Conditions and trends of social-economic changes of Katowice region

Abstract

The paper concerns the evaluation of determinants and identification of trends of social-economic transformations in Katowice region. This is the most urbanised area in Poland. In the conditions of central economy based on intensive industrialisation it was created into a traditional industrial region with abundance of jobs. In terms of demographic transformations, considerable migration inflow was observed here until the 1980s, which was influenced by economic investments and resulted also from the phasic character of demographic cycle. The beginning of political-economic transformations at the beginning of the 1990s revealed weaknesses of the hitherto model of extensive development of this area, which is evidenced by such phenomena as collapse of many industrial plants, old-fashioned branch structure of industry with domination of mining and metallurgy, which requires profound restructuring. All these result in large structural unemployment, which will still increase in the feature. This, in turn, causes the increase of disproportions in the conditions and life-style of the region inhabitants. The barrier of restructuring is inefficient amount of financial measures and the territorial scale of the region, therefore the realisation of restructuring programme requires financial support from structural funds of the European Union.