WARSAW URBAN-RURAL REGION - AN ALTERNATIVE DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE?

In this article questions are posed concerning the spatial structure of the Warsaw region and its development trends. These are presented against recent conceptual approaches to the study of metropolitan regions. Alternative hypotheses are discussed related to continuing spatial polarization, the emergence of polycentric urban patterns, as well as growing functional interdependence between the urban and the predominantly rural areas within the region. This is placed in the context of public policy objectives concerning both territorial cohesion and socio-economic growth; the latter hidden under the region's competitiveness label. Empirical findings from a comparative analysis of the location behavior of selected firms in the advanced services sector are referred to in the discussion. It is argued that in projecting the region's development path into the future, the concept of the urban-rural region is of particular relevance. Such an approach may also be adopted for use in developing spatial policy.