Development Of Small Towns Research Articles

Analysis of social results of tourism performing arts industry in cultural tourism convergence using fuzzy comprehensive analysis methods

This work aims to conduct an empirical study on the social benefits of cultural tourism towns featuring the tourism performance industry in the integration of cultural tourism. It combines the BP deep neural network and fuzzy comprehensive analysis method to construct a BP-fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model and applies it to the social empirical investigation of Taiyuan Cultural Tourism Town. In addition, the weights of evaluation indicators such as cultural inheritance and protection, ecological environment improvement and commodity economic development on the development of small towns are calculated. The results show that the weight values of cultural inheritance and protection, ecological environment improvement and commodity economy development on the social results are 0.522, 0.570 and 0.424, respectively. A total of 41.20% of the life benefit G1 is excellent; 39.5% of the environmental benefit of G2 is excellent; and 40.5% of the economic benefit is good. A total of 30.76% of the total social results of the cultural tourism towns are excellent, 37.69% are good, 21.48% are qualified and 10.07% are unqualified. In conclusion, the total social results of TAIYUAN’s cultural tourism town are good. Cultural inheritance and protection, ecological environment improvement and commodity economy development are the key evaluation factors of social results.

Migration, emerging multiculturalism and planning in rural and small town Aotearoa New Zealand

ABSTRACT Rural and small town New Zealand is undergoing significant demographic and economic transitions. Steady out-migration, economic change and population aging since the 1980s/1990s catalysed the ‘zombie town’ discourse. This parallels the rise of rural multiculturalism as a new multi-ethnic demographic makeup is distinctly visible due to diversification of immigration policies responding to regional labour and skills shortages, amenity migrations, and counterurbanisation. While having the potential to restore regional economic and cultural vibrancy, these changes lead to issues related to integration challenges for migrants as well as tensions in host communities regarding diminishing rural amenities, lifestyles, and exhaustion of the limited rural infrastructure base. Some of these dynamics have gained new momentum due to COVID-19-induced disruptions, e.g. border closure. These are occurring at the same time as broader economic, environmental and planning policy shifts disrupt rural realities and opportunities. This commentary presents initial evidence from a larger study and discusses emerging discourses related to regional New Zealand in five thematic areas – demographic disruptions and new mobilities, emerging small town realities beyond economic migration, impacts of COVID-19, economic development, and the changing governance and planning landscape. In particular we highlight the need to recognise the emerging rural multiculturalism in small town planning and development, which received little attention in the past due to planning’s historical ‘large city’ bias and other local constraints.

Малые города Северной Осетии в системе социально-экономического развития Северо-Осетинской АССР

The article studies the problems of the emergence and further development of small towns on the territory of the North Ossetian ASSR. For the first time, the sources introduced allow us to trace the dynamics of the process of the emergence of small towns on the territory of the North Ossetian ASSR. It was found that the separation from the total mass of rural settlements as a transfer to the position of urban settlements did not happen by chance. In several settlements by this time, there were several large, economically designed enterprises that could become city-forming. These in-clude factories for processing non-ferrous metal ores in Alagir, an oil refinery in Mozdok, canner-ies in Ardon, etc. It was found that some settlements specialized in processing agricultural prod-ucts, while others became quite large industrial zones in the republic. In the pre-war years (1938), the small town of Alagir appeared. This is because the re-equipment of military equipment required a large amount of non-ferrous metal ores, manganese, etc. For their modern extraction and processing, new enterprises were created, which became the core of new settlements-cities. Other small towns appeared on the map with the ASSR in 1950 and 1964. Thus, the city of Beslan was a major railway interchange through which the movement of goods, passenger traffic, etc. was carried out. In addition, a maize mill successfully operated in Beslan, which ranked sec-ond in Europe in terms of capacity. The cities of Ardon and Digora played a much smaller eco-nomic role, which in the 1960s and 1970s found themselves in a transitional situation. In these small settlements, the influence of the traditional rural way of life was still strong. However, the process of transition to the state of urban life was gaining momentum.

Small town in the border region of Russia: socio-cultural and socio-economic problems

The article analyses the main socio-economic and socio-cultural problems that hinder the development of small towns in the Russian border area. Based on qualitative data obtained during research in 2014–2021 in border regions of Russia, the main negative trends were identified, which, in the opinion of local residents, must be eliminated or reduced in the first place in order for a small town to survive. It is shown that most of the small towns in are in a depressed state, with high rates of depopulation. It is concluded that it is necessary to preserve them, since they are not only of cultural and historical value for the reproduction of socio-cultural potential, but also are important strategic territories that can withstand non-military threats and contribute to the preservation of the country’s integrity and its security.

