Spatial economy in Poland

The spatial economy and the housing sector in Poland are in crisis. The crisis has severe social, economic and spatial consequences since it is a systemic crisis. The main source of that crisis is neo-liberal economic policy of the Polish governments and making the field of spatial and housing economies the objects of market game. Another reason of the Polish backwardness in spatial economy is nearly two centuries-long gap in statehood building causing that the Polish law and economic instruments of spatial economy currently belong to the most neglected public areas in Poland. The crisis has been deepened by a lack of independent and competent civil service, as well as social passivity. Harmful legislative initiatives eliminate public control over space, and that results in pathological urbanization processes, macroeconomic losses of the public sector, an "urban sprawl," construction of housing estates without general and transportation services, or green areas. We require a reform of spatial economy whose objectives, scope and models are obvious. However, the main problems of spatial economy require political decisions first of all. That concerns especially assumption of the principle that public authorities decide of the changes in land use, limitation of the rights to use real estates, implementation of obligatory spatial planning, and substantive control of local planning that should carry out the objectives of the government's spatial economy. It is also necessary to implement modern economic instruments, with actual socialization of the planning and spatial economy processes conducted by public authorities. Housing policy is a central issue of such a reform, and the reform is a precondition of overcoming the housing sector's crisis in Poland.