Single-industry Town Research Articles

Single-industry town as a separate political space: results of a socio-political study

The article analyses the problems of socio-political development of towns and the place of sociological research in this process, demonstrating its importance and the relevance of studying public policy at the local level. As an object of research, special attention is paid to single-industry towns due to their vulnerability to various kinds of shocks that directly affect the social and political state of the urban community. In order to reveal the specifics of the socio-political development of a single-industry town as an isolated political space, the city of Sarov was chosen. A survey (questionnaire survey) of respondents in Sarov and an expert interview were used as the main research methods. Three hypotheses regarding the factors of political and social behaviour of Sarov’s residents of were put forward in the course of the study, one of which was later confirmed. The principal features of socio-political development of a single-industry town have been revealed.

Single-industry town: Assessing the activity of town-forming enterprise

Subject. The article considers performance indicators of a city–forming enterprise (absolute indicators, like revenue, cost of sales, net profit; relative indicators, like coefficients of autonomy, current liquidity, return on sales, assets, equity) and the level of socio-economic development of a single-industry town (demographic indicators, housing and communal services, investment activity). Objectives. The purpose is to analyze and evaluate the activities of a city-forming enterprise, its production and technological linkages and their impact on socio-economic development of the entire monotown. The paper considers the cases of Kamensk-Uralsky and Polevskoy monotowns and their town-forming enterprises. Methods. We employ methods of theoretical, statistical, financial and economic analysis. Results. We assessed the indicators of the monotowns’ socio-economic condition. In both cases, on the one hand, there are negative trends in population decline, the investment policy is underdeveloped. On the other hand, the construction of housing stock is expanding. There are production and technological linkages between the major employers of the monotowns under study. However, both of them are characterized by low efficiency of production and economic activity. Conclusions. The interaction of town-forming enterprises along production and technological chains, affiliation with larger institutional entities, like strategic unions, associations, corporations, etc., do not guarantee effective development of either the town-forming enterprise or the single-industry town as a whole. A better targeted support from municipal, regional, and federal government agencies, and attracting private investment are required.

Corporate social responsibility of a city-forming and system-forming enterprise: analysis and directions of development

City-forming and system-forming organizations play an important role in the socio-economic development of the region, local and regional budgets are formed due to their tax revenues, they provide jobs to residents of the region, form the social environment and significantly affect the quality of life of the population. One of the basic elements of such organizations is the corporate social responsibility system, the effective functioning of which ensures not only sustainable business development, but also improvement of the social environment of the territory and improvement of the quality of life of its residents. This article discusses the experience of implementing the main directions of the corporate social responsibility system in PJSC "NEFAZ" (part of the group of PJSC "KAMAZ"). Particular attention is paid to the priority areas of the personnel policy of PJSC NEFAZ (staff motivation, staff development, social policy, labor protection) and its impact on the strategic development of the organization in question as a resident of the territory of advanced socio-economic development, a single-industry municipality (single-industry town) "Neftekamsk".

Community cultural development: Exploring the connections between collective art making, capacity building and sustainable community-based tourism

To avoid tourism becoming an extractive industry, communities must develop capacity to participate and assume ownership of decision-making processes for it. This article explores the connections among community-based cultural practices, individual and community capacity and sustainable tourism. Along with personal observation and review of relevant archival data, we conducted interviews with a sample of individuals from a community cultural development organization in a single industry town in Central Appalachia. Our case analysis suggested that Community Cultural Development methods can enhance community capacity and the sustainability of tourism by increasing residents' effective participation in decision-making, encouraging locals' partnership in, and ownership of, tourism projects and providing space for negotiating the tourist gaze in guest-host relationships.

