Transformation of the functions of the rural area in the Moscow region over 20 years of market reforms

Abstract

Many authors emphasize the specificity of the development of a rural area in a suburban zone. The goal of this work is to reveal the territorial regularities in the transformation of the functions of suburban rural area. The development features of the rural area in Moscow oblast for the last 20 years are considered. Four major functions are selected among traditionally distinguished rural functions: agriculture, organized recreation, environmental, and residential functions. The major directions of spatial transformation are determined for each of them. The properties of structural changes in the above-mentioned functions are studied based on a key investigation of the Stupino district in Moscow oblast, and the transformation factors are distinguished. The role of the agricultural and recreation function is shown to have decreased during the period under consideration. The reduction in the agricultural output has turned out to be particularly significant in the municipalities, which are the nearest to Moscow and in the east; the municipalities in the near belt have remained leading in the recreation complex. The environmental function has undergone almost no changes, and the residential function has been developing at high rates in contrast to all others, particularly intensively in the municipalities, which are the nearest to the center and in the south. The polarization in the development intensity of the central and peripheral parts of the territory has been ascertained to grow for the oblast as a whole and for the Stupino district in particular.