Variations in technical infrastructure and private economic activity in the rural areas of Southern Poland

Restructuring the Polish countryside is a complex and urgent task. Adapting agriculture for EU entry will mean a considerable reduction in employment and rural diversification is needed because other sectors of the national economy will not be able to absorb all the displaced people if they arrive in the towns. However, providing non-agricultural employment in rural areas depends to a large extent on the technical infrastructure available: running water, sewerage systems, gas supply and telecommunications. The paper deals with voivodeships in southern and southwestern Poland (formerly Galicia) and shows that while much progress has been made since the end of the communist period, the inherited inequalities are being perpetuated and in some cases increased. However, even where the infrastructure is satisfactory, private business does not develop at a uniform rate and action is needed to stimulate communities in remoter rural areas, particularly in the eastern part of the study region. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.