Summary:

Since the change of political system in 1989, economic growth and urbanization in Poland have occurred alongside increases in regional and sectoral inequalities. This dual process poses a threat to sustainable development and social cohesion.This paper analyses the relationship between economic sevelopments of the agricultural sector and the process of urbanisation through the prism of changes in the spatial structures in the Lower Silesia region of Poland. A comparative analysis of the spatial distribution in both rural and urban sectors has been carried out. Changes in both rural and urban structures in the lat fourteen years have been identified using a cyclical-complex model based on T. Zipser's theory of contacts and theory of spherical projection. The paper contains a brief discussion of results and their implications for spatial policy.