PROCESY MEGALOPOLIZACYJNE I ICH KONSEKWENCJE DEMOGRAFICZNO-SPOŁECZNE ORAZ GEOPOLITYCZNE
DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIAL AND GEOPOLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF MEGA-URBANIZATION PROCESSES

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to statistical analysis and assessment of urbanization processes. Itis stressed that transformations of this kind are fairly complex and to result only fromthe changes of relations between urban and rural population. They consist in complexeconomical – social phenomena that are reflected, among others, in formation of largeurban complexes whose internal structure is ever more complicated. Their characteristicfeature is spatial expansion. In the place where formerly only towns were, the new,territorially extensive agglomerations and metropolises come into being. Because of astrong demographic dynamics resulting from the intensive development and technologicalprogress, great urban complexes numbering over 10 milllion inhabitans have appeared.Attention has been paid to the fact that they develop most quickly in poor Third Worldcountries. In the next part of the article the most modern and complex forms ofnowadays urbanization have been discussed. In the areas with a lot of agglomerationsnew forms of big-city settlements are formed that are called „megalopolis”. They numberseveral dozen million inhabitans each and their significance in the world is ever greater.A considerable part of the article is concerned with the so-called world or global cities.Studies were conducted by a team of experts affiliated to the University ofLoughborough that has assumed the name „Globalization World Cities Study. On thebasis of strictly defined criteria the team has distinguished 55 global cities. In the nextpart of the text the inner structure of the mentioned greatest global cities ischaracterized. In the last part of the article it is indicated that the processes of megaurbanization have a tendency to spread into new areas.

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