Factors of sustainable development of urban agglomerations: The role of infrastructure potential

Abstract

Subject. The article the features of infrastructure potential as a key factor of sustainable development of urban agglomerations. Objectives. The aim is to consider the essence of urban agglomerations, study existing approaches to classification and specifics of their formation, analyze the main factors of sustainable development and their importance in terms of increasing the competitiveness and sustainability of urban agglomerations, determine the role of infrastructure potential in sustainable development and its impact on the sustainability and competitiveness of urban agglomerations. Methods. The study employs analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, graphical and statistical methods. We also applied generalization of scientific literature and official statistics. Results. The paper presents an attempt to generalize theoretical approaches to the definition of sustainable development and key factors influencing the socio-economic development of urban agglomerations. We offered our approach to the definition of key factors, demonstrated the importance of infrastructure potential as a backbone of sustainable development of urban agglomerations. Conclusions. It is crucial to legislate a unified methodology for assessing the factors of sustainable development on the socio-economic indicators of the agglomeration and, as a result, on its stability and competitiveness.