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Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia and Dąbrowa Basin Metropolia Silesia
Katowice Financial Center
Country	Poland
Voivodship	Silesia
Council	Zarząd GZM
Government
• Head of Council	Piotr Uszok
Population (2008)
• City	2,039,454
• Urban	2,746,000
• Metro	5,294,000
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Area code(s)	+48 32
Vehicle registration	SD, SG, SH, SI, SJ, SK, SL, SM, SO, ST, SW, SY, SZ, SBE, SGL, SPI, SRS
Economy	service industries, business
Highway	E40 / A4: Berlin-MAUS-Kiev E75 / A1: Tricity-MAUS-Bratislava
Railway	Berlin-MAUS Vienna-MAUS Prague-MAUS Hamburg-MAUS Bratislava-MAUS-Warsaw
Airport	Katowice International Airport
Website	www.gzm.org.pl

The Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia and Dąbrowa Basin, usually referred to in Poland as the Silesian Metropolis (Polish: Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia; Metropolia Silesia),^[1] is an association of municipalities composed of 14 neighbouring cities in the Polish Province of Silesia. The seat of the metropolitan council is Katowice, the largest agglomeration of the Silesian Metropolis. The association is not to be confused with the local conurbation forming one continuous area in the geographical context, i.e.: the Katowice Urban Area, and the Upper Silesian metropolitan area.

The Silesian Metropolis lies within one of the largest urban areas in the European Union. Its population is over 2 million people (2008),^[2] within the much larger urban zone (LUZ), with a population of 2,746,460 according to Eurostat,^[3] and also, as part of the still wider Silesian metropolitan area, with a population of 5,294,000 according to the European Spatial Planning Observation Network.^[4]

The Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia and Dąbrowa Basin was created in June 2017 by a decree of Poland's Council of Ministers as an expansion of the already existing Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia (Polish: Górnośląsko-Zagłębiowska Metropolia). The original union was formally approved by the mayors of all participating cities ten year earlier in Świętochłowice.^[5] The Union's registration was signed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration of the Republic of Poland (MSWiA) on 8 June 2007 in Katowice.^[6] The purpose of the metropolitan union is to maintain a strong urban and industrially developed area with internationally competitive profile and unified management of all infrastructure.^[7][8]

Goals

The main goals, according to statute of the Association, include the following:

1. Common development strategy for the cities of the Association in accordance with the current laws governing the planning and land use


2. Implementing joint development projects strategy for all cities


3. Obtaining financial aid from domestic and foreign funding sources


4. Managing the roadways transferred to the union by its constituent cities


5. Securing aid from the European Union Council


6. Stimulating the job market in constituent cities


7. Supporting innovative economic programs, increasing the competitive standing of the cities


8. Influencing legislative and decision-making processes in matters important to the union

The effects of the Association's activity include: improvement in managing the consortium, strengthening its economic output and increasing the competitive standing of the participating cities, coordination of public relations, as well as promoting the member cities and the importance of the region.

Location

The Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia and Dąbrowa Basin spans urban communities in the historical regions of Upper Silesia (the south-eastern part of Silesia) as well as Lesser Poland's Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland, within the northern portion of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin between the Vistula and Oder rivers, basically resembling just a part of the medieval Duchy of Bytom and annexing the later industrial area, formerly occupied by the Silesian-American Corporation to the east of it. Nine million people live within 100 km of Silesian Stadium at the MAUS center. Six European capitals are located within 600 kilometres from MAUS: Berlin, Vienna, Prague, Bratislava, Budapest and Warsaw.

Districts

Outside of the area, the formation of the union appears to have less support than within it.^{[citation needed]} Originally 17 cities were to enter into the union; due to technicalities in Polish law which could have prevented its legalization, only 14 of the 17 cities (that is, those with the legal status of an urban county) proceeded with forming the union. The constituent cities by population numbers are as follows (data of 2008):^[2]

Map of districts of Silesian Metropolis.

The borders between the constituent cities have been for decades artificial, and sometimes absurd; for example, one side of a street would belong to one city and the other to another. Nationally, the union strives to address several problems including:

• Poor recognition (often omitted from Polish maps)^[9]
  


• Under-investment (MAUS receives the lowest per-capita allocation of EU development funds in Poland)^[10]
  

Bordering cities

Cities bordering directly on the Silesian Metropolis (2008) are shown in the table to the right.^[2] Some of these cities (Będzin, Czeladź and Knurów) declared their willingness to join the Silesian Metropolis, but due to legal issues canceled their candidacy.

Agglomeration

MAUS is the centre of the largest urban area in Poland and one of largest in the European Union; the Katowice urban area has a population of 2.7 million. The area flourished in the 19th and early 20th centuries, thanks to industry and natural resources. The conurbation consists of about 40 neighbouring cities, and the Silesian metropolitan area includes over 50 cities with a total population of 5 million. Katowice is also in the middle of a 7-million-population megalopolis,^{[citation needed]} stretching from the Kraków region through Katowice to the Ostrava region.

Silesia City Center - a large shopping mall in Katowice, on the grounds of the old Gottwald coal mine

MAUS is an area of heavy concentration of industry, including coal, steel, energy, automotive, machinery and chemical. Over the last two decades, the service industry has become increasingly important.

Industry

MAUS is still a prominent center of Poland's coal and metal industries, and home to about a dozen coal mines operated by Katowice Coal Holding ((in Polish) Katowicki Holding Węglowy) and Coal Company ((in Polish) Kompania Węglowa); several steel processing plants (Huta Baildon, Huta Ferum, Huta Batory, Huta Pokój, Huta Florian, Huta Jedność, Huta Zabrze and Huta Zgoda); a foundry of nonferrous metals (Huta Metali Nieżelaznych Szopienice); about a dozen power and generating plants (Chorzów, Halemba, Jaworzno, Łagisza, Będzin, Chorzów, EC Nowa, Katowice, Miechowice, Szombierki, Szopienice, Tychy and Zabrze); two automotive plants (FSM and General Motors Manufacturing Poland); two plants producing military vehicles (Wojskowe Zakłady Mechaniczne SA maker of the KTO Rosomak, and Zakłady Mechaniczne "Bumar-Łabędy" SA, maker of the PT-91 main battle tank), several chemical companies (including fertilizers and paints) and other industrial establishments.

See also

• 
  Tricity, a metropolitan area in Poland consisting of three cities in Pomerania

References

External links

• 
  (in Polish) GZM Site
  


• 
  (in Polish) Statute of the Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia
  


• 
  (in Polish) Euroregiony
  


• 
  (in Polish) www.samorzad.pap.com.pl
  


• 
  (in Polish) www.katowice.nasze miasto.pl
  


• 
  (in Polish) Pomysł powstania największego miasta w Polsce - Silesii