Diversification of defence industry complex and directions of production facilities transformation

The diversification of the defence industry at the backbone and city-forming enterprises of the complex will directly affect the diversification of single-industry towns, the production facilities transformation of the complex and real estate of single-industry towns. The prospects for the development of the city-forming enterprises of the defence industry and related single-industry towns in the context of a decrease in the state defence order seem unfavorable. The diversification of defence industry complex will affect the formation of a high-quality living environment in a single-industry town.The article considers three alternative solutions to the state and status of these objects – their reconstruction, transformation or possible liquidation. It is noted, that it is possible to solve the urgent task of improving the energy efficiency of buildings through the use of both technical and architectural means during the reconstruction of the industrial complex of the defense industry and real estate of a single-industry town.

ПЕРЕОСМЫСЛЕНИЕ МОНОГОРОДОВ: ОРИЕНТАЦИЯ НА РАЗВИТИЕ ТУРИЗМА

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2022, combined with the introduction of restrictive sanctions, had a strong impact on the mobility of the population, first of all, it concerns tourism. For a significant part of tourists who usually traveled abroad, there was a need to reorient to Russian resorts and other attractions within the country, which requires the active development of various tourism directions: from traditional routes to innovative niche formats (medical, industrial, stalking, etc. tourism). In recent years, tourism in Russia has become the preferred tool for the development of small, including single-industry cities, where it is possible to develop and strengthen the tourism services sector. Using tourism as a development tool is quite expensive. The state subsidizes the formation and improvement of infrastructure, but, in addition to financing, the development of tourism requires specific programs to increase tourist attractiveness. The unrecoverable costs are inevitably significant, and the results are unpredictable. The dilemmas associated with tourism financing are numerous and complex. This is especially true for tourist single-industry towns, which are difficult to fit into the available categories of state funding allocated for Russian single-industry towns (where the goal is to diversify the economy while maintaining employment in the city). The article examines the framework of state and municipal policy, which must be coordinated at all levels of government and provided with regional and federal support. Achieving this goal also requires clarifying the very concept of "tourist single-industry town" and the criteria for its definition.

Features of the spread of a new coronavirus infection in a single-industry town with limited population migration

Features of the spread of a new coronavirus infection in a single-industry town with limited population migration

Internet behavior and social stratification in a single-industry town: overcoming or perpetuating inequality?

Internet behavior and social stratification in a single-industry town: overcoming or perpetuating inequality?

Информационная система сбора и анализа требований рынка труда для профессиональной подготовки и трудоустройства населения моногорода

The article considers one of the problems of formation and development of the system of advanced training of personnel for a monotown. In monotowns that are in difficult socioeconomic conditions (including the ones that are caused by problems related to the city-forming enterprises), there is a significant quantitative and qualitative imbalance between the requirements of the labor market and the existing professional and qualification structure and the size of the able-bodied population. Accordingly, the orientation of educational institutions of a single-industry town only to the domestic labor market will not solve the problem of employment. In this regard, the article considers the possibility of analyzing the requirements of external labor markets for a single industry town for employment of the population in the format of remote or rotational work. An automated system has been developed that collects and analyzes information from the databases of vacancies existing on the Internet (in particular, from the portal hh.ru), taking into account the specified restrictions on the employment forms. The developed system provides analytics on in-demand professions, in-demand competencies in vacancies, as well as in-demand competencies in professions. This information can serve to substantiate the directions and content of educational programs for educational institutions.

Assessment of sustainable socio-economic development of the single-industry Zhezkazgan town

The article analyzes the sustainable social-economic development of Zhezkazgan town in the period 2016 to 2020, gives an assessment of the integral indicator of the development of a single-industry town. The methodology of assessing the state of sustainable development of the city based on the calculation of integral indicators of social, economic and infrastructure development is presented. The main social-economic indicators Zhezkazgan are used as data, which are obtained from the Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan. To calculate the integral indicators of development in the directions, the weighting coefficients of the social, economic and infrastructural development of the town were first determined. The developed methodological approach has been tested in the conditions of the single-industry Zhezkazgan town. According to the results of analysis and assessment of dynamics of integral indicators, recommendations to increase the sustainability of the development of the monocity are given.

