Genesis and socio-economic condition of single-industry towns

Abstract

Crisis single-industry towns will remain in the foreseeable historical perspective an acute socio-economic problem both in Russia and in the rest of the world. The emergence of single-industry towns started in the beginning of the 18th century due to deep historical, geographical and socio-economic causes connected with development of territories and new types of economic activity, and single-industry towns themselves also contributed to emergence of social ideas and transformations. Dependence of the life of a town on one enterprise often related to the extractive sector, remote location of the town means increased risks for the socio-economic situation. In this respect, Russian cities do not differ from foreign ones. In Russia, at the official level, both the criteria for classifying settlements as single-industry towns and the methods of working with them are still evolving. The palette of solutions to the crisis of single-industry towns is well developed, but the complex nature of the problem leads to lack of ready-made solutions that guarantee success. The key point is elaborating the strategy for development of single-industry town with appropriate investment support mechanisms or, in some cases, even making a decision to close up the settlement and switch, for example, to a rotational method of work on the territory. The transition to sustainable development of single-industry towns requires coordinated efforts of all participants and stakeholders: business, local authorities and population, and significant political will of the state, while the Federation must fill in the gaps in the competence of regional authorities, if any. In this article the typology of single-industry towns and solutions is considered in the context of their genesis, the processes of transformation of modern economy and evolution in the perception of single-industry towns by society. Such approach should contribute to a more meaningful perception and decision-making leading to a long-term progressive improvement of the situation.