Urban-type Settlements Research Articles

Shrinking Urban System of the Largest Country: Research Progress and Unsolved Issues

—The article is a review of trends of the last decade in the development and study of the urban system of Russia and its largest agglomerations, Moscow, in particular. The features of Russia’s urban network are noted against the global background and key features, shifts in the urban network, including the ongoing concentration of people in major cities and urban agglomerations with the degradation of lower levels of the urban system—small towns and urban-type settlements. The reasons for these processes are associated both with the natural increase/decrease and, in particular, migrations of the population and administrative decisions: the expansion of large cities, elimination of urban-type settlements, etc. The differences between the Russian regions in the number and size of urban settlements are shown, as well as the direction of the drift of demographic centers. A review of studies on urban agglomerations revealed their continuity with Soviet ones. The main conclusions on the dynamics of the development of urban agglomerations correspond to those obtained earlier: the growth of the largest urban agglomerations, primarily, the Moscow and St. Petersburg ones, continues, while the demographic resource for feeding smaller agglomerations is gradually decreasing: they grow more slowly or even decrease in size. Migration remains the key transformation mechanism, largely due to the strongest polarization of the state of the labor market between the centers of urban agglomerations, their belts, and the periphery outside the agglomeration, which initiates large-scale temporary labor and resettlement migrations. Against this background, the Moscow agglomeration stands out ever more significantly, growing into the core of the emerging Central Russian megalopolis. The direct impact of the capital’s labor and housing markets and associated migration spans Central and Southern Russia, while the indirect impact is felt throughout the country. The growth of the share and role of the Moscow agglomeration in the settlement system is determined by a set of factors that have consolidated its image as a “land of opportunity”: capital rent, centralization of economic and political decisions, agglomeration effect, concentration of the best human capital, and polarization of the labor market and career opportunities.

Роль историко-культурного потенциала сельских поселений городского типа в реализации стратегии геокультурного брендинга

The article is devoted to the study of the rich historical and cultural heritage of large rural settlements of the Perm Territory, which had the status of urban-type settlements in the Soviet era. These settlements include Bolshaya Sosnova starting its history in the 16th century. In the 20th century, its population took an active part in mobilization campaigns to fight for literacy, create collective farms and state farms, take up residential construction jobs, and increase labor productivity in the agricultural sector. Bolshaya Sosnova had a developed agricultural sector, which made it possible to provide a decent standard of living in the countryside for local residents. A demographic shift occurred in the second half of the 20th century, due to which the settlement transformed into an agrarian-industrial settlement. However, in recent times, Bolshaya Sosnova and its local communities have faced serious challenges of the postperestroika period. Currently, the settlement is in a difficult socio-economic condition. The issues of preserving the historical heritage, creative practices of socio-cultural activities, the development of tourism and the hospitality industry are coming to the fore. The relevance of the topic is due to its scientific and social significance. The hypothesis is that the problems of territories can be solved by non-traditional applied methods and means, which should be based on a solid scientific background. The article reveals the main postulates of the concept of geocultural branding of cities and territories formulated by D.N. Zamyatin, which seems logical to be applied in practice. The aim of the study is to develop a geocultural branding strategy for Bolshaya Sosnova based on the unique historical and cultural potential of this area, aimed at its sustainable development. The use of the geocultural approach made it possible to identify and describe the historical and cultural resources that formed the conceptual core of the Svetlaya Sosnova geobrand. To achieve the aim, methods of historical science were used such as historical-comparative, historical-genetic, content analysis of historical documents, and phenomenological ones. The study draws on the published documents of state authorities and local self-government, historical and local history essays, materials of local periodicals, and the results of express surveys of the settlement residents.

