FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY OF KIELCE SUBURBAN MUNICIPALITIES VERSUS THE STANDARD OF LIVING OF THEIR INHABITANTS

Urbanization processes of areas located within large cities entail a number of consequences, such as a change in employment structure of inhabitants in these areas. New housing developments attract a stream of well-educated and affl uent urban dwellers, who move to the suburbs and contribute to the transformation of dominating functions in the areas located near the cities. Based on selected empirically measurable characteristics, synthetic measures were calculated for the phenomena analyzed with the use of the Hellwig method. The following functions have been included: agricultural, recreational, service, industrial, and residential. Based on the conducted analysis, it can be claimed that most of the examined municipalities are characterized by multifunctional development, with no dominant function apparent. Also, the analysis revealed the existence of three social classes in the studied areas, distinguished by a very high, high, or average standard of living of their members. The study found that the highest standard of living is typical for the municipalities where industrial and service-related functions dominate.