Wojciech Korbel

Planning of public spaces in Poland is a process based on two important factors. According to Spatial Planning Act communal authorities are responsible for creation of their own spatial policy. At the same time Constitution of Poland states that all authorities act only within the limits of existing law. All planning decisions which exceed legal boundaries therefore can be considered as illegal. To avoid problems, a question considering expectations of possible changes in legal regulations can be asked. A research poll has been addressed to a number of polish communal authorities. Gathered information allow to form a thesis that in the past years most changes in polish legislation concerning spatial planning did not follow expectations of local authorities responsible for planning of public spaces.

The dynamic development of information systems affects the ongoing socio-economic changes, shaping the possibilities of modern management also in the sphere of spatial development.

Against this background, the presented study attempted to answer the question of how the described civilizational progress affects the framework of the functioning spatial policy of Polish municipalities. The study was confined to matters associated with contemporary information transfer and its effects on public involvement in the process of spatial planning, as well as on the legal awareness of municipal government personnel in their individually applied spatial policy.

In light of the collected results, a significant discrepancy was diagnosed between the contemporary IT potential and actual measures taken by municipal governments, leading to the disintegration of planning processes and social conflicts. The work features an outline of proposed necessary reparative measures.

The process of Polish cities’ spatial development which belongs to the municipality’s own tasks is mainly a derivative of the spatial policy provided by local authorities. The process has to be implemented exclusively on the basis of law and strictly within the existing limits. Therefore, the question needs to be asked how do municipal authorities, responsible for local development meet their obligations and what are their main expectations? To answer this question a research questionnaire was sent to local authorities concerning their “perception of the Polish law and its effectiveness on local spatial development as well as expected changes in current legislation”. Based on the results, the work focuses on the capacity of municipal authorities to fulfill their planning tasks and the elementary problems they face, while carrying out their duties. The thesis deals with inconsistencies of the legal changes expected by local authorities with the changes implemented in the past. It also attempts to identify most necessary changes in present Polish legislation.