АНАЛИЗ ЗАБОЛЕВАЕМОСТИ ВЗРОСЛОГО НАСЕЛЕНИЯ, ПРОЖИВАЮЩЕГО В ЗОНЕ ДЕЙСТВИЯ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЯ АТОМНОЙ ИНДУСТРИИ

Significance. Implementation of the federal projects “Fight against cardiovascular diseases” and “Fight against cancer” requires assessment of incidence of socially significant diseases in population (malignant neoplasms, diabetes mellitus, mental and behavioral disorders, diseases characterized by elevated blood pressure). One of the categories of citizens requiring such assessment is population of single-industry towns accounting for about 12.5 % of the Russian population. Purpose. To analyze incidence of socially significant diseases in the adult population of a single-industry town located in the area of operation of a nuclear industry enterprise in 1990-2020. The material of the study was information on disease incidence among adult population of the closed administrative-territorial entity – the city of Seversk, residing in the operation area of the Siberian Chemical Plant in 1990-2020. Results. During the study period there was an increase in the incidence of malignant neoplasms, diseases of the endocrine system (including diabetes mellitus), as well as diseases of the circulatory system (in particular, diseases characterized by elevated blood pressure). At the same time, in 2018-2020, there was a decrease in the incidence of diseases under study, as well as a decrease in the incidence rates with temporary disability. The incidence of mental and behavioral disorders associated with the use of psychoactive substances has been steadily decreasing throughout the study period. Conclusion. Increase in incidence of socially significant diseases is most likely due to population aging and increase in the share of people aged 60 and older in population. However, the 2018-2020, decline in incidence rates requires a further analysis of availability of primary health care, volumes of emergency care, hospital mortality and mortality of population of the area under study. Decreased incidence of mental and behavioral disorders associated with the use of psychoactive substances suggests that the socio-economic situation in the Russian Federation has significantly improved during the study period.

Industrial special economic zone and single-industry town: Industry-branch orientation

Subject. This article discusses the problems of socio-economic development of monocities. Objectives. The article aims to consider the industry specialization of special economic zones (SEZ) and determine the extent of their mutual influence. Methods. For the study, we used a statistical analysis. Results. Based on the analysis of performance indicators of industrial special economic zones, the article breaks down economic zones and monocities by federal districts and describes their sectoral trends. The article emphasizes that when creating economic zones, the category the nearby monocities belong to was not taken into account, and there is no interaction between the zone and the monocity. Conclusions. On the basis of the studied, it can be assumed that when creating industrial special economic zones, the objective to improve the socio-economic situation of nearby monocities was not set at all.

Directions of socio—economic transformation of single—industry towns (on the example of the city of Kotovsk, Tambov region)

The article reveals the problems of socio–economic development of single– industry towns in Russia. The directions of socio–economic transformation of a monotown have been determined: formation of target documents for development; creation of zones of attraction for investors; diversification of production of the city–forming enterprise. It is concluded that the city of Kotovsk, as one of the monocities, needs to attract financial injections of small and large investors. At the same time, the successful implementation of all announced investment projects will have a positive impact on the diversification of the economy of a single–industry town, the growth of its tax base and the welfare of the population, as well as a decrease in the outflow of labor.

The Palimpsest of Welfarism: Enduring Layers of Paternalism in a New Zealand Industry Town

This paper explores the enduring impression made by industry and its representatives on the workforces, communities and locations in which it resides. This oral history study is based on a New Zealand single industry town developed in the post-World War II era and founded on the principles of industrial welfarism and paternalism. The study reveals that the employment relation practices of the town’s symbolic “founding father” have had an enduring effect on shared community identification long after the withdrawal of these practices, and the subsequent downsizing of the primary industry. Thus, the predominant memory was both shaped by principles of industrial paternalism and entwined with stories of recent events of downsizing and redundancy. Drawing on the metaphor of palimpsest, we consider how present accounts of downsizing and redundancy simultaneously overlay, dismantle and rewrite historical accounts of paternalistic interaction in the community. This paper highlights the enduring politics of industrial history, and the continued legacy of industrial strategies on the way in which we live, work and organise.

