Spatial effects of the special housing act and trends in its application

The purpose of this paper is to present research carried out as part of the monitoring of the operation of the housing speculative law after five years of its implementation. This work was prepared for the Ministry of Development and Technology and is based on an analysis of statistical data from Statistics Poland for the whole of Poland targeted surveys addressed to selected local governments, and detailed comparisons and compilations of selected projects. The results show that the spatial effects of the special law to date are far from the statutory assumptions. The special act has had a marginal impact on the country’s housing market. Instead, it has significantly changed Polish spatial planning, where it has undermined the “institutions” of the local plan as a guarantor of development and socio-economic order. Resolutions on the location of investments adopted on its basis fit poorly into the spatial policy pursued so far by municipalities and do not guarantee local communities’ influence on the shaping of space. The special act has also not led to the socially anticipated participation of private entities in the implementation of public infrastructure and a more economically equitable distribution of costs and profits from investments. Was it therefore necessary for us to meet Poland’s housing needs? Given the extremely modest spatial results and the ensuing chaos in the planning system, this is clearly doubtful.