The Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia or Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union (), often referred to in Poland as Silesian Metropolis (), was a
municipal association
A municipal association, also called municipal league or local government association, is an organization made of municipal governments. They perform advocacy to higher-level governments. They also provide various public services more cheaply tha ...
() composed of 14 adjacent
cities with powiat rights of
Katowice urban area
The Katowice urban area (, ), also known as the Upper Silesian urban area (, ), is an urban area/conurbation in southern Poland, centered on Katowice. It is located in the Silesian Voivodeship. The Katowice urban area is the largest urban are ...
in the Polish
Silesian Voivodeship
Silesian Voivodeship ( ) is an administrative province in southern Poland. With over 4.2 million residents and an area of 12,300 square kilometers, it is the second-most populous, and the most-densely populated and most-urbanized region of Poland ...
. The association existed from 2007 to 2017, when its role was effectively taken over by the
Metropolis GZM
The Metropolis GZM (, formally in Polish (Upper Silesian-DÄ…browa Basin Metropolis)) is a metropolitan association () composed of 41 contiguous gminas, with a total population of over 2 million, covering most of the Katowice metropolitan area i ...
.
The aim of the union was the creation of a strong
metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical)
* Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop
** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see"
* Metropolitan ar ...
center with pooled resources, an internationally competitive profile and unified management of common infrastructure.
Goals
The main goals of the union included the following:
*Arriving at a common development strategy for the cities of the union, in accordance with the current law governing planning and land use
*Implementing projects joined by a common development strategy of the cities
*Obtaining financing from domestic and foreign funding sources
*Managing the roadways transferred to the union by its constituent cities
*Obtaining aid from the European Union
*Stimulating the job market throughout the constituent cities
*Supporting innovative economic programs, increasing the competitive standing of the cities
*Influencing legislative and decision-making processes in matters important to the union and affecting the union's activities
Nationally, the union strived to address several problems including:
* Poor recognition (often omitted from Polish maps)
* Under-investment (MAUS receives the lowest per-capita allocation of
EU development funds in Poland)
The effects of the union's activity included: improvement in managing the consortium, strengthening its economic muscle and increasing the competitive standing of the cities of the MAUS, coordination of public relations and promoting the member cities, and underscoring the importance of the region.
History
It was created by local authorities with little or no actual public discourse. The intent to form the union was formally stated by the mayors of the participating cities, who signed a declaration to this effect on 9 January 2006 in
Świętochłowice
Świętochłowice (; ; ) is a city with powiat rights in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. It is also one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM, with a population of 2 million, and is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...
. The Union's registration was signed by the
(Polish: ''MSWiA'') on 8 June 2007 with the city of
Katowice
Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...
.
On 1 July 2017 a new ''sui generis'' entity, the
Metropolis GZM
The Metropolis GZM (, formally in Polish (Upper Silesian-DÄ…browa Basin Metropolis)) is a metropolitan association () composed of 41 contiguous gminas, with a total population of over 2 million, covering most of the Katowice metropolitan area i ...
(), was created. Therefore, the Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia was discontinued on 28 December 2017.
Participating municipalities
Originally 17 cities were to enter into the union;
only 14 of the 17 cities (that is, those with the legal status of a
City with powiat rights
A city with powiat rights () is in Poland a designation denoting 66 of the 107 cities (the urban gminas which are governed by a city mayor or ''prezydent miasta'') which exercise also the powers and duties of a Powiat, county (), thus being an inde ...
) proceeded with forming the union.
[§ 2 – ] Towns of
Będzin
Będzin (; also seen spelled ''Bendzin''; ) is a city in the Dąbrowa Basin, in southern Poland. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Czarna Przemsza River (a tributary of the Vistula River, Vistula). Even though part of Silesian Voivodeship ...
,
Czeladź
Czeladź () is a town in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie (part of historic Lesser Poland), in southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. Located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river (tributary of the Vistula), it is the oldest urban center ...
and
Knurów
Knurów (; ) is a city near Katowice in Silesia, southern Poland. Knurów is an outer city of the Metropolis GZM, a metropolis with a population of two million.
Knurów is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Bierawka River, a tributary of t ...
canceled their candidacy.
The borders between the constituent cities have been for decades artificial, and sometimes absurd; for example, one side of a street would belong to one city and the other to another.
The constituent cities by population numbers were as follows (data of 2008):
[''Powierzchnia i ludność w przekroju terytorialnym w 2008''](_blank)
– Central Statistical Office in Poland
See also
*
Tricity
References
External links
Pomysł powstania największego miasta w Polsce – Silesii
{{Silesia topics
Silesia
Katowice