Powiązania funkcjonalne gmin wiejskich z ośrodkami miejskimi a ich potencjał dochodowy i inwestycyjny w kontekście inwestycji w transformację niskoemisyjną w Polsce

The aim of this article is to assess whether the functional location of rural municipalities in relation to urban centres is associated with differences in their activity in acquiring low-carbon projects co-financed by EU funds. In addition, the study identifies financial factors (revenue and investment potential) that co-occur with this activity in rural municipalities located within Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) and outside them. The study covered rural municipalities analysed according to their membership in Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) and macroregions. The analysis was based on data from Statistics Poland, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy. Descriptive statistics and classification tree methods were applied. The results indicate that FUA membership is associated with differences in the revenue potential of rural municipalities, whereas its relationship with investment potential is ambiguous and depends on macroregional conditions. This differentiation is reflected in municipalities’ activity in implementing low-carbon projects. Municipalities belonging to FUAs participate in such projects more frequently and achieve higher financial intensity of investments per capita and per km², although the scale of this effect varies across macroregions. The classification tree analysis also shows that the configuration of financial factors co-occurring with the analysed investment activity differs depending on functional location. In municipalities belonging to FUAs, structural and development-related indicators are of greater importance, whereas in municipalities outside FUAs the key role is played by current financial condition, particularly the ability to generate an operating surplus.