Research on Making Use of Sports Tourism Resources to Build and Develop Sports Leisure Towns (Small Towns in Guangxi).

With the continuous progress of the times, people's economic level has also improved, and they have more specific requirements for their own quality of life. At present, looking at the domestic health industry, its development is far from meeting people's expectations. In recent years, the state has advocated the construction of a number of sports characteristic small towns with national participation, beautiful ecology, industrial integration, and distinctive characteristics. The Guangxi government responded to the national initiative and actively supported it in policy, introduced investment funds, and established eight sports characteristic small towns, which are in good condition of development. This study takes this as the research object, through consulting various literatures, data material, and visiting experts and scholars, actually checks the development of these eight characteristic small towns, and sorts out and analyzes the collected information on its natural resources, humanistic characteristics, and diversified industrial integration. It provides a theoretical basis for the subsequent design, planning, and practice of characteristic small town. After the overall normative construction and taking the normative effect as the empirical evaluation standard, it has effectively promoted the vigorous development of small towns with sports characteristics in China.

Innovations in the economic development of river tourism as the basis of the multiplier effect in the development of small towns

The article considers the prospects for innovative development of water transport in the field of river tourist transportation, proposed on the basis of the use of foreign experience, determines the scope of implementation of a potential innovative transport project and quantifies the possible economic effect. The purpose of the research is to determine the ways of organizing tourist river transportation using innovations to achieve a multiplicative effect in the development of the economy of small towns in the coastal zone. As the main research methods, the authors identified: analytical method, observation, abstraction and generalization. The result of the study is the justification of the need to apply innovations in the economic development of river transport in order to optimize transport flows within the country and the development of the economy of small towns located on the route of passenger ships, as a multiplier effect of the development of domestic tourism.

Cultural heritage as a driver of a small historical town development (on the example of Sarlat-la-Canéda, southwestern France)

The article attempts a comprehensive geographical analysis of the development of tourism in Sarlat-la-Canéda, a small historical city located in southwestern France (a promising UNESCO World Heritage Site). With a population of 10 thousand people, it annually receives over 2 million tourists. The geographical location of the site and its transport accessibility were described, the main advantages of the city itself and its environs were briefly described, and the system of internal tourist arrangement was studied. It was concluded, that the tourist flow to Sarla la Caneda is formed not only due to cultural heritage objects (cultural tourism itself), it increases significantly due to the attraction of tourists to local fairs, festivals, etc. (event tourism) and thanks to local specialties (gastronomic and wine tourism), as well as taking into account the recreational potential of nearby settlements, with native and cultural landscapes.

Construction of evaluation model of ecotourism resources in featured small towns

PurposeWith the development of small towns in China, the country pays more and more attention to the protection of landscape resources. It is an urgent problem that is how to protect landscape resources and ecological environment while developing economic industry in small towns. Establishing an ecotourism evaluation model can provide valuable reference for ecotourism planning, development protection and sustainable development of small towns.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to construct the ecotourism evaluation system that accords with the characteristics of small towns. A judgment matrix is constructed to determine specific indicators and factor values based on expert survey results. Based on the AHP theory and considering 4 aspects, construction conditions of featured small towns, ecological and environmental conditions, ecotourism resources endowment and development conditions and tourism capacity. In addition, 16 factor evaluations were selected, evaluation model of ecotourism resources were built and each evaluation index value was confirmed by adopting expert's advice.FindingsEcological environment, socioeconomic, uniqueness, esthetic ornamental value, small-scale industry scale, type and development level, type and scale, tourism talent level, therapeutic and leisure value were the indispensable components of evaluation of ecotourism resources in featured small towns.Originality/valueThe ideas of ecological environment development are rooted in the hearts of the people with the development of times. The model in this research is pertinent, typical and universal to some extent. Thus it is worth popularizing and applying.

