Abstract

Chapter
First Online: 04 May 2022
Part of the Local and Urban Governance book series (LUG)

Abstract

The emergence of the coronavirus epidemic in Poland at the end of February 2020 changed the functioning of the state, society, and many sectors of socio-economic life. For the first time in history, the risk of contracting a serious disease has contributed to a total change in functioning plans, strategies, and development policies at the central and local government levels. The quick reaction of the Government authorities and the announcement of the state of the epidemic led to the adoption of the Act of March 2, 2020 on specific solutions related to the prevention and eradication of COVID-19, other infectious diseases, and the resulting crisis. The act regulates new rules for the functioning of the State, economy, and society. The systemic and organizational issues in the operation of local self-government units were also changed. The presented research results are intended to show the legal and organizational, as well as socio-economic, effects of COVID-19 in the functioning of local government units in Poland. The chapter also presents the practical, often innovative, activities of local communities that have been undertaken in recent months to minimize the negative effects of the epidemic on the community and the local economy. The research undertaken is aimed at answering the following questions: (1) Based on the specifics of the COVID-19 Act, what are the systemic and organizational responsibilities assumed by the local government? (2) To what extent has the state of the epidemic affected local government finances, and what effects does it have on various aspects of local government activities? (3) What kind of intervention and preventive actions in various areas of socio-economic life were undertaken by local government units? (4) Have local government units adopted separate programs and strategies to create mechanisms against pandemics and/or adapt local government to new conditions? The analysis was based on source materials, the sparse literature, legal acts, and selected case studies in individual local government units. The chapter is the first stage of a study on the conditions for the functioning and development of local government in Poland after the epidemic was announced in March 2020. In the next stage, it is planned to carry out a deepened empirical analysis.

Cite this chapter
Sienkiewicz, M.W., Kuć-Czajkowska, K.A. (2022). The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Local Government Units in Poland. In: Nunes Silva, C. (eds) Local Government and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Local and Urban Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91112-6_17

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