Przegląd Geograficzny (2025) vol. 97, iss. 3
Commuting in Poland’s Lubuskie Voivodeship in the context of gravity theory
Przegląd Geograficzny (2025) vol. 97, iss. 3, pp. 265-282 | 
Full text
doi: https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2025.3.2
Abstract
The socio-economic development of Lubuskie Voivodeship is reflected in (and reflects) dynamic transformations occurring within its spatial structure. As this region of western Poland experiences ongoing urban concentration of industrial and service-related activities, rural transformations, and growing mobility of residents, the effect is for labour migration between settlement units to be enhanced. This in turn necessitates in-depth spatial analysis, if the mechanisms governing commutes are to be understood, and their significance for the region’s functioning appreciated. In this context, the work presented here may prove useful to both provincial and municipal local authorities as they exercise their responsibility for the pursuit if socio-economic policy at the provincial, regional and local levels.
The main objective of the research described here was to reference gravity theory in the context of a search for underlying regularities to the commutes people make around Lubuskie Voivodeship. The model in question assumes that the intensity of spatial interactions (in this case labour flows between places of residence and places of employment) is directly proportional to mass (as most often understood by reference to population size); as well as being inversely proportional to separating distance. That said, it is possible to distinguish various approaches taken as research seeks to apply the gravity model. A classical version indeed takes population size and distances between spatial units into account. However, in line – presumably – with the availability of data, the literature also offers models including such other local determinants as production, employment, and wage levels.
This paper nevertheless returns to the classical form of the gravity model, on the basis of a hypothesis stating that, while commutes to given places may indeed be under the significant influence of local conditions at times, it is still the factors of population potential and road distance that matter most in determining the intensity of the phenomenon as manifested in two identified sub-regions of the Polish region under study.
To test this hypothesis further, we constructed – and engaged in the empirical assessment of – models describing the intensity of labour flows in the said sub-regions (of Gorzów and Zielona Góra). The models were developed at the level of the local administrative unit (LAU), which is the so-called gmina in the Polish context. There are 82 such units across Lubuskie Voivodeship, including 9 categorised as urban, 35 as urban-rural, and 38 as rural. In terms of our division, 29 of the LAUs fall within the Gorzów sub-region, and 53 that of Zielona Góra. Relevant data – derived from Statistics Poland, and specifically its 2021 National Population and Housing Census – related to numbers of wage-earners moving from one gmina to another for the purposes of work. Model parameters were estimated using linearised power regression. The distance index was determined as the shortest car-travel route between the centroids of the municipalities, on the basis of OpenStreetMap data, and using the Open Source Routing Machine (OSRM) engine.
Analyses revealed commuting flows linked in statistically significant ways with both population size in a given gmina and road distance. Thus, in the Gorzow sub-region, a gmina-of-residence population greater by 1% is associated with level of commuting that is 0.472% higher; even as a destination-gmina (place of work) population larger by 1% is linked to a commuting flow 0.915% larger. In the Zielona Góra sub-region, the corresponding respective values are 0.385% and 0.860%.
Distance is shown to have the opposite effect, meaning that a distance between gminas that is greater by 1% translates into numbers of commuters lower by 2.153% (in Gorzów sub-region) or 2.225% (in that of Zielona Góra). Road distance thus serves to introduce the so-called “spatial resistance” into the models, implying a barrier to labour mobility.
The results obtained confirm the hypothesis that road distance and population potentials at gmina level remain important factors determining intensity of commuting. The appropriateness of the assumptions made is confirmed by the relatively good fit between the models and the empirical data (r² = 0.7018 in Gorzów sub-region and r² = 0.6154 in that of Zielona Góra).
As the authors were in a position to diagnose the largest deviations between real-life values and those predicted by the models, it was possible to identify cases in which local factors outweigh the general rule. An example here is the flow heading out from Kłodawa to Gorzów Wielkopolski, which comprises 1618 people as opposed to the predicted 964. This can be seen to reflect the residential (or even dormitory) function of the gmina of Kłodawa vis-à-vis the city. Similar mechanisms were observed in the Zielona Góra sub-region, especially in the case of commutes from rural gminas to such centres as Żary, Nowa Sól, Świebodzin and Zielona Góra.
Commuting serves as a lead indicator as urban functional areas (MOFs) are identified in the practice of regional management. However, our results suggest that the urban functional area cores of Gorzów Wielkopolski and Zielona Góra – as the voivodeship centres – extend beyond the boundaries of these areas as they are delineated formally. Thus, from a public-policy point of view, our results may find application as efforts are made to improve transport networks, plan road modernisation and develop sustainable mobility. Local-level knowledge of the directions and intensities characterising commutes to work can also help as investment priorities are determined, especially in road infrastructure, and the integration of public transport into regional labour markets. Under conditions of increasing shuttle traffic, it is essential to ensure a transport network of adequate capacity and quality, given the direct impact this has on both regional development and the comfort of living experienced by inhabitants.
Keywords: commuting, gravity models, Poland, Lubuskie Voivodeship, local level
[pszczucinski@ajp.edu.pl], Akademia im. Jakuba z Paradyża w Gorzowie Wielkopolskim, Wydział Ekonomiczny
[lbudzynski@ajp.edu.pl], Akademia im. Jakuba z Paradyża w Gorzowie Wielkopolskim, Wydział Prawa i Bezpieczeństwa
Citation
APA: Szczuciński, P., & Budzyński, . (2025). Dojazdy do pracy w województwie lubuskim w kontekście teorii grawitacji. Przegląd Geograficzny, 97(3), 265-282. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2025.3.2
MLA: Szczuciński, Przemysław and Budzyński, Łukasz. "Dojazdy do pracy w województwie lubuskim w kontekście teorii grawitacji". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 97, no. 3, 2025, pp. 265-282. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2025.3.2
Chicago: Szczuciński, Przemysław and Budzyński, Łukasz. "Dojazdy do pracy w województwie lubuskim w kontekście teorii grawitacji". Przegląd Geograficzny 97, no. 3 (2025): 265-282. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2025.3.2
Harvard: Szczuciński, P., & Budzyński, . 2025. "Dojazdy do pracy w województwie lubuskim w kontekście teorii grawitacji". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 97, no. 3, pp. 265-282. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2025.3.2