Lviv and Łódź at the Turn of 20th Century. Historical Outline and Natural Environment

In this publication the attempt was undertaken to present the economic history, spatial devel-opment and contemporary image of two cities – Lviv and Łódź. Lviv is situated on an upland in the western part of Ukraine, and Łódź in a lowland area in the central part of Poland. In the interwar period Łódź was the second and Lviv the third biggest city of the Polish Republic. Currently, both cities have a similar number of inhabitants, but they differ substantially as re-gards the city area within administrative boundaries and average population density. Although so different in their historical course of development, both cities encounter at the mo-ment many similar problems and challenges, facing the necessity to create their future prosperi-ty exploiting their specific local potentials and to continue their best traditions of urban growth in all aspects – spatial, social, cultural and economic.