Decyzje o warunkach zabudowy i zagospodarowania terenu jako instrument polityki przestrzennej w polskich metropoliach

The aim of this article is to identify the role played by the decision on building conditions and land use in the development of a group of cities, the so called “Polish metropolises”, that is Gdańsk, Poznań, Kraków, Lodz and Wroclaw. These are the cities classified in a hierarchy decidedly lower than Warsaw, but regardless of this fact they are consistently named the most developed cities in Poland. The article analyzes as well the role played by the decisions in local and regional development along with their practical dimensions, manifesting itself in the number of issued decisions and the number of denials on building conditions.