Katowice metropolitan area, also known as Upper Silesian metropolitan areaRobert Pyka: The Upper Silesian and Zagłębie Metropolis as a local government innovation. Poland’s first metropolitan union – opportunities and threats, p. 6 – "The author’s analyses the institutional architecture of the first Polish metropolitan union, which is a hybrid organisation combining an inter-municipal association and a local government unit, from the perspective of turning the Upper Silesian metropolitan area into an efficient system of metropolitan governance."Elżbieta Zuzańska-Żyśko: Metropolitan functions of the Upper-Silesian Metropolitan Area, p. 61 – "The purpose of the article is to study metropolitan functions, as well as to analyze the intrinsic structure of the Upper-Silesian Metropolitan Area, which used to be an industrial conurbation that evolved into a polycentric settlement arrangement. (...) The selected functional metropolitan area is formed by 15 municipalities, including 13 towns with county rights, and is inhabited by 1.9 million people. (...) The metropolitan centre of utmost importance and holding well-developed metropolitan functions is the city of Katowice, whereas Gliwice and Chorzów are first-class auxiliary centres."Elżbieta Zuzańska-Żyśko: The Upper-Silesian conurbation on the path towards the “Silesia” metropolis, p. 119-120 – "(...) an attempt was made to delimit the Upper-Silesian Metropolitan Area (GOM) and to define its inner structure (Fig. 1)(Zuzańska-Żyśko, 2011). (...). It is a group of 14 centres with the highest population and rank. These cities simultaneously create a voluntary municipal union named the Metropolitan Association of Upper-Silesia (GZM). These cities create the core of the future metropolis. All the adjacent boroughs make the outer metropolitan zone."Zuzanna Neuve-Église: Od metropolii podzielonej do metropolii zjednoczonej - kształtowanie się tożsamości instytucji metropolitalnego zarządzania w kontekście relacji miast górnośląskiego obszaru metropolitalnegoW. Sroka, B. Pölling: The Potential and Significance of Urban Agriculture on the Basis of the Ruhr Metropolis and the Upper Silesian Metropolis, p. 182, footnote 5.Justyna Danielewicz, Maciej Turał: Inter-communal associations: the future of metropolitan area management?, p. 122 – "The Upper Silesian Metropolitan Area is composed of 73 communes, including 14 urban districts (large cities). The urban districts have created an Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union (shown in Figure 5a) (...)."Karolina Szaton: Znaczenie „małych miast” w kontekście rozwoju struktur ponadlokalnych na przykładzie Aglomeracji Górnośląskiej (), is the metropolitan area of Katowice and its urban area, with a population of around 2.5 million (2023). It lies within the areas of the historic regions of Upper Silesia, and Dąbrowa Basin. It is sometimes considered a part of the polycentric Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area, which has a population of 5.3 million people (2002). Also this is (with Kraków metropolitan area among others) a part of ,Koncepcja Przestrzennego Zagospodarowania Kraju 2030European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) "ESPON project 1.1.1. Potentials for polycentric development in Europe" – Final report, March 2005, which has a population of around 6.8 million.

Demographics There are given differing population numbers in different sources.

2,225,000 (2024) – according to citypopulation.de."The Principal Agglomerations of the World" - citypopulation.de 2,535,354 (2023) – according to Eurostat 2,700,000 (2006) – according to Metropolis.pl "Investment areas in the Silesian Agglomeration" - Metropolis.pl, Katowice 2006 2,746,000 (2001) – according to the scientific description by Tadeusz Markowski. Funkcje Metropolitalne Pięciu Stolic Województw Wschodnich 2,733,000 (2002) – according to the scientific description by Paweł Swianiewicz and Urszula Klimska. "Społeczne i polityczne zróżnicowanie aglomeracji w Polsce" – Paweł Swianiewicz, Urszula Klimska ; University of Warsaw 2005 2,886,700 (2004) – according to the scientific description by Kazimierz Fiedorowicz and Jacek Fiedorowicz."The Influence of a Metropolis on Regional Development in Poland" - Kazimierz Fiedorowicz, Jacek Fiedorowicz; Częstochowa University of Technology 3,029,000 (2002) – according to the European Spatial Planning Observation Network. Markered as 13th largest metropolitan area in European Union and also 6th polycentric metropolitan area in EU."Study on Urban Functions (Project 1.4.3)" - European Spatial Planning Observation Network, 2007 3,069,000 – according to the United Nations.World Urbanization Prospects, Urban Agglomerations 2003 – United Nations – Department of Economic and Social Affairs / Population Division, The 2003 Revision 3,239,200 (2003) – according to the Ministry of Regional Development of Poland "Koncepcja przestrzennego zagospodarowania kraju" – Ministry of Regional Development, 2003 3,488,000 – according to www.worldatlas.com.www.worldatlas.com 3,500,000 – according to PWN Encyclopedia.article about Upper Silesian Industrial Region coinciding with the Katowice urban area "Górnośląski Okręg Przemysłowy" - PWN Encyclopedia 3,500,000 – according to the scientific description by Jerzy Parysek and Alexander Tölle."Wybrane problemy rozwoju i rewitalizacji miast: aspekty poznawcze i praktyczne" - Jerzy Parysek and Alexander Tölle, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań 2008, p. 34-35,

Metropolis GZM

The Metropolis GZM (, formally in Polish Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia) is a metropolitan association composed of 41 contiguous municipalities in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, created on 1 July 2017. It has an area of 2553 km² and a population of 2 128 034 (2023).

The Metropolis GZM does not include Jaworzno, whose authorities decided not to join the association.

References