the reasons for numerous inefficient, unsustainable spatial structures that can frequently be observed, as well as for the fact that the polarisation-diffusion model of development adopted in the Concept of the Spatial Development of the Country 2030 does not fully serve to achieve the objectives of sustainable development.