Krakow’s Metropolitan Area (KOM), as delineated in the Malopolskie Province Spatial Development Plan, is comprised of 51 municipalities which meet the criteria required by the indicators included in the Plan. Once categorized as a municipality that fits KOM’s criteria, each municipality official had the opportunity to sign an agreement that would confirm their desire to be part of KOM. This decision is completely voluntary as no administrative writ has been imposed. The freewill of this choice is worth underlining because it reflects upon the effectiveness of KOM. The socioeconomic variation between KOM municipalities may significantly affect the interpretation of the notion “metropolitan area,” its general approval, and the decisions made by the participating municipalities, which are not always congruent with KOM’s needs. The main goal of this article is to analyze differences in the level of municipalities’ socio-economic development and to identify the benefits of KOM adherence. This research compares public services fruition and utilization in the municipalities with those in Krakow’s Metropolitan Area as a whole. KOM’s municipalities are very diverse as far as socio-economic development is concerned, something mainly shaped by natural environment conditions, various economic developmental goals (connected with existing economic and social potential) and the available technical infrastructure equipment. The present activities by the municipalities’ governments concerning public services are not in accordance with the ideals offered by KOM. This situation results from the large size of Krakow’s Metropolitan Area, semiformal groups of interest lobby and a lack of genuine bonds between most of KOM’s municipalities.
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Język Polski
English