Russia and China: Prospects for the Development of Urban Agglomerations

Abstract

This research is aimed at studying the development of cities and agglomerations, which is an urgent problem equally for the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation. The level of urbanization increases with the development of territories, which makes it necessary to comprehend the processes taking place in urbanized regions and make management decisions to improve the quality of life and equalize it throughout the territory. Within the framework of these processes, the role of core cities remains, which are the centres of preferential development for the entire urban system as a whole.Aim. Comparative analysis of development trends in urbanized regions of China and Russia.Tasks. To analyse the main parameters of the quality of life in large cities of Russia and China. To consider the main trends in the development of urban agglomerations in the direction of its alignment. To determine the development and possibilities of mutual use of the experience of both countries in this process.Methods. The study uses a systematic approach with elements of a structural and functional approach and a comparative research method.Results and conclusion. As the main trends in the development of urbanized regions of Russia and China, the following are highlighted: the growth of the scale of territories and the concentration of a significant population on them, the associated aggravation of a number of problems, such as increasing competition in the integrated labour market, standardization and unification of the p rovision of basic services, increasing burden on local budgets and often limiting the autonomy of municipalities, the need to improve transport systems to increase the mobility of the population throughout the territory of the agglomeration.