We reported a few weeks back that Europe could be getting a brand-new country, and now there’s news of a brand new city which will sprawl further and wider than London or Rome – say what?
Okay, it’s not as crazy and futuristic as it sounds. In reality, Poland is proposing the creation of a new ‘supercity’, but they’re not building it from the ground up – instead, plans involve joining 41 existing towns in Poland’s southern region of Silesia to create this new metropolitan region.
The area has a population of 2.1 million and covers roughly 2,500 square kilometres, which is significantly larger than London’s 1,572 and Rome’s 1,285, but what’s the point in all this?
Well, according to TVP World, chairman of Upper Silesian-Zagłębie Metropolis (the joint association for the 41 towns) Kazimierz Karolczak said the aim is to ‘improve the quality of life of residents by using the potential of individual localities within one organism’.
And progress has already been made. So far, common public transport tickets have been rolled out, and various metropolitan lines have been launched.
In the future, there are hopes that other benefits will mean cheaper utilities for residents, a coherent tax policy and various development projects across the area. It’s an intriguing proposal for sure – stay tuned for updates on how it all progresses.
Did you see that this European ski resort has been crowned the best in the world?
Plus: The best (and worst) countries for nature conservation have been ranked.
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Travel newsletter for all the latest travel news and best stuff happening across the world.