Perspektywy współpracy gmin należących do związku metropolitalnego w województwie śląskim w kontekście powstania Górnośląsko‑Zagłębiowskiej Metropolii

Abstract

The establishment on 1st of July 2017 of the first metropolitan union in Poland in Silesian conurbation opens new development opportunities to Silesia Region. In this way, two principal obstacles for sustainable development of this metropolitan area have been taken down, such as the lack of “metropolitan law” and the shortage of additional sources of funding for its activities. The Silesian metropolitan union has both, but would it be enough for efficient and integrated management of the metropolitan union composed of 41 non‑uniform territorial units? According to the author’s assumption, the success of the project of forming Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolis will depend chiefly on nonformal and non‑financial factors connected with the level of social capital of local political decision makers, the degree of confidence and consensuality in their relations. In order to analyze these factors, the author refers to the results of qualitative and quantitative research, identifying former structures and projects of municipal cooperation but also presenting the opinions of city counselors and mayors about the evaluation, priorities and perspectives of their cooperation.