The article presents the results of empirical studies, in which 63 minutes of public discussions over drafts of local plans and studies of pre-conditioning and directions of spatial development of communes in the Mazovian Province in the period 2004-2008 were examined. The research hypothesis assuming that carrying out a public discussion over a draft of the plan in a commune has an impact on, among others, the level of organizational culture of the commune office and authorities, that is, motivations and attitudes of members of those bodies, expressed in relation to the inhabitants of a commune and finding their reflection in the objectives of the organization being actually executed, has been verified.
The article defines the phenomenon of public discussion and its place in democratic practices of public life. It presents various types of public discussion which are useful at spatial planning. The history of Polish legal regulations as regards the function and place of public discussion in spatial planning has been analyzed. The article contains conclusions proposing the necessary improvements of the provisions regulating the use of public discussions in spatial planning.