Features of urban development of urban-type settlements in the structure of the Kazan agglomeration

Features of urban development of urban-type settlements in the structure of the Kazan agglomeration

ГОРОДА МОСКОВСКОГО СТОЛИЧНОГО РЕГИОНА: ОФИЦИАЛЬНЫЕ И РЕАЛЬНЫЕ

The article considers methodological approaches and criteria for the delimitation of urban settlements within larger metropolitan areas by the case of Moscow region. It is shown that the techniques using mobile operator data provide good results for the identification of “true” cities. It allows to identify a city in its “physical” borders by 500x500 m cells as a lowest territorial unit and more correctly reflect the number of the population. The most applicable method turned out to be based on the indicators of the population of continuous built-up areas of over 15 thousand people and population density of over 1000 people/km2. As an additional criterion the existing and former borders of settlements are taken into account that despite their subjective nature, perform a barrier function. According to the proposed methodology, 92 “true” cities were allocated in Moscow region against 76 existing cities (outside former borders of Moscow). These, along with some of the official cities, included large urban-type settlements and villages, abolished cities and towns, as well as conglomerates of several small settlements, including those in New Moscow. The belt-sector structure of “real” cities distribution duplicates the pattern of the urban settlement network with higher concentration in nearest suburbs and in eastern sector of the region. As well as for the official cities of the region, Rosstat underestimates population for centers located up to 40 km from the MKAD, and overestimates it in more remote cities.

FEATURES OF URBAN PLANNING SOLUTIONS AND THE EVOLUTION OF SETTLEMENTS FOR DISPLACED PERSONS FROM THE CHERNOBYL ZONE

In the article, the author presents the results of her full-scale studies of the evolution of settlements for migrants from the Chernobyl zone, built in 1986-1987 of the twentieth century. Strategies and consequences of their placement, integration into the structure of existing villages, features of planning blocks, rural estates, residential and outbuildings are considered. The article analyzes the consequences of architectural and urban planning design decisions made 30 years after their implementation. Nowadays in Ukraine, there is a situation where villages and urban-type settlements urgently need to develop or update new general plans that would correspond to the present. It is known that currently there is a certain proportion of villages in Ukraine that do not have general plans at all or have them outdated. Taking into account all aspects of this problem, the results of the design, construction and evolution of villages for displaced persons from the Chernobyl zone are interesting and useful. Taking into account the tragic circumstances that led to their appearance, these villages represent a large-scale urban planning experiment in the field of rural housing construction, which represents the embodiment of the latest knowledge in the theory of village architecture in the mid-80s of the twentieth century. It was 30 years after the construction and settlement of these villages that it became possible to check the compliance of design standards with their compliance with the real needs of the village, from the standpoint of the current design standards, which are fundamentally no different from the design standards of 1986. Comparing the results of research (the study of general plans of villages of displaced persons and general plans that are being developed at the present stage), it turned out that the basis of those villages for Chernobyl victims was the main goal of socialist ideology, namely, erasing the differences between the city and the village. The author sees in modern design a similar problem, which directly leads to further degradation of the Ukrainian countryside. And nowadays, just against the background of this phenomenon, it is time for urbanists to understand the difference between a block of manor development for citizens and a rural street of a Ukrainian village.

Resource-saving factor in the development of Russian cities

The purpose of the article is to identify the problems of Russian cities and urban-type settlements from the standpoint of their historical and economic development. Using the methodology of economic, statistical and retrospective analysis, it was revealed that along with the growth of large cities in recent years, there has been a tendency towards a reduction in small settlements, which is associated with a decrease in industrial production. The result of this is the active development of urban processes, leading to the concentration in large cities of the scientific, technical and intellectual and production potential of the regions, their transformation into self-sufficient centers for the development of territorial socio-economic locations. The result of the study is the substantiation of the need to create new methodological approaches to the development and placement of productive forces, planning of urban areas, solving problems of energy and resource supply of territories on the basis of achieving their ecological and economic efficiency. The concept of the decisive role of the resource-saving factor in the process of urbanization of territories is substantiated. It was revealed that the approach to the analysis and modeling of the city economy when considering it as a "quasi-corporation" involves the formation of an integrated reproduction system based on increasing the efficiency of the use of territory resources, which translates the process of planning the development of the urban environment into the category of business process technologies.

