W numerze [Contents] ARTYKUŁY [Articles] Grzegorz Gorzelak: Wykorzystanie środków Unii Europejskiej dla rozwoju kraju – wstępne analizy [The use of the European Union financial resources for the development of the country: Preliminary analyses], doi: 10.7366/1509499535701, s. 5–25; Magdalena Szmytkowska: Top-down czy bottom-up? Dylematy kształtowania policentrycznych obszarów metropolitalnych na przykładzie Trójmiasta [Top-down or bottom-up? The dilemmas of creating polycentric metropolitan areas: Case study of the Tri-City], doi: 10.7366/1509499535702, s. 26–45; Joanna Rakowska: Codzienne dojazdy do pracy jako ekonomiczne kryterium rządowych klasyfikacji i delimitacji obszarów (na przykładzie USA i Kanady) [Commuting as an economic criterion of categorization and delimitation of areas (examples of US and Canadian governmental classifications)], doi: 10.7366/1509499535703, s. 46–59; Alexander Tölle: Zintegrowane formy planowania i zarządzania rozwojem lokalnym a instrumentarium planistyczne. System polski na tle systemu niemieckiego [Integrated forms of planning and managing local development and the planning toolkit The contrast between the Polish and the German system], doi: 10.7366/1509499535704, s. 60–75; Jolanta Kluba: Okresowe migracje zarobkowe z rodzin rolniczych – przyczynek do analizy opolskich migracji [Temporary labour migrations in farmers’ families A preliminary study of the Opolskie voivodeship’s migrations], doi: 10.7366/1509499535705, s. 76–86; Przemysław Sadura, Dorota Olko: Interwencja socjologiczna jako odpowiedź na kryzys miasta. Studium przypadku konsultacji w sprawie modernizacji ul. Kawęczyńskiej w Warszawie [Sociological intervention as a response to the crisis of the city. A case study of the renovation of Kawęczyńska Street in Warsaw], doi: 10.7366/1509499535706, s. 87–104; Krzysztof Janc: Związki pomiędzy światem on-line i off-line na przykładzie widoczności oraz powiązań pomiędzy miastami w cyberprzestrzeni [On-line and off-line world relations on the example of visibility and connections between cities in the cyberspace], doi: 10.7366/1509499535707, s. 105–124. RECENZJE [Book reviews] Stanisław Ciok: Magdalena Belof, 2013, Teoria a praktyka planowania regionalnego. Doświadczenia polskie w planowaniu przestrzennym po 1998 r., doi: 10.7366/1509499535708, s. 125–131.

This issue of Sociological Review commemorates the 25th anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly of The Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989. It should be recalled that the beginnings of children’s studies and the sociology of childhood coincided in time with the introduction of this treaty, which established international standards for children’s protection and development. The Convention aims at safeguarding the youngest society members from different forms of abuse, exploitation and violence, as well as at promoting their rights to a decent standard of living and to broad social participation. The authors of the articles presented herein, representing the current sociological attitude towards children and youth, follow these assumptions. The articles thus mirror some important attributes of contemporary children’s studies – its cognitive multidimensionality, differentiated quantitative and qualitative methodologies, the shift from “research on children” to “research with children”, scholars’ interest in the results of comparative studies (especially the results of natural sciences), and the concern about the practical implementation of research outcomes. The main topics tackled in this collection of texts are children’s poverty and social inequalities rooted in the first phase of their life cycle, suffering and various risks experienced by children and teenagers, framed in both the national and international contexts, as well as children’s quality of life, youngsters’ well-being, youth participation, civic engagement and the new concept of investing in children. Children, considered as equal social actors and citizens – although still most vulnerable to abuse, discrimination and social exclusion – are presented in the framework of their complicated networks of relationships with peers, adults, collectivities and societies, the welfare state, social policy institutions and other organizations, with the notion to important factors decisive for their present life and their future.