Urban structure in transition: evidence from Poland, 1983–2011.

This paper investigates changes in the spatial structure and explores the link between the initial shape and other characteristics of city-regions of Poland and heterogeneity in the changes of urban structure. Shifting attention to the former socialist country offers an opportunity to illuminate the link between a rapid and systemic political–economic transition and the development of city-regions. The results suggest that increasing polycentricity is not the main trend in Poland, and show that the context and initial stage of spatial structure indeed matter in shaping trajectories of urban change. Irrespective of the systemic transition, the spatial structure of city-regions is relatively slow to change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]