The Upper-Silesian conurbation on the path towards the “Silesia” metropolis

摘要

In its methodological context, the article, expands on the idea of the organization of the a€?Silesiaa€? superstructure. The idea of establishing a common urban organism emerged with the local governments of the Upper Silesian conurbation cities and was dictated by the need to find a way to change the traditional image of the Silesian region and its post-industrial role in the economic space of the country, as well as Europe. Therefore, in 2009, the Metropolitan Association of Upper- Silesia, an association for the initial institutionalization of a€?Silesiaa€?, was registered, because a€?Silesiaa€? does not hold any administrative or legal force. Such an organizational a€?revolutiona€? of the Upper Silesian conurbation initiated a wide social debate, in which the arguments of both supporters and opponents of such an enterprise in the Silesian region became apparent, together with misunderstandings related to the term a€?metropolisa€?, and the idea of establishing a€?Silesiaa€?. Representatives of local governments chose the more prestigious term a€?metropolisa€? as if a complex metropolisation had taken place in the Upper Silesian conurbation. It would be adequate, however, to look only for the first features of metropolitan functions in this de-industrialized and restructured region, which are going to shape the longlasting metropolisation process under the influence of globalisation.