The development of transport infrastructure in Poland and the role of spatial planning and cohesion policy in investment processes

ABSTRACT

In Poland, systemic transformation, social changes and integration with European Union structures all instilled major change in the country’s system of spatial planning. This encompassed the general framework, the adopted procedures, the range of entities involved, and the sources and forms by which large new infrastructural developments attracted funding. This article seeks to offer an overview of the evolution in post-1989 Poland of transport infrastructure planning. Various aspects to the development of this infrastructure are explored, while the roles of factors of a political nature are assessed, also in connection with the related issue of new legislation developing and changing approaches to the investment process.

KEYWORDS:

• Spatial planning
• transport network
• cohesion policy
• infrastructure investments

Acknowledgements

This paper is based on the results of the ESPON COMPASS project and a research project no. 2018/29/B/HS4/01999 funded by the National Science Centre (Poland) – ‘Relativity and effectiveness of change in potential accessibility and the cost of building modern transport infrastructure systems (RECiPA)’.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The names of Ministries underwent change as governments came and went. However, the division of responsibilities was visible in each of the successive configurations, and translated into a dichotomy where transport was concerned, with development policy on the one hand and sectoral policy on the other.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the ESPON 2020 Cooperation Programme and National Science Centre (Poland).