Summary:

For some years rural areas in Poland have been undergoing significant structural, spatial and economic changes. Farm concentration is in progress [Hałasiewicz, 2011], the average area of farms has increased by more than ten percent and apart from traditional rural - urban migration also urban - rural mi-gration has appeared [GUS, 2011], which results or may result in spatial conflicts. This work describes the influence of the land consolidation process on mul-tifunctional and sustainable development of rural areas. It has been determined that multifunctional and sustainable development of rural areas requires complex consolidation works with respect to significant territories that will allow to expedite the development of agriculture, as well as of other functions of a given terrain. The research was conducted in Cegłów commune (gmina - first level of local self-government in Poland), miński poviat (powiat - second level of local self-government in Poland), mazowieckie voivodship (województwo - third level of local self-government in Poland). The results of the research indicate that multifunctional, sustainable development of rural areas, where land layout is inconvenient and disadvantageous, is not possible without land consolidation works. Without prior transformation of ownership structure it is difficult to properly shape the space that could enable development of non-agricultural functions. Moreover, the land consolidation process allows to emphasize the landscape and environmental values of the transformed areas.