Beata Hołowiecka

The Changes in the Functional Urban Region in the New Socio-Economic Conditions in Poland. The Case of Toruń

The Changes in the Functional Urban Region in the New Socio-Economic Conditions in Poland. The Case of Toruń This article attempts to determine the general tendency of changes of functioning of urban regions in the new socio-economic conditions in Poland. The functional connections resulted from an intensively and relatively permanent flow of population, which functions as foundation of identification of the urban region in that study. The paper presents the results of empirical examinations of the functional urban region of Toruń conducted in 70s, 80s, and presently. On that basis explation is presented on how the transformation of the economic system with all consequences influenced on the modification of developed and relatively stable city-surroundings relations. Additionally the article is aimed at recognizing the new determinants of urban regions development in Polish conditions.

POLISH TOWNS AND THE CHANGES IN THEIR AREAS AND POPULATION DENSITIES

Polish Towns and the Changes in Their Areas and Population Densities This article presents the spatial and population density changes in Polish towns in the years 1960-2003. The assumed time frame allowed identifying area changes for a complete set of towns in different socio-economic conditions: the period of intense industrialisation, the economic crisis of the 1980s, the period of economic transition and finally in the years of a market economy. The investigation revealed that the trend shown by changes and the size of a town as measured by the number of its population are distinctly interrelated. It also demonstrated a much stronger dynamics of changes in the first subperiod, i.e. years 1960--1985, followed by a phase of relative stabilization (compared with the previous period) after the year 1980 (mainly of the spatial changes). Moreover, change intensity and change trends observed for the urban areas and population densities vary considerably in terms of space.

Globalisation as a major factor modifying the patterns of tourism activity

Abstract Globalisation is a complex and dynamic process that today influences many factors determining the development of tourism. It brings about economic, political, social and even cultural changes and drives the expansion of a single global market where the movement of capital, goods and people is much easier than it used to be. Globalization also has an intangible dimension - by enabling access to information and modern forms of communication and by stimulating the spatial mobility of populations it allows ideas to flow freely, as a result of which individuals learn new attitudes and behaviours. This article discusses the influence of globalization on the tourism preferences and tourism activity of Polish residents. The results of the earlier empirical research has confirmed that different social groups have their specific models of tourism activity, showing also which groups have responded to globalization the most strongly and the possible consequences this may have for tourism activity.