Formation of the population of Ulan-Ude (Buryatia, Russia)

This article examines the features of the formation of the population of the city of Ulan-Ude - the capital of the Republic of Buryatia (Russia). It shows how socio-economic and administrative changes have affected the total population, the share of the city in the overall population structure, as well as how the territorial structure has been transformed over the past 60 years. In the post-Soviet period, urbanisation has affected not only the capital city itself, but also suburban areas, while small towns and urban-type settlements have largely lost their prospects for territorial and demographic development. Unlike other regional centres of the Far Eastern Federal District, Ulan-Ude is experiencing population growth due to both migration and natural increase. The study is based on the analysis of official data from the All-USSR and All-Russian population censuses and the results of annual statistical reports by Rosstat and Buryatstat.

Features of land use optimization of water protection zones and coastal protective strips in Kyiv by the method of land management

In the process of working on the article, the author considered the issue of establishing and ensuring compliance with the land use regime of water protection zones and coastal protection strips (on the example of the city of Kyiv). The urgency of considering this issue lies in the importance of optimizing land use as one of the most important tools to protect water bodies from technogenic and anthropogenic impacts and, in general, to improve the water-ecological situation of the hydrological regime. From which the purpose of the work follows, namely, to study the features of optimization of land use of water protection zones and coastal protection zones in Kyiv by the method of land management for the environmental safety of the city's population and public welfare in general. As a result of the research process, the theoretical basis was formed by scientific works related to the essence of the task, as well as legislative and regulatory legal acts of Ukraine on land use regulation. The information and statistical base was an extract from the scheme of planning restrictions of the General Plan of Kyiv and data of the State Service of Ukraine on Geodesy, Mapping and Cadastre, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. As a result of research, it was revealed that according to the legislation on the lands of cities and urban-type settlements, the size of the water protection zone, as well as the coastal protection zone, is established according to existing at the time of installation of a water protection zone concrete building conditions. Nevertheless, the example of the city of Kyiv shows that such information may be missing. The author describes the problematic issues of the land management process of works on establishing the boundaries of water protection zones and coastal protection zones and restrictions on the use of land and other natural resources. Expertly determined the approximate possible area, taking into account the specific building conditions and possible flooding at the maximum flood water level. The model of optimization of land use of the territorial community by means of establishment of restrictions in use of the earths and other natural resources occupied by water objects is proposed. At the same time, the model combines technological, instructional and administrative tasks of land use optimization. In addition, the optimality criteria and restrictions on the use of these criteria proposed in the model, which make it possible to unambiguously determine the location of the boundaries of water bodies and restrictions on the use of lands and other natural resources, taking into account the interests of land users and legislation. Keywords: land use optimization, water protection zones, coastal protection strips, land management process

Особенности динамики заболеваемости геморрагической лихорадкой с почечным синдромом в Республике Башкортостан

It was established that 17008 HFRS cases were reported in 53 (out of 54) administrative districts and 12 cities (out of 14) of the Republic of Bashkortostan in 2009-2018. The most intense epidemiological situation (a long-term incidence rate of 48,5 per 100 thousand of the population) was observed within the boundaries of the forest-steppe landscape zone, where. more than 86 % of all cases of infection are recorded of the Republic of Bashkortostan in 2009-2018. The share of infections among the urban population was 64.0 %, the rural one – 36.0 %. In the long-term aspect, according to the conditions of HFRS acquisition, short-term visits to the forest area prevailed – up to 80 %, in household settings – up to 14 % of all cases of the disease. Seasonal increases in the incidence of HFRS take place in May-June – up to 15 % and in September-December – over 46 % of the annual incidence. The presence of synchronicity in the dynamics of HFRS morbidity in rural and urban populations within the boundaries of the administrative district was detected. It has been substantiated that in order to reduce the level of HFRS morbidity among the rural and urban population, it is necessary to provide for an increase in the volume and frequency of preventive (anti-epidemic) measures in the vicinity of rural settlements, regional centers, urban-type settlements and large cities located near forests, within the boundaries of the entire area of the administrative district.

