The article presents a report on studies concerning the role of planning documents in the modernization process of the Poznań metropolitan area (PMA). Over the last 25 years, dynamic social, economic and spatial changes have taken place in this area, which is becoming an increasingly integrated place combining living, work and leisure for a million residents. Emerging challenges regarding the functional, spatial and infrastructural modernization of the PMA call for new planning methods. In this respect, the existing planning documents and methods by which they are prepared are not able to keep up with the ongoing changes and constitute an obstacle in the modernization of the metropolitan area. The purpose of the article is to identify the risks posed by the discrepancies of existing planning records. Recommendations aimed at adapting the planning documents to the challenges of modernizing the PMA have also been presented.