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Copyright of Tunel is the property of Ceska Tunelarska Asociace ITA-AITES, z.s and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tunel is the property of Ceska Tunelarska Asociace ITA-AITES, z.s and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article describes geographical directions of the international cooperation of the municipalities of big cities in France, Germany and Poland. The study was conducted on the existing twinning agreements of the cities in the years 1945-2009. Particular attention was paid to the years 1980-2009. As a big city was recognized a city with the population above 100 thousand inhabitants in 2009. The political changes of 1989 in Europe, influenced the cooperation of the cities. While before 1989 the municipal international cooperation in Poland was rather small and limited to one side of the Iron Curtain, the end of the socialist system resulted in the rapid expansion of the international cooperation. That growth can be identified especially for Poland. The geographical directions of the cooperation of Polish cities changed and moved from East Europe and the so called neutral states to West Europe. At the end of the period of the analysis, the links with East Europe were reestablished in Poland. The cooperation in Germany was characterized by the existence of inter-German twin cities agreements. France is presented in the study as a comparison country. There are visible links with the Northern Africa countries. Cities from all the analyzed countries are establishing intercontinental partnerships, which could be understood as a sign of globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article attempts to explore the relationship between the level of spatial deconcentration and the level of spatial inequality in the budgets of communes found within the boundaries of functional areas of large cities in Poland. The study was conducted for twelve major cities identified in The National Spatial Development Plan for 2030. Cities included in the survey are: Warsaw, Cracow, Tricity (Gdańsk, Sopot, Gdynia), Łódź, Wrocław, Poznań, Szczecin, Lublin, Rzeszów, Białystok, Bydgoszcz and Toruń. The study covers the period from 2001 to 2010. The analysis was conducted at the commune level and concerned different categories of commune revenues and expenditures. The level of spatial concentration was measured by using two indicators: standard distance and the Gini index calculated in relation to the area of communes. Spatial inequality was measured by the Gini index in relation to the number of inhabitants. A correlation has been identified for the following categories: current expenditures, expenditures on transportation and communication, health expenditures, personal income tax appropriated for communes, and various subsidies from the national budget. The research results confirm the influence of the spatial deconcentration of commune budgets at the level of spatial inequality. However, this is true only for selected budget categories, while no clear relationships were noted for other categories. The analysis of the above mentioned relationships shows significant differentiation in the types of impact of spatial deconcentration on the level of inequality between communes within functional areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rudarsko-Geolosko-Naftni Zbornik is the property of Faculty of Mining, Geology & Petroleum Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)