ANALYSIS OF HEATING PROCESSES OF URBANIZED TERRITORIES OF THE KHARKIV REGION AND MEASURES TO COMBAT THEM

Flooding of urbanized areas causes and activates dangerous geological pro-cesses, is a real threat to the safety of life of the population and the functioning of economic facilities. In this regard, the issues of studying the conditions for the devel-opment and spread of flooding on the territory of Ukraine are important and urgent. The article identifies the factors causing flooding of urbanized areas. The trends in the development of flooding in the Kharkiv region and the city of Kharkiv are deter-mined. In Ukraine, the flooded area is about 8 million hectares, and the number of flooded settlements is up to 5 thousand. The most flooded are Odessa, Nikolaev, Kherson regions. In the Kharkiv region, flooding is widespread in 39 cities and ur-ban-type settlements, and in 205 villages on an area of 200,8 km2, the affected area is 0,6 %. Flooding is observed in all districts of the region. The most flooded cities are Kharkiv, Barvenkovo, Valki, Izyum, Pervomaisky, the total flooded area was 185,7 km2, urban-type settlements Krasnopavlovka and Pechenegi, the total flooded area – 15,1 km2. The reasons for the flooding have been established. The consequences of flooding of urbanized territories are analyzed. Flooding leads to a deterioration in the condition of built-up areas and sanitary living conditions of people, an increase in morbidity, pollution of water and soil, waterlogging of significant areas of land, con-tributes to the development of negative physical and geological processes such as landslides, karst, etc., which can lead to subsidence of buildings and structures, and further to their destruction, deformations of underground engineering networks. Ana-lyzed measures to combat flooding, which can be divided into preventive and elimi-nation of already existing flooding. The activities that are proposed to be held in the city of Kharkov and the Kharkov region are outlined.

Синташта как культурно-исторический феномен бронзового века

The Sintashta culture is the most controversial ethno-cultural formation of the Bronze Age, formed in the Ural-Kazakhstan steppes. It appears suddenly and is located on the territory of the Southern Trans-Urals. Fortified settlements and burial grounds of this culture spread in a wide strip along the eastern slopes of the Ural Range. The specificity of fortified urban-type settlements, uncharacteristic for the steppe zone of Eurasia, allowed researchers to conclude that they were imported from other regions where they had been originally developed and canonized. In this regard, the most probable is the gradual migration of the population from the territory of Asia Minor, the architectural and planning standards of which demonstrate features of detailed similarity. The alleged migration took place through the Trans-Asian corridor connecting the Middle East and Central Asia to South Kazakhstan, from where paramilitary groups appear in the South Trans-Urals and create the Sintashta culture. Fortified settlements are accompanied by the appearance of burials with chariot attributes, presented in the form of an already established complex of objects and technologies. In archaeological sources, the chariot complex is represented by the remains of chariots, skeletons of draft horses, cheekpieces, as well as weapons of distance and close combat. In the steppes of Eurasia, the war chariot becomes the most formidable and powerful weapon of the Bronze Age. Keywords: Sintashta, migration, chariot, Southern Trans-Urals, Middle East

Районные центры – города сельской местности

The peculiarities of urbanizing processes in rural regions are offered in the article. Their ulterior properties are defined. Regarding such peculiarities of Russian rural regions’ urbanization, it is recommended to assign a status of towns to a more urbanized rural regions, and a status of urban-type settlements to a less urbanized ones.

Dynamics of Urbanization Processes in Zabaikalsky Krai (1989–2019)

The article focuses on the processes of urbanization in Zabaikalsky krai in 1989–2019. The author analyzes changes in the structure and number of urban settlements, basic demographic parameters of urbanization, trends and results of industrial development in cities and urban-type settlements in the region. The study is based on official documents of the Government and Legislative Assembly of the region, as well as official statistical data of the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), on the basis of which the author made calculations for three historical periods: 1989–2002, 2002–2010, 2010–2019, and 1989–2019 as a whole. The results of the study point to the crisis of urbanization processes in the region in the last 30 years. The system of urban settlements, which was strengthened in the 1950–1980s and included 10 cities and 46 settlements, underwent a significant economic, industrial and demographic transformation in the 1990–2010s, as a result of which human and other resources were increasingly concentrated in the regional capital and settlements with a more or less stable economic base (Krasnokamensk, Zabaikalsky). As a result of negative socio-economic and demographic trends, as well as due to territorial and administrative transformations, the urban population of the region over the past 30 years has decreased by 176,500 people or almost 20 %. Projects of the regional authorities in the 2010s on the revitalization of urban settlements (the formation of industrial parks, the creation of priority development territories, etc.) in most cases did not lead to significant positive results, but they created the basis for more sustainable development of some urban settlements in the future. Keywords: urbanization, Far East, Zabaikalsky Krai, city, urban settlements, urban population

Административно-территориальные преобразования и переименование населенных пунктов в Калмыкии в 1990–1991 гг.

