Forms of Relationships among Local Government Units in Polish Metropolitan Areas

Abstract The primary purpose of the paper is to identify the main tendencies in forming relations between local government units within metropolitan areas of Poland. The authors focused on the study of the dominant logic of the procedure of researched units – competition or cooperation (coopetition as a simultaneous occurrence of these two). For the purpose of the study, a qualitative method was used, i.e. a questionnaire that was addressed to representatives of local government units from metropolitan areas of Poland. The authors developed a typology of forms of relations within metropolitan areas based on the conducted studies as well as identified the main features of these relations.