Research on Social Protection Mechanism of China’s New Urbanization Development

New urbanization is different from urbanization in the traditional sense of “concentration”, “decentralization” and “over Urbanization”. It is a historical reflection on the development theory of world urbanization. It emphasizes people-oriented, new industrialization as the driving force, overall consideration as the principle, harmonious society as the direction, and comprehensive, coordinated, harmonious and sustainable development as the characteristics, Promote urban modernization, urban clustering, urban ecology and rural urbanization, comprehensively improve the quality and level of urbanization, and take the path of scientific development, intensive and efficient, perfect functions, environment-friendly, social harmony, distinctive personality, integration of urban and rural areas, and coordinated development of large, medium and small cities and towns. To solve various economic and social problems after entering rapid urbanization, we must be “problem-oriented”, accurately grasp the current situation of China’s urbanization development from a global perspective and a multidisciplinary theoretical perspective, fully learn from some successful practices of inclusive development in the process of urbanization development and urban transformation at home and abroad, summarize and sort out experiences and lessons, and choose a new urbanization path suitable for China's national conditions, Build China’s new urbanization inclusive development strategy to provide theoretical basis, practical model and decision-making reference for the party and the state.

Стратегический подход к развитию туризма в малых городах

The article analyzes the problems and directions of implementing a strategic approach to the development of tourism in small towns. In the context of the development of the supporting spatial frame of the country, an objective need arose to study the tourism sector as a tool for economic growth and improving the well-being of the population of small towns. The aim of the work is to identify the features of applying a strategic approach to the development of the tourism sector in small towns by assessing their current state in Russia, as well as developing ways to improve the process of strategizing the tourism sector. General scientific methods of synthesis, analysis, systematization, statistical data processing are applied. The most successful urban practices of strategic development of tourism are considered: Ples, Suzdal, Torzhok. It is shown that in order to achieve economic growth, it is possible to turn the city into a tourist destination. Based on the study of scientific and expert opinions, as well as an analysis of the actual strategies of cities, the authors proposed a model to ensure the sustainable development of tourism in small towns, which includes the following strategic factors: strategy or master plan of the city; comfortable urban environment; project and cluster approach; territory brand; involvement of government, business and local community; socially responsible tourism and ecology. The types of tourism are summarized, and recommendations are developed for the formation of strategic factors for ensuring the sustainable development of the tourism sector. An important direction should be a strategic approach to the development of small towns in order to ensure the interconnection and interconnection of the main documents of strategic planning and socio-economic development at all levels. The practical value of the study is that the developed recommendations can be used by local governments at the stages of development and implementation of urban tourism development strategies.

Some remarks on the revitalisation of small towns: the Polish perspective

This article concentrates on issues relating to the revitalisation of urban space in the Polish context, with a particular focus on small towns. It discusses the development of small towns after World War II, the changes that took place after Poland’s accession to the European Union, current legal framework, and the directions for revitalisation planning and implementation in Poland. The article is based on publications dealing with revitalisation processes, materials provided by annually-held conferences dedicated to small towns, and studies analysing revitalisation programmes of towns which got involved in pilot activities within the framework of the project called The Model Revitalisation of Cities. The authors highlight the benefits that a well-prepared revitalisation brings; they also discuss the limitations and problems facing local governments in the course of meeting this challenge. The article can provide inspiration for researchers to undertake studies in order to examine and evaluate the preparation and implementation of revitalisation processes as well as their effect on the resolution of social, economic, functional, spatial, technical, and environmental problems diagnosed in degraded areas. The paper should also be useful to local governments developing their revitalisation programmes.

Changes in (Sustainable) Development of Slovenian Small Towns

Abstract Considering the settlement pattern in Slovenia, small towns with a population of 5,000 to 15,000 are very important for balanced regional and local development, especially for the achievement of sustainable development goals. This paper presents findings from a study of the level of sustainability in 32 Slovenian small towns, as assessed using a set of twelve economic, social, and environmental indicators of sustainable development. A comparison of the results for the years 2002 and 2018 shows that over the past two decades, Slovenian small towns have for the most part successfully advanced towards the goals of sustainable development. The small towns that lag behind in these efforts were identified, as were the development areas where sustainability trends are less favorable.

The development of small towns and towns of well-being: Current trends, 30 years after the change in the political system, based on the Warsaw suburban area

Contemporary urban development is evolving towards towns with good social capital, where good living conditions are key. The article aims to define the directions of transformation of small towns in Poland following the political transformation (i.e. over the last 30 years), while also looking at how these transformations may affect the living conditions in these towns. The article uses theoretical, empirical and cartographic research methods, taking into account the evolution of the analysed areas. It looks into whether the analysed towns are compact, have diverse functions, sustainable public transport and adequate public green space. The collected data were used to calculate the growth of urbanised areas and to record changes in their spatial layout. Aspects important for the well-being of residents of small Polish towns were pointed out. A key prerequisite for the development of soft towns and towns of well-being is the creation of 15–30-minute towns, in which housing and multifunctional services are all accessible within walking distance or by public transport to all inhabitants. The results of the study allow the development opportunities and threats to be specified not only for small towns in Poland, but also for towns of a similar size in Eastern Europe with a converging historical context.

