Model struktury funkcjonalno-przestrzennej województwa: między teorią a praktyką
Regional model of the functional and spatial structure – between theory and practice

Summary/Abstract: The research objective of our article is to expand the existing knowledge on the regional model of the functional and spatial structure as a mandatory element of development strategy with the perspective (i.e. knowledge and experience) of regional planning practitioners. The presented research is based on an analysis of legal texts, literature on the subject, and in-depth interviews with 88 experts, representatives of local government administration, and planning specialists. The study also covers regional development strategies. Furthermore, we attempted to assess the progress of integrating socio-economic and spatial planning systems in the context of legislative reforms in Poland. The research employs an interdisciplinary methodological approach. A detailed analysis of the law regulating the obligatory preparation of the regional model of the functional and spatial structure in regional and local development strategies was conducted. A review of the literature on the subject enabled the systematisation of scientific definitions of the 'model' and the identification of proposals for its key elements, pointing to the dominant visionary nature of this instrument. An important contribution of the article is the analysis of the practitioners' perspective, based on a series of in-depth interviews conducted in 2024 as part of the 'ReActPlan' research project. The issues raised in the article focus on the content, nature and relations of the regional model of the functional and spatial structure with the regional spatial development plan, with regard to the proposed functional integration, which could reduce the time-consuming nature of the planning process. The article presents a critical analysis of the ill-considered sequence of implementing the reform of the development management system in Poland. It points out that the time-line obliging municipalities to prepare development strategies and general plans before the finalisation of work on new regional development strategies – and, consequently, their regional models of the functional and spatial structure – may significantly limit or even deprive the model of its coordinating role towards local self-government units, leading to a lack of the expected vertical and horizontal coherence in the development management system of Poland.

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