Placelessness of urban design and industrial branding in small town planning

ABSTRACT The paper analyses placemaking in a small Finnish single-industry town through two architectural projects: the municipality’s downtown rejuvenation plan and the new visitor centre of a transnational corporation. It deploys Relph’s concept of placelessness interpreting it relationally with the concept of assemblage, and analyses how the two projects resonate with the place’s material and expressive elements. They represent high-quality architecture but embody placelessness: the visitor centre is physically detached from the town, and the downtown plan neglects industrial heritage. This is a missed opportunity for attractive place-making, and shows an urge for novel public-private collaboration in small town urban design.

“Zdes vse neftyaniki”: diskursivno-simvolicheskoe proizvodstvo i osparivanie neravenstva v severnom monogorode

The article analyzes the phenomenon of intra-city inequality under the rule of city-forming enterprises in the northern single-industry (oil) town by employing R. Brubaker’s cognitive-linguistic version of social constructivism. The “capital” of the LUKOIL Oil Company — Kogalym (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Yugra) — was chosen as a research focus. The mechanisms of production and contestation of intra-city inequality in Kogalym are analyzed based on complex historical-field research data. The corporate imageineering (Ch. Rutheiser’s term) of Kogalym, ritual aspects of the town culture, as well as various discursive frameworks of the town’s selfpresentation are considered. We focus our attention on the complex social antagonism between oil workers and non-oil workers; we investigate its causes and dynamics, specifically, through the case of the transformation of the Kogalym Day celebration. We conclude that — in the context of a single-industry town — the cultural hegemony of the dominant group is ensured through closely related practices: the corporate unification of the cultural landscape of the town, consolidation of the dominant group’s point of view in the local historical narrative, reframing of the professional holiday of the dominant group as town-wide, official holiday commemorations, and gift rituals. The grassroot frustration on the part of the excluded is manifested in the form of a folklore reaction to the symbols of the “dominant” group, the creation of a historical narrative and places of memory alternative to the official canon. At the same time, the specific life cycle of the northern single-industry town’s population considerably diminishes its cultural diversity.

Теоретические основы цифровой трансформации рынка труда и занятости в моногороде

Introduction. On the territory of the Chelyabinsk region there are 16 single-industry towns, the labor market and employment of which depend on the socio-economic situation of the single-industry enterprise. This state of matters results in the growth of unemployment, decrease in the level of human capital, the population’s life quality, and the loss of scientific and production potential. According to the authors, developing the theoretical foundations of the labor market and employment digital transformation in a single-industry town will make it possible to find alternative ways of employing the population in order to improve regional policy on the labor and employment market. The purpose of the study is to develop the theoretical foundations of the labor market and employment digital transformation in a monotown. Methods. The authors use the following scientific methods: system analysis, comparison, description, generalization, systematization, formalization, analysis of sources, etc. The scientific novelty of the research consists in defining the concepts «digital transformation of the labor market of a monotown», «digital platform of the labor market»; in determining changes in the elements of a monotown labor market structure in the processes of digital transformation; in determining the subjects, objects of the labor market digital transformation; in developing a comparative characteristic of the traditional labor market and the labor market of Industry 4.0 monocity; in developing recommendations for the digital transformation of the labor market of a monotown in order to improve the regional employment policy. Results and conclusions. As a result of analyzing the structure of the population’s employment in single-industry towns of the Chelyabinsk region, the authors determine quantitative transformations in the number of the residing population, the average number of employees towards its reduction; the authors characterize the average monthly salary of workers in organizations of single-industry towns as unstable. The analysis of unemployment shows that there is a tendency for the number of youth among the unemployed to grow, at the same time, hidden unemployment is decreasing; in general, the unemployment rate in single-industry towns is higher than in the Chelyabinsk region for the entire study period. The analysis shows that it is necessary to search for alternative ways of employing the population, of decreasing the unemployment rate, which made it possible to develop theoretical foundations for transforming the labor market and employment of a single-industry town.

