The service sector in small towns of the outer zone of the Upper Silesia Agglomeration

Abstract

The processes of metropolisation of the urban agglomeration wo rk, in favour of energising the spatial and economic changes in small towns located in its oute r zone, as well as in favour of the development of their specialized functions. The rate of the transformation of the functional structure of small towns located in metropolitan areas depends on many factors, so the formation processes of local poles of service and economic activity can take place in different ways and in different locations. The aim of the article is to present changes of the economic and functional structure of 10 cities having a population of less than 20 thousand, placed in the direct neighbourhood of the inner zone of Upper - Silesian Agglomeration. The following centres belong to this group: Bieruń, Imielin, Lędziny, Łazy, Pyskowice, Radzionków, Siewierz, Sławków, Sośnicowice and Wojkowice. The first part of the paper attempts to present the potential functions of small towns in the outer zone of the urban agglomeration, which is undergoing the metropolisa tion process. Later sections of the study present the basic characteristics of the small towns located in the immediate vicinity of the inner zone of the Upper Silesian Agglomeration and then attempts to analyse the changes in the service sector in small towns which constituted a direct base for the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union between 2002 and 2009.