A Highway Connector as a Catalyst for Spatial and Functional Transformations in the Road Corridor: The Case of the Eastern Section of the A4 Highway in Poland

The article examines land-use and functional–spatial changes in the areas surrounding highway connectors. The study focuses on the eastern section of the A4 highway in Poland between Kraków and Rzeszów. Its aim is to identify the scale and functional structure of land-use changes within operationally defined study areas surrounding five connectors. The analysis draws on spatial data, cartographic materials, high-resolution satellite imagery, cadastral parcel data, and CAD/GIS tools. The results show an increase in built-up land and a corresponding reduction in unbuilt land in all five cases, although the scale and functional composition of the changes varied considerably. Industrial land showed the largest increase in several cases, whereas changes in service and residential land were more varied. The findings document the co-occurrence of improved transport accessibility and land-use transformation but do not isolate the causal effect of the connectors. They support the need to integrate transport and spatial planning and to monitor long-term land-use change in highly accessible corridors.