The socioeconomic status of cities and regions is nowadays determined by how they are positioned within the “space of flows.” On the continental scale, many types of such flows and linkages are developing most dynamically in Central-Eastern Europe – including in Poland.

The notion of the centre is characterised by semantic pluralism, as its meaning is dependent on the scale from which we view a given subject, even in the discipline of architecture and urban planning. The author refers to studies on defining city centres and downtown areas from the period of the second half of the 20th century, confronting them with contemporary theories (space of flows) in all aspects of the urban environment.