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This paper describes the process of metropolisation at work within the urban region of Upper Silesia (Poland). Centered around Katowice, the capital city, this vast conurbation of two million inhabitants, inherited from the industrial period, attempts to reorganize itself institutionally and economically, in order to face the new laws of globalization. This article aims at explaining the difficulties faced by institutional actors to structure the metropolitan territory. Indeed, the emergence of a polycentric metropolis in this region is complicated due to its numerous legacies (restructuring of industrial sites, turbulent regional history) which still permeate society and space.