The aim of the paper is to present the metropolis of Wroclaw with special emphasis laid upon its socio-economic development. Starting with a concise presentation of the history of the city after the political and economic transition, we subsequently carry out a descriptive analysis of the economic development of Wroclaw and its specifics. It provides us with a grounding to highlight what a development narrative of the metropolis has been up to now and how it should be shaped in the future. Further on, we present the main challenges for the development path of Wroclaw. With obtained outcomes we clearly show that the Wroclaw metropolitan area distinguishes itself against the background of Krakow, Poznan and Szczecin in terms of its development. However, the current development narrative seems to be coming to an end which implies a comprehensive policy feedback.

Internalization of external economic effects on urban sprawl affected areas. An example of the Krakow Metropolitan Area, The study is a discussion on economic externalities, with particular emphasis on technological effects. Attention is also paid to the problem of internalization of economic external effects caused by movement (transport) in areas affected by the urban sprawl process. The research was conducted for all communes of the Krakow Metropolitan Area (KOM), as a result of which the value of: directly incurred financial losses and the value of lost time generated by the necessity of commuting and return in the space of KOM were presented.

During the last decades we observe growing importance of cities for socio-economic development, what concern especially larger cities. Currently patterns of socio-economic processes are very diff erent from those registered at the end of XX century. An important role in revival of cities played cohesion policy of European Union. Poland is an example of very well structured settlement system what could be used as an asset to avoid medium development trap for polish economy. In Poland issues of urban policy formulation are much better addressed in last generation of development strategies on central and regional levels.

Management of metropolitan areas – foreign experience and their Polish implications. The aim of the article is to present problems of development of metrotopolitan areas as premises for creating various forms of territorial integrated management. The reference point is the Report “The OECD Metropolitan Governance Survey” (2014). The models of metropolitan integration were analyzed in both: “the top-down” legal and political solutions of European countries as well as “bottom-up initiatives” of building local government partnerships. The metropolitan reforms in Germany, France and Italy were discussed as good solutions. Against this background, the dilemmas of managing metropolitan areas in Poland, implementation of EU instrument – ITI and possible direction of metropolitan reform are presented.

Integration of transport subsystems in transfer nodes of public transport in Poznań based on city railway stations, Poznań, being one of the strongest urban centers in the country, has a significant zone of impact (functional area). A natural consequence of this development model are significant communication issues caused by dynamic development of the suburban area. The solution of those issues is assumed to be basing the public communication system on a railway junction and, on its basis, creating the Poznań Metropolitan Railway. However, to ensure efficient functioning of such a system the need arises to integrate it with other systems of transport using transfer nodes. The aim of this article is to illustrate the potential of creating a polycentric system of multi-modal transfer nodes, based on existing city railway stations (district stations). The study focuses on the perspective of the passenger and the primary research method is the in-depth interview. This enabled to learn the opinion and identify the needs of passengers who use the facilities which are the subject of this study. The study also concentrated on analyzing thee communication behaviors of passengers and analyzing thee functioning of city stations themselves. Additionally, information was also acquired regarding the approximate destination of the passengers’ travel, which further allowed to specify the hypothetical impact range of individual city stations. Results of the study allowed to develop a range of recommendations intended to optimize the functioning of selected city railway stations, from a technical, as well as organization and management perspective. They have the potential to become a basis for developing a concept of sustainable public transport with a metropolitan reach.

The work assessed the diversity of the natural potential in communes of Szczecin Metropolitan Area with particular emphasis on the areas of natural and valuable nature, protected area, forests and green areas. Established links between natural resources of municipalities and their valorisation using the SWOT analysis method (included in development strategies) and planned development goals. The basic method of use of the natural potential of the municipality are: to improve the quality of life of residents and tourism development. The impact of the natural potential on the quality of life is noticed primarily by urban centres, where a large share of green areas is noticed. The commune with a dominant share of protected areas (include Natura 2000) draws attention to the development of tourism based on natural potential. This is particularly evident in the communities that are characterized by a favourable location in relation to watercourses and reservoirs (freshwater and marine). However, in the socio-economic development, the natural potential is used in both these directions: to improve the quality of life and the development of tourism. In local strategic documents, it can be noticed that the transport system based on bicycle, pedestrian and water routes related to the natural potential can be eff ectively used in building cooperation between the central and other municipalities associated in Szczecin Metropolitan Area.

In a rapidly changing environment due to globalization, we are constantly looking for appropriate paths and strategies for cities and regions while taking into account the territorialisation of growth factors. As a result, we can observe an increase in development concepts that seek to define the conditions for urban resilience that could result in sustainable development despite an unstable environment. The author places his reflections in the context of Upper Silesia’s conurbation development challenges. He examines the current path of the region’s development and analyses the role that the application of “smart city” and “creative city” concepts could play in this process. Rather than comparing the efficacy of the two approaches, he suggests a reflection on the proportions of different bundles inside the development process. He also highlights the limits of a smart city approach and shows to what extent those limits can be exceeded through the application of a creative city strategy. Due to the economic and social diversity of the Upper Silesian metropolitan area, there is a significant opportunity for the development of the creative economy that could determine the competitive advantage of this area in the coming decades.