Defris Partners: ÖSTSAM – Regional Development ... - WebNews

Aims and Assumptions of the Project
Włocławek with its population of more than 120 thousand is included in the Strategy
and in the spatial development plan for Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodship as a regional
sustainable development centre supportive for the Bydgoszcz-Toruń metropolitan
area. The function derives from both demographic and economic potential of the town.
Włocławek is an important industrial and service centre, a seat of numerous business
and economy-related institutions, as well as, a centre of higher education.
The town has a clearly-developed functional area covering the neighbouring
communes counties. In view of the stipulations of the above-mentioned documents,
and the on-going socio-economic processes, the further development of the town as a
regional centre is crucial from the point of view of regional policy.
The basic objective of the project is to determine the directions of development of
those functions of the city which have supra-local importance, thus being beneficial
also for the residents of the functional area. Additional aims are of educational and
practical nature. The first one not only allows to enrich the knowledge about the town
and its surroundings, but it will also enable its promotion. The other aim is connected
with practical use of the knowledge and conclusions from the project for the sake of
making particular administrative and economic decisions by the local selfgovernments.
Methodology
The elaboration comprises three parts. The first one covers the analysis of
preconditions of the functioning of the city and its surroundings against the whole
region and the analysis of connections with the rest of the country in the field of
communications, nature and economy. The second part is the evaluation of the city’s
potential and its impact on the surrounding area, as well as of its competitiveness
against other urban centres situated in the radius of approximately 60 km. The
analyses conducted in this area covered the major functions and services. Businessrelated
services, healthcare and education were particularly in the focal point of the
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