Evaluation of Cohesion Policy’s Influence on Development of Polish Cities

The main purpose of the survey was to assess the influence of the cohesion policy in the 2004-2006 programming period on the development of Polish cities and their relations with regional surroundings. The survey covered all Polish cities with a population exceeding 90 thousand. In the event of urban conurbations all constituent cities were analysed together. In the end the survey covered 31 cities and 2 conurbations: the Silesian and the Tricity ones. 5 cities were analysed in greater detail by means of case studies (Warsaw, Poznań, Lublin, Zielona Góra and Rybnik). The survey examined three main aspects: (1) competitiveness and attractiveness, (2) social and spatial cohesion (suburbanization and renewal) and (3) diffusion of development processes in the surrounding of cities.

Various research methods of data collection and analysis in accordance with the triangulation method were used for the survey’s purposes. The analysis was founded on a database of projects of the Ministry of Regional Development. In addition, a number of data from the Central Statistical Office were used. Project documentation, that is applications for co-financing and final reports on projects’ performance, were taken into account. Also, in the course of the research raw data were collected using the following methods: individual interviews with representatives of municipal offices, marshal offices, beneficiaries, non-governmental organisations, organisations of entrepreneurs, commune offices from the area of big cities, experts and other stakeholders, surveys in communes  and among beneficiaries of renewal and URBACT projects, workshops: (focused interviews) for stakeholders and project inspections.