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of National Characteristic Towns in China Using Nighttime Light Data

Characteristic towns have emerged along with China’s economic and social development. As a new model of small-town development, they have played an essential role in promoting industrial transformation and upgrade, improving the living environment, and promoting regional innovation and development. Accurate identification of the expansion characteristics of National Characteristic Towns (NCTs) is vital for optimizing the spatial layout of characteristic towns and adjusting the policies of characteristic towns. This study used a dataset on nighttime light to identify expanding NCTs and measure their expansion from 2000 to 2020. In total, 233 expanding NCTs were identified, accounting for 58.25% of the NCTs in China. The areas with the most significant intensity of expansion are primarily located in the East, South, and North economic regions. The critical period of NCTs expansion primarily occurred in the periods 2008–2011 and 2011–2014. Our results show that NCTs are highly consistent with the spatial distribution of urban agglomerations, and the development of NCTs is inherently related to the development of urban agglomerations in the region. The implementation of NCT policies has significantly promoted the development of NCTs in the Central and Western economic regions, which face challenging development issues and differ from those in the Eastern region. The method proposed in this study can effectively identify the ‘hot spots’ of expanding NCTs and the critical periods of their expansion.

The Construction of Folk Sports Featured Towns Based on Intelligent Building Technology Based on the Internet of Things.

With the emergence of the Internet of Things, technology and Internet thinking have entered traditional communities, and combined with traditional technologies, many new and better management methods and solutions have been born. Among them, the concept of intelligent buildings is also known to people. Based on big data technology, cloud computing technology, and Internet of Things technology, smart buildings provide smart and convenient devices and services for smart device users. The Internet of Things technology is entering our lives at an unimaginable speed. It has been applied in many fields. Smart home, smart transportation, smart medical, smart agriculture, and smart grid are widely used in the Internet of Things technology. The application of Internet of Things technology to the construction of folk sports characteristic towns is of great significance. The construction of folk sports characteristic towns and the protection of intangible cultural heritage have the same purpose and interoperability of elements as the development of traditional cities. From the perspective of protecting folk culture and intangible cultural heritage, it is effective to promote the development of small towns with folk custom characteristics. Based on the research on the construction of folk-custom sports towns, this paper proposes a series of data model analysis and analyzes the proportion of sports preferences in the survey of volunteers in the folk-custom sports towns. The final result of the research shows that the ball games sports personnel accounted for the largest proportion, with 156 people accounting for 48.15%. This shows that about half of the people like ball sports, which proves that ball sports should be the mainstay of folk sports towns, and other sports should be supplemented by other sports.

TOPOI – A method for analysing settlement units and their linkages in an urban–rural fabric

Many years, urbanisation research has largely focused the development of urban agglomerations and megacity regions, whereas less attention was paid on the development of medium-sized cities, small towns, villages, or rural areas. Yet many interrelations and spatial linkages between urban and rural areas exist. In this paper, we present a novel method called ‘TOPOI’ for the integrated analysis and description of settlement units in an urban–rural setting. The TOPOI-method enhances the understanding of the built environment by clustering and describing settlement units of similar characteristics with view to their physical form, function, and connectivity. The method is built on known planning parameters, but does not limit the analysis of settlement units to their administrative boundaries. Based on 11 indicators, 13 TOPOI-classes were identified in two exemplary study regions revealing new insights into urban–rural settlement types. This allows a better understanding of urban–rural linkages and therefore opens up new pathways for a more sustainable development.

Development of regional markets of consumer goods: state and assessment of factors

