Concentration of development in rural areas

Among the features of the spatial structures of villages and the characteristics of rural areas that support multidirectional socio-economic development and improve the living conditions of rural residents, the concentrated and compact nature of development is of particular importance. This is a factor that facilitates infrastructural and social integration, often determining the accessibility of the village to external users. The demographic potential of a rural locality is also significant, which economically justifies maintaining its basic service sector and creating public spaces with the characteristics of a centre, including nodal elements (a clear and hardened system of roads and streets). It also promotes the occurrence of service, industrial and multi-family development in forms that densify the existing spatial structures of the village. If we take into account the above features of settlement systems occurring in rural areas, then a justified aim of the research is to estimate the degree of concentration of development in various types of communes in Poland and to determine the spatial distribution of this phenomenon. The assessment of the condition and advancement of the phenomenon allows for the indication of areas with different quality of village settlement systems in terms of activities related to the improvement of infrastructure equipment, investment location possibilities, and social activation.