Introduction. The period of perestroika was a time of active reform in all spheres of the Soviet state and society, which was reflected in changes in administrative and territorial structures throughout the country and its regions. Goals. The paper examines Kalmykia and provides an insight into administrative-territorial transformations across the republic in 1990–1991 that resulted from political democratization in the USSR and RSFSR, rehabilitation of repressed peoples, and economic reforms of perestroika. This process is studied from two perspectives: transformation of urban-type working settlements into rural ones, and renaming of localities to restore historical names. Materials and Methods. The work analyzes official (published and unpublished archival) documents of regional and federal authorities dealing with administrative and territorial reorganization, statistical data, scientific works of domestic researchers discussing Russia’s population geography and toponymy of Kalmykia. Results. The article considers the administrative and territorial structure of Kalmykia in the early 1990s focusing on changes in statuses of ‘working’ settlements, and reasons underlying their transformation back to ‘rural’ ones. The paper draws examples of respective processes in Kalmykia during 1990-1991. Conclusions. Since the early 1990s, Kalmykia — like the rest of Russia — initiated administrative ruralization, which manifested itself in transformation of urban-type settlements to rural ones due to socioeconomic reasons. Another trend of administrative -territorial changes was the active restoration of historical names explained by the de-ideologization of Soviet society and ethnocultural factors.

Скрытые доходы российских домашних хозяйств: у кого они?

The article presents quantitative characteristics of the prevalence and volumes of hidden household incomes. An econometric estimate of the prevalence of hidden incomes was carried out on the panel data of the “Russian Monitoring of the Economic Situation and Health of the Population of the Higher School of Economics” (periods from 2000 to 2017), the size of the hidden income component was obtained on the basis of the Pissarides-Weber model. Estimates of the share of hidden income households and an estimate of the share of hidden incomes revealed two different trends: their predominant distribution among residents of villages and urban-type settlements and the larger size of these incomes among households of regional centers.

Hygienic Assessment of Surface and Groundwater Quality in the Zabaykalsky Krai

Introduction. The supply of high quality potable water to the population living within the geochemical provinces remains an important problem since the imbalance of chemical elements is a risk factor for various diseases and syndromes. The purpose of the study was to analyze the quality of surface and groundwater related to the geochemical characteristics of the region and to assess public health risks. Materials and methods. Water quality was analyzed in the areas of the Zabaykalsky Krai characterized by the presence of geochemical anomalies. Non-carcinogenic risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals in drinking water was carried out in accordance with the requirements of R 2.1.10.1920–04. Results. We established the excess of maximum permissible concentrations for such elements as iron (1.1–5.1 MPC), fluorides (1.1–2 MPC), nitrates (2.2 MPC), manganese (5.1 MPC), zinc (2.5–4.6 MPC), and cadmium (1.3–1.5 MPC). Higher than acceptable values of non-carcinogenic hazard quotients were attributed to the effects of nitrites (HQ = 1.5) and arsenic (HQ = 3.4) on the child population in the Kirinsky district. The total hazard index (THI) exceeded the permissible one for children in the Kyrinsky (5.05), Borzinsky (1.92), Chitinsky (1.19), and Tungokochensky (1.24) districts, the urban-type settlements of Zabaykalsk (2.07) and Priargunsk (1.62), and the towns of Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky (1.1) and Chita (1.87). Arsenic, fluorine, iron, and nitrites in water contributed the most to the risk level. Conclusions. The priority water pollutants included heavy metals, nitrites, arsenic, manganese, iron salts, and fluorides due to local natural geochemical features and industrial pollution. The assessment of the total non-carcinogenic risk based on hazard quotients showed that the children were at higher risk for toxic effects of those chemicals on the immune system, teeth, bone tissue, cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract, skin, reproductive, respiratory, and hematopoietic systems, liver, kidney, central nervous and musculoskeletal systems.

