Suburbanization as a problem of rural development

Polish agriculture is now facing many problems. One of them is the fragmentation of land. This phenomenon is rooted in history. Farmers willing to distribute their assets among their children gave a certain part of the farm to each of them. Due to their intention to split the assets fairly between the heirs, the fragmentation of land increased. The arduousness of this phenomenon is manifested in the fact that plots that are too small or too narrow and their irregular shape make running profitable agricultural activity difficult. Another negative factor affecting the spatial arrangement of rural areas is the process of suburbanization. During suburbanization specific links are formed between the city and rural areas such as the flow of people, goods or capital. They play an important role in transforming those areas, and in particular in determining the method of management of such areas and the location of respective types of activity. Suburbanization leads to a decrease in the population density in city centres and an increase in the suburbs. The emigration of the indigenous city people to the suburbs grew in popularity. The effect of the process is a growing fragmentation of plots in order to separate building plots that are smaller and smaller. In many cases the plots used for agricultural purposes but in local spatial development plans destined for housing development are split into multiple smaller plots and with time they are turned into suburban single-family housing estates. The influx of urban communities and the related expansion of building development in rural areas lead to the loss of rural identity. This is how the agricultural nature of rural areas where farms withdraw from agricultural activity changes.This article aims at exploring the selected spatial factors such as the analysis of use and fragmentation of land owned by private farmers, as well as the analysis of the suburbanization process in the villages within the commune of Konopnica in the Lublin county, Lublin voivodeship. The surveys were based on a cartographic and descriptive method. The method comprised a detailed survey of the spatial structure of selected villages within the commune of Konopnica based on a cadastral map, the index of plots and a reconnaissance. Information about the area of each plot and information about the registration unit was used as input data for a detailed analysis of the fragmentation of private plots in five area ranges, an analysis of the use of land, and a detailed analysis of changes in the size of farms in 2012-2017. The results of studies will make it possible to determine the direction and scope of changes in the fragmentation of land in the villages situated within the analysed commune.