Problematyka małych miast w Polsce w świetle literatury

Abstract: Some Problems of Polish Small Towns in Scientific Literature. The paper presents a brief description of main researches dealing with the settlement geography of small towns as covered in Polish scientific literature. It appears that a majority of scientific work in the field consists of monographs on selected socio-economic issues, which concentrate on individual towns rather than on groups of Polis h towns. Taking into account the presented brief description of main researches in the study of towns, the most important scientific inquiries have been determined. As the paper argues, Polish scientists have extensively studied and covered the issues depicted. The most significant of those researches investigate: the location of small towns, especially from the point of view of their geographical and physiographical placement; the activation of towns (according to researches undertaken from WW2 till nowadays); the range of spatial interactions (usually according to Christaller's theory), as well as functions and functional structures of small towns (typically concentrating on the concept of the economic base): and finally, the structural analysis of land use together with functional and spatial structures of small towns. In conclusion, the paper pays attention to the application of scientific investigations into small towns