Growing Manor Houses – an Important Direction for Solving the Housing Problem in Russia

The article considers growing manor houses made of cellular concrete for construction in rural localities, urban-type settlements, in small, including historical cities, on suburban areas, as well as as housing for service personnel on transport and energy highways and facilities. The low cost of growing manor houses is provided due to the relatively low cost of the main material – cellular concrete, the economy of the adopted space-planning solutions and the ability to perform construction works on their own without involving lifting mechanisms. Additional economic efficiency is achieved through the stage-by-stage construction, which reduces the developer’s one-time investment. Research and developments conducted show that the concept of «growing house» most fully makes it possible to combine the planning parameters of residential and utility rooms, their high consumer qualities, functional amenities, comfort of living with the material capabilities and demographic needs of the developer. Schemes of stage-by-stage transition from a two-room to a five-room house are presented.

Approaches to the Introduction of Human-Modified Soils in the Updated Version of the Soil Map of Russia, 1 : 2.5 M Scale (by the Example of Moscow Oblast)

In the course of updating the soil map of the Russian Federation, 1 : 2.5 M scale (1988), Moscow oblast was chosen as a model object for testing the approaches to revise the map legend, which should be converted into the new Russian soil classification system, where much attention is paid to soils changed by human activities. This choice was made because of its rather simple natural soil cover (Albic Retisols predominate) along with high diversity and frequent occurrence of human-modified soils that should be shown on the map. Updating of the map database concerning natural Albic Retisols—soddy-podzolic soils was insignificant: few changes were introduced at the level of diagnostic properties, hence, subtypes. Arable soddy-podzolic soils were qualified for agro-soddy-podzolic soils if they occupy even surfaces, and they were named textural-differentiated agrozems if they are confined to slopes; the initial subtype diagnostics was mostly preserved. Soils of other land use categories—orchards, old estates, villages, dachas, urban-type settlements, were qualified for prograded or turbated agrozems, and intensely cultivated soils—for dark-humus stratozems; urban soils were referred to urbostratozems, ekranozems and diverse intergrades between these and natural soils. Deciphering of the space image of a model polygon located in a rather urbanized part of Moscow oblast permitted to identify soil associations for most common land-use types. However, introduction of all soils—ingredients of such associations—into the legend is limited by the small scale of the map, whereas introduction of the types of associations could contribute to a more adequate image of the soil cover in urbanized territories.

Urbanization processes in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia): the dynamics of key parameters (1989-2018)

This article analyzes the key parameters of urbanization in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) on the background of urbanization processes in other republics in the East of Russia during the period from 1988 to 2018. Attention is paid to the dynamics of demographic development of the cities and workers’ settlements, changes in the structure of urban localities in the republic associated to abolishment of the settlements and turning them into the rural localities. The article also demonstrates which factors affected density or urban population in Yakutia, as well as analyzes the sources and vectors of continuing urbanization. The research leans on the extensive corpus of official statistical data on 11 cities and 67 urban-type settlements acquires based on the results of All-Union Census of 1989, Russian Censuses of 2002 and 2010, and special statistical examinations of Rosstat and its regional branck in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) conducted in 2011-2018. The conclusion is made on the overall deceleration of urbanization processes in the republic for the past 30 years. These changes were associated with restructuration of the regional industry, particularly reduction of urban-type settlement for 27 localities – from 67 to 40. At the same time, population of majority of the cities and settlements during the period from 1990 to 2018 was decreasing; however, the rapid demographic growth of Yakutsk partially compensated for these losses. It is concluded that urban population was concentrated mostly in the capital and its environs, as well as the largest cities of the republic – Neryungri, Mirny, Lensk and Aldan.

Problems of urban-type settlements in the central asian region case study: Republic of Uzbekistan

Problems of urban-type settlements in the central asian region case study: Republic of Uzbekistan