Оценка деятельности органов власти по развитию социальной инфраструктуры урбанизированных пространств

Abstract

Introduction: the article deals with the problems in the activities of the authorities in developing the infrastructural profile of urbanized spaces. Objectives: to analyze the activities of the authorities in developing the social infrastructure of urbanized spaces based on the interpretation of the assessments from the residents of these territories. Methods: questionnaire survey of Russian cities residents conducted in January–February 2023. The final sample included 65 regions of the Russian Federation, 844 respondents. The study was exploratory in nature. During the analysis of the data obtained, the following methods as comparative analysis, analysis of random contingency tables with the calculation of Pearson’s χ2 index were used. Results: residents of large cities give higher estimates of the infrastructure development level (the average values for the sample higher by 14.7 pps). Small towns and rural settlements are in a more vulnerable position, 2/3 of the population living there assesses the social infrastructure development level as medium or low. An analysis of the respondents’ answers revealed an expected relationship between the assessments of the level of infrastructure development profile and the authorities efficiency. Despite a rather high satisfaction with the social infrastructure in general, the study identified key problems in the development of urbanized spaces, namely: difficulties in obtaining quality medical care (45.9 %), poor quality of engineering communications (34.1 %), bad roads (28.2 %). The following were named as reasons for the insufficient level of infrastructure development: unreasonable spending of budget funds (59.8 %), corruption in government bodies (54.1 %). Conclusions: the results of the study showed that evaluation of infrastructure development level is determined by the respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics (income level, gender, age). It has been established that the indicators of trust in the authorities related to decisionmaking in developing infrastructure and the assessment of the activities of power structures are closely related. At the same time, trust forms a higher level of the Russians readiness to participate in city development practices