Impact of metropolization on the crime structure (case study of provincial capitals in Poland)

• Published in: Cities 2021-12, Vol.119, p.103359, Article 103359
• Main Authors: Sypion-Dutkowska, Natalia, Leitner, Michael, Dutkowski, Marek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Case studies; Cities; Classification; Communism; Crime; Differentiation; Hypotheses; Large cities; Metropolization; Offenses; Poland; Postcommunist societies; Socioeconomic factors; Urban areas; Urban crime
• ISSN: 0264-2751; 1873-6084
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2021.103359

The aim of this study is to verify the hypothesis that the rapid metropolization process that has been taking place in large Polish cities since the beginning of the second phase of post-communist transition in 2000 leads to their socio-economic diversity, which is manifested, among others, in the differentiation of the level and structure of crime. Introduced into the discourse of this paper are subsequent stages of metropolization, which are called potential, initiating, advanced, and mature and which the examined cities have achieved so far. These stages have led to various economic and social effects, which resulted in changes in the level and structure of crime. Eighteen core cities of functional urban areas (FUAs) according to the classification ESPON 2007, were adopted as case study objects. Averaged crime data for the period 2013–2017 were analyzed in total and for seven types of crimes. The obtained results confirmed the adopted hypothesis. •The post-communist transition started the rapid metropolization of large cities.•Metropolization generally resulted in Poland since 2000 in a decrease in total crime.•Metropolization has reached different stages in individual cities: embryonic, initial and advanced.•In the initial stage, crime increased, especially against property, and traffic.•In the advanced stage, crime decreased, especially against freedom, and against life and health.