Sustainable development of single-industry towns in Russia

The modern practice of defining administrative-industrial territories has formed the concept of «single-industry towns». Currently, there are many definitions of this phenomenon; however, the common criterion for classifying a town as a single-industry town is that its socio-economic development depends on the activities of one city-forming enterprise or several enterprises in the technological structure that operate within a single production and technological process. Such dependence for settlements with narrow specialization has a negative impact during the crisis situation at the enterprise or its liquidation. The negative consequences include a sharp increase in unemployment (including hidden one), aggravation of social problems, acceleration of population outflow to more developed cities/regions of the region/country, sharply reduced revenues to the local budget, which leads to the impossibility of independent development of the settlement. The problems of single-industry towns in the periods of economic crises are pronounced. Results. This paper has defined the criteria of single-industry towns, approaches to the identification of single-industry towns. In addition, the models and factors contributing to the sustainable socio-economic development of single-industry towns and domestic experience in the modernization of single-industry town settlements are identified.

Влияние деятельности градообразующего предприятия на развитие моногорода

Subject/topic. The article deals with the interaction and influence of the city-forming enterprise JSC «Alexandrovsky Machine-building Plant» on the single-industry city of Alexandrovsk and the Alexandrovsky district as a whole. Goals and objectives of the work. The purpose of this work is to assess the financial, economic, and production activities of JSC «AMZ» for the period 2016-2020, as well as the socio-economic development of the single-industry town of Alexandrovsk and the Alexandrovsky district for the same period. Methodology. To analyse the financial, economic, and production activities of JSC «AMZ», an assessment was made of such indicators as the dynamics of net, non-current, and current assets, accounts payable, profit (gross, from sales, before tax, and net), business expenses, and production costs. To analyse the socio-economic development of the single-industry town of Alexandrovsk and the Alexandrovsky district, an assessment of the demographic situation, the investment climate, and the development of small and medium-sized businesses was carried out. Results. It is concluded that the development and financial and economic condition of the city-forming enterprise JSC «Alexandrovsky Machine-Building Plant» directly affects the socio-economic development of the single-industry town of Alexandrovsk and the Alexandrovsky district as a whole. The city-forming enterprise is on the verge of bankruptcy. If this procedure takes place, the issue of the existence of the single-industry town of Alexandrovsk will become much more acute, since at the moment there is a significant outflow of the working-age population, especially young people. Conclusions/significance. The practical significance of this study consists in the proposed recommendations for improving the efficiency of the city-forming enterprise JSC «Alexandrovsky Machine-Building Plant». Application. The problems of the development of a city-forming enterprise, a single-industry town and the proposed recommendations can be used to improve the development strategy of both the city-forming enterprise itself (JSC «Alexandrovsky Machine-Building Plant») and the single-industry town of Alexandrovsk and the Alexandrovsky district as a whole.

Housing Reproduction Strategy in Single-Industry Towns

The research showed the contribution of domestic single-industry towns to the total GDP of the country. We identified the main features and the definition of a «single-industry town» or «mono-profile settlement» based on the perspective of its functional purpose. The research also analyzed and systematized factors affecting the decrease in the economic potential of domestic single-industry towns. We summarized a number of measures to achieve a stable socio-economic situation in the territory of a mono-profile settlement. The research pointed out the necessity of reproducing housing facilities in the context of the main areas of financial recovery of problematic single-industry towns. The possibilities and scope of specialized approaches developed specifically for the reproduction of housing in single-industry towns with low economic potential were investigated. The authors developed a universal analytical model to determine necessary volumes of housing reproduction within the framework of the policy of financial rehabilitation of mono-profile cities.