Directions of the development of the Poznań agglomeration – remarks on the current cooperation and proposals of including neighboring municipalities in the City of Poznań

Abstract

In many respects, the motivation of municipal integration activities does not change. In the context of the challenges posed by the agglomeration of Poznań and neighboring municipalities, a group of residents’ common interests can be identified which call for a new, integration-related form of management to be implemented on account of functional connections. Misunderstanding of competition may lead to individual municipalities being excluded and marginalized in the region and the state. Consequently, the current benefits of cooperation will lose importance, which may translate into the fragmentation of the policy of the Poznań agglomeration. The metropolitan project for Poznań identifies the needs of the agglomeration, indicates the direction of activities in the field of public transportation, spatial management, security and sectoral cooperation. This project does not assume that different municipalities will be administratively merged, however, but is based on the principles of metropolitan governance. It refers to and implements a model of integration founded on common strategic goals that are feasible within the framework provided by national legislation and European models of the cooperation of local governments. Thanks to the new distribution mechanism of EU resources within regional policy, Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI), Poznań and the county of Poznań are encouraged to tighten cooperation. This integration spill-over may result in the emergence of a new model of metropolitan governance. A new kind of agglomeration-related cooperation executed above the level of municipalities calls for political action, frequently – for unanimity, establishing coalitions to promote certain solutions, or developing decision packages only partially satisfactory for their respective authors.