The book you are holding is the 25th volume of the journal Quaestiones Geographicae, and also the first volume of its new series B entitled "Human Geography and Spatial Management". This is a good occasion to outline briefly the history of the journal and its prospects.
Quaestiones Geographicae was established in 1974 as an annual of the then Institute of Geography, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań. Its first editor was Prof. Dr hab. Stefan Kozarski. Initially the scope of the journal covered issues in both physical and socio-economic geography; since 1982, exclusively physical geography. In 2006 there appeared the idea of a return to the original conception of the journal, although in a somewhat modified organisational form. Starting with volume 25, Quaestiones Geographicae will include two series, A - Physical Geography and B - Human Geography and Spatial Management. Each year the given volume will contain two numbers, one in each series. The publisher of the journal is the Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. The first number of the new series, prepared on the occasion of a conference of the International Geographical Union in Brisbane, contains articles presenting the latest achievements of the Faculty in socio-economic geography. However, it is the publisher's intention to make the journal increasingly international in scope. We hope to invite authors from a variety of centres all over the world, representing not only geosciences but also other disciplines (like spatial planning, regional economics, and environmental science) to send their contributions that can be subsumed under the Human Geography and Spatial Management series. Preferably, they should be works with a deep theoretical background, overviews, or comparative studies of interest to an international readership. 

The first number of the series is theme-oriented and devoted to spatial aspects of the postcommunist transformation in Poland. Fifteen years of the transformation of the socio-economic system is a period long enough to allow some generalisations. The articles collected in the book address key issues of the transformation, such as the role of a knowledge-based economy in regional development (Z. Chojnicki, T. Czyż), the first experiences of regional policy after Poland's accession to the European Union (P. Churski, T. Stryjakiewicz), the transformation of towns and cities (J. Parysek), rural areas (B. Głębocki, A. Kołodziejczak) and large industrial enterprises (H. Rogacki), and finally the issue of transborder and inter-territorial co-operation of Polish communes and regions (T. Kaczmarek).

Spis treści:

TADEUSZ STRYJAKIEWICZ: Introduction 
 
ZBYSZKO CHOJNICKI, TERESA CZYŻ: The role of knowledge in the shaping of a knowledge-based economy and economic development of Poland: a regional approach 
 
PAWEŁ CHURSKI, TADEUSZ STRYJAKIEWICZ: New experiences of Polish regional policy in the first years of membership in the European Union 
 
JERZY J. PARYSEK: Processes affecting the development and transformation of towns in Central European states: the case of Poland 
 
BENICJUSZ GŁĘBOCKI: Changes in the agrarian structure of Poland in 1990-2002 
 
ANNA KOŁODZIEJCZAK: Agriculture and the countryside in Poland: alternative scenarios of change 
 
HENRYK ROGALKI: Large industrial enterprises in Poland: changes in the regional pattern 
 
TOMASZ KACZMAREK: Transborder co-operation and inter-territorial partnership of Polish communes and regions