THE CONVERSIONS OF THE CITY STRUCTURE AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON THE DEMOGRAPHIC PHENOMENA

ABSTRACT. The process of socio-economic change, which started in Poland in 1989, began the series of modifications in the structure of Polish cities. These changes embrace the economic sphere and the social sphere, as well as the habitable environment. The changes occurring in Polish cities resemble the processes present in settlement systems in highly developed countries. They take place, however, with some delay which is caused by the movement from the centrally controlled economy to the market economy and all the problems associated with it. The aim of the presented article is to show the influence of occurring changes on the socio-economic development and demographic situation apparent in small towns of the Wrocław Metropolitan Area (WrMA). The attempt of evaluation of factors promoting the development was undertaken. The value of chosen characteristics was analyzed for the set of small towns of Dolnośląskie voivodship. The analysis of chosen quantities common for demographic phenomena in a longer time cross-section (1995–2008) pinpoints the irregularity of development of specific towns, which may result in negative effects for the whole area in the future. KEY WORDS: Poland, Wrocław Metropolitan Area, Dolnośląskie voivodship, small towns, urbanization, demographic changes