EN
The authors attempt to explain some essential problems connected with the shaping of the settlement network. The research results presented in this article possess a character of diagnosis of the present situation. The researches encompassed towns situated within the so-called central macroregion, with the main attention being focussed on: a) assessment of changes in functions performed by the towns under review in the settlement system over the period of 1973- -1978. b) determination of the rate of changes in development of the towns on the basis of demographic processes occuring in them over the years 1946-1970. The researches allowed to reveal a number of significant phenomena and causalities appearing in the settlement system, and among others the phenomenon of oubstitution of towns development according to their functions, size, apatial location etc. The size of the sample (93 towns), i.e, ever 10 per cent of the total number óf Po)and'a towns allows to treat the authors conclusion as ones of more general nature and since they may refer to majority of towns in Poland.