Metropolitan Functions of Bialystok and Their Development within the National Spatial Development Concept 2030

The article addresses the issue of the development of the metropolitan functions of the city of Bialystok, which does not meet all the criteria necessary to qualify as a metropolitan center. According to the National Spatial Development Concept 2030 (NSDC), Bialystok was classified as a regional city of national importance, i.e. a site of systematic con-centration of metropolitan functions of national and international importance. The classification also suggests that the city has a chance to increase its importance and role in the national settlement network. An analysis of some of the city’s functions has shown a strengthening of some of the metropolitan functions and their specializations. These changes are facilitated by the spatial policy adopted in the NSDC.