6. Conclusions and recommendations 1. In Poland, the highest level of human development occurs in large cities and in their surroundings. 1.1 Large cities are beneficial for a high level of human development. Not only do people there have the highest income, but also better access to public services, students perform better and the life expectancy is longer (e.g. Rzeszów). Recommendations: 1. It is necessary to adopt laws allowing the creation of functional metropolitan areas. These laws would make it easier to coordinate public transport, the development of transport infrastructure and environmental protection, and help ensure spatial coherence, effectiveness of the system of benefits and public services, environmental protection infrastructure and cultural infrastructure. 1.1 Speeding up the development of infrastructure that integrates metropolitan areas with their surrounding should contribute to raising the quality of life in metropolitan areas. It should include: public transport, water and wastewater infrastructure, telecommunications infrastructure and leisure facilities (also cultural industries, etc.). The actions should be taken as soon as possible concerning wastewater infrastructure and telecommunications; in the medium and long term, the actions concerning the development of an inclusive metropolitan public transportation system should be continued.
2. The lowest level of human development occurs in rural counties. Most of the areas with the lowest LHDI are located in the territory of the former Russian partition, which can be linked to their peripheral status (remoteness from engines of growth or vibrant metropolitan centres) – both hundreds of years ago and today. A long tradition of dominance for agriculture in the areas’ local economies also contributes to their low level of human development. 2.1 The differences between rich and poor counties are growing – this can be seen via their differences in their level of human development. Recommendations: 2. Less developed rural areas should be linked with regional and local growth centres, i.e. the medium-sized cities, which in turn should be linked to major cities and metropolitan areas. The development of networks of cities should be supported – the increase of the potential of: labour (access to labour from rural areas); educational, cultural and social institutions; and transport infrastructure, will be beneficial to peripheral areas.
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