The Development of Transport Infrastructure in Poland and the Role of Spatial Planning and Cohesion Policy in Investment Processes

In Poland, systemic transformation, social changes and integration with European Union structures all instilled major change in the country's system of spatial planning. This encompassed the general framework, the adopted procedures, the range of entities involved, and the sources and forms by which large new infrastructural developments attracted funding. This article seeks to offer an overview of the evolution in post-1989 Poland of transport infrastructure planning. Various aspects to the development of this infrastructure are explored, while the roles of factors of a political nature are assessed, also in connection with the related issue of new legislation developing and changing approaches to the investment process.