Трансформация сельских систем расселения Иркутской области в условиях депопуляции (на примере Чунского районного муниципального образования)

Abstract

On the example of the Irkutsk region, changes in the system of rural settlement under the influence of the depopulation process are revealed. The period from 2002 to 2021 is considered. Geoinformation mapping shows a pronounced degradation of the rural settlement of most municipal districts of the region outside the Irkutsk agglomeration. The results of the study on the example of one of the municipal districts of the region — Chunsky, revealed that the process of depopulation covers all settlements: urban and rural, different functional and settlement types, with a central and peripheral intra-district geographic location. The main trigger for this process is the economic factor: deagrarianization of rural areas, a decrease in the production functions of rural settlements due to the instability of industrial and agricultural economic entities, their low labor intensity and low power, and the lack of sectoral diversification. The situation is complicated by the regional-peripheral type of geographical location and distance from sales markets. The main links of the settlement system of the area – the centers of settlement, are also subject to transformation, which, in the conditions of a general low population and a reduction in the number of rural settlements, can lead to the loss of the spatial organizing function of the area.