Przemysł w strukturze funkcjonalnej małych miast województwa małopolskiego
Industry in the functional structure of small towns in Małopolska province

Summary/Abstract: In the era of the tertiary sector and the post‑industrial economy, a question arises about the ef‑ fectiveness of the development of small urban centers based only on service functions, and at the same time a question about the need and possibility of the reindustrialization of towns. The classic approach to functional research, i.e. using the employment structure, as well as the analysis of registered economic entities, shows that in Małopolska Province, both in the long term (1973–2023) and in just the 21st century, the functional structure of towns has undergone a fundamental change. The aim of the work is to diagnose the contemporary role of industry in the functional structure of small towns in Małopolska Province, to show changes in theemployment structure and economic activity, and to indicate development trends in the industrial function in the context of current development strategies. The methodological part uses the traditional method of deter‑ mining functional structure developed by Jerczyński (1977). The current functional structure is also presented based on data on the number of economic entities registered in the REGON register divided into departments and sections. An important part of the research was a detailed analysis of the current development strategies of small towns in terms of reference to industry.As the research results show, a marginalization of the role of industry in the structure of employment was observed, which is currently reflected in the lack of towns with industrial, or even industrial‑service, functional dominance. As indicated by earlier studies (Kwiatek‑Sołtys, 2017), the higher position of small towns in the socio‑economic level ranking is characteristic of centers where industrial functions are developed in various types of special economic activity zones, including special economic zones, but at the same time located in metropolitan areas. Among the analyzed strategies of small towns in the Małopolska province, only five contained direct references to industry. Most of these concerned supporting new industrial and investment zones, as well as creating conditions for the development of industry, including future technologies. The remaining communes focused mainly on increasing economic activity which, despite potential connections, does not always translate into specific support for the industrial sector. The analysis reveals the lack of a uniform approach to industry in development strategies.

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