Administrative division of Poland - 25 years of experience during the systemic transformation

Abstract

This article seeks to present the chief features of Poland's territorial division and assess it at its three levels: voivodeships, poviats and communes. The reference point is the territorial divisions of other EU states, especially those that, like Poland, have a three-tier structure. The basic thesis is that the territorial organisation of public administration should change so as to keep up with political, economic, social and spatial processes, the last being especially important for it. The article closes with recommendations for ways of changing local and regional administrative structures, like establishing a new voivodeship and metropolitan poviats, combining urban and rural poviats, and fusions of communes.