After years of treating the territory as a main and active factor of the economic growth, a large city is once again regarded as a basic centre of this type of development. Intensification of the globalisation process as well as a noticeable demand for research and development and for financial services, make this belief even stronger. The existence of metropolises is regarded as a key to the international competitiveness of a certain country and to its attractiveness for external investments. While today, there is no doubt that the metropolises are the driving force of a modern economy, the conditions of their development cause many social, economic and ecological problems. Because of that, it is necessary to consider negative effects of the metropolisation processes and compare them to the global benefits brought by them. The effects of certain forms of urbanisation result in costs that reduce the expected benefits of the economic development, which assessment depends on chosen models and measures.