In the conditions of administrative and territorial reform, the development of small towns becomes more relevant, because according to the methodology of forming capable territorial communities, it is determined that communities should be formed around the cities-district centers, most of which are the small towns. In such conditions, one of the primary tasks of the local self-government bodies is the development of the strategy for territorial communities and small towns, which primarily involves determining the priority directions of their development and is a systematic process aimed at solving the most urgent local problems, realizing the socio-economic potential, increasing the efficiency of the use of available resources, which will ultimately contribute to the development of small towns and the growth of their role in the development of the regional economy. The purpose of the article is to determine the strategic priorities of the development of small towns in the conditions of administrative and territorial reform and decentralization. The analysis proved that in the conditions of administrative and territorial reform, small cities, acting as the centers of newly formed territorial communities, are in the focus of increased attention of scientists and experts that require the development of an effective strategy for their development and the determination of priority areas of their functioning. Due to the fact that the most of the small towns are characterized by a monofunctional type of development, in the long-term period, the strengthening of the industrial potential of these towns and the restructuring of the economy should be expected; accordingly, the social development of small towns will depend on the levels and directions of their economic growth. In the conditions of the military crisis and post-war recovery in our country, experts consider the improvement of the system of tax administration in communities to be one of the effective tools for the recovery and modernization of the country. Along with this, one of the integral conditions of the development of small towns is the deepening of intersectoral partnership between the government, business and the public sector, and the development of innovative entrepreneurship. In the conditions of decentralization the small cities are an important component of the socio-economic development of communities and regions, which requires increased attention to the development of an effective strategy for their operation, the determination of priorities for their development in the long term period, which involves strengthening of the potential of small cities, deepening partnership relations between various entities management, improvement of the local tax administration system, reorientation of industrial production to an innovative type of development.

Small towns of Latvia: disparities in regional and urban development

The article reports on the results of an economic and sociological study conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in collaboration with Daugavpils University (Latvia) in 2020—2021. The study aimed to identify the reasons for the disparity in the development of small towns in Latvia. A comprehensive approach was taken to integrate the results of territorial, spatial and socio-economic analyses. By employing the methodology of indexing and ranking large-scale empirical data characterising the development of all small towns in Latvia, the authors attempt to identify the reasons for the disparity in the development rate of small towns in Latvia. The index of territorial development of regions, cities and rural settlements was developed and has been tested by the State Agency for Regional Development of Latvia since 2013. The data collected were then analysed taking into account the geographical location of small towns. The research showed that the main factors influencing the development of small towns are the level of business activity and the role of local authorities in the provision of public funding. The article describes prospects for the polycentric development of small towns and analyses the ways of reducing disparities in their development in terms of the working and living conditions of their residents.

ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕ КОГНИТИВНОГО МАТЕМАТИЧЕСКОГО АППАРАТА ДЛЯ ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЯ КОНТИНУУМА МАЛЫХ ГОРОДОВ

In the context of the development of the Development Strategy of the Russian Federation, the discussion about the future of different types of cities has intensified. The proposed cognitive-mathematical model for the development of small towns justifies the permanent strengthening of the interdependence of rural and urban economies, opens up prospects for development. The factors influencing the development of small towns located in rural areas are identified; optimization of financial, investment and logistics flows; increasing entrepreneurial potential in the field of agro-industrial production. The cognitive approach to modeling the continuum of small towns made it possible to significantly reduce the amount of numerical calculations when building a neural network, and two-level modeling to optimize financial and investment flows. It is proposed to change the demographic threshold for classifying cities as small: from 50 thousand to 100 thousand inhabitants, in order to improve the investment climate and economic growth. Modeling the socio-economic development of a small town located in rural areas made it possible to substantiate the levels of relationships between economic agents. Taking into account the above designations, a cognitive model of a typical small town located in a rural area was compiled and a grouping of small towns of the Volgograd region was carried out according to the degree of development of entrepreneurial potential. It is shown that administrative transformations, as a rule, are more significant than migration and demographic ones, they can open the way to development for some cities, make others satellites living “on alms”. It is concluded that small towns can be economically and socially efficient settlements, quite competitive units of the country’s spatial framework with state support and increased financial flows to local budgets.

Formation and development of human capital of small towns in the Arctic in the sociological dimension

The article discusses the features of the formation and functioning of human capital based on the materials of sociological studies conducted by the authors in small towns of the Russian Arctic. Traditional sociological tools were used: mass surveys, focus groups, an in-depth survey of experts according to the developed author’s methods. As an opposition to the development of Arctic small towns, shift camps are considered, the functioning of which is currently complicated due to the pandemic and sanctions. The paper presents a comparative analysis of the situation associated with the formation of human capital in the aggregate of its three components (health capital, edu-cational and professional capital, cultural capital) in three regions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (RF AZ): its European sector (the study was conducted in the Arkhangelsk region), West Siberian (Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug) and East Siberian (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug). Judging by experts’ assessments, the least favorable situation for the preservation and enhancement of human capital is developing in the territories of the European sector of the RF AZ, the most favorable situation is in Yamal.