Evaluation of the Development Potential of Russian Cities

The quantitative expert evaluation encompasses all of the centres of constituent members of the Russian Federation with resident population over 50,000 as well as significant industrial, transport, scientific, tourist centres etc. (almost 200 cities). It is important to emphasise that the Russian urban settlement system has developed in the past decades primarily on the basis of state central planning without any evaluation of the development potential of specific cities and centres. The expert evaluation was curried out within the framework of the scientific Project at the Institute of Regional Geography in Leipzig "Change of significance of the urban settlement system in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union” with the aid of 22 indicators, which form the following 11 factor groups: demographic situation (including regionally differentiated effects of migrations to the cities), administrative significance (including changes within the hierarchical central system), industrial potential (The Russian urban settlement system was, to a large extent, dependent upon the process of industrialisation of the country), scientific and cultural potential, transportation (including effects of the new state borders which change the significance of border and port cities), quality of life, infrastructure, ecological situation, political conditions, criminality. The „million-cities“, judging by the development potential and the attractiveness of investment, form the group of the most significant Russian cities (13 regional metropolises, among them Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara etc.), as well as other large cities, such as Krasnoyarsk, Vladivostok, Voronezh, Saratov, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk (all of them are the centres of the administrative regions of the Russian Federation) and Togliatti (the large centre of motor-car construction). All of these 20 cities have a large, international or all-Russian significance. Although the correlation between the expert opinion of the development potential and the number of residents of this or that city is very large, some cities have got a relatively higher (Kaliningrad/Konigsberg, Vladivostok, Irkutsk, Arkhangelsk, et al.), or lower (Ivanovo, Tambov, Saransk, Ryasan et al.), evaluation, judging by the development potential as would otherwise be indicated by the corresponding number of residents. The expert analysis affords a good opportunity of understanding what the contemporary important cities of Russia are (Those which bear the economic and social development of the country) and thereby of formulating a representatively new re-evaluation of the cities according to the present investment potential by demonstrating the further development possibilities within the framework of the economic and geopolitical transformational process in the strongly differentiated economic regions of Russia, including determining and typifying the centres according to their development potential (i.e., depressed, stagnant, prosperous). Key words: development potential of cities, Russian Federation.

New urban settlements in Belarus: some trends and changes

The modern urban settlement system of Belarus and Russia is under the influence of European social-economic and political transformational processes. This paper presents and discusses some new trends and changes of this development. In Belarus a number of small urban settlements and residential areas in cities have been built for civil representatives of military contingents which left Central and Eastern European countries. Besides that it was done to take off a tension in housing problem in the Armed forces. These residential areas were built with participation of different Byelorussian and foreign building firms and German financing (1,4 billions DM). It is characterized by high quality of housing, service, engineering and transport infrastructure. Plots of land for residential areas location were defined with Institute for Regional and Urban Planning participation according to the master-plans of cities with idea of habitat improving. Planning projects of the districts were made through tenders. Totally seven residential areas for civil representatives of military contingents were built in Belarus: in Borisov and Maryina Gorka (Minsk Oblast), in Baranovichi and Beryoza (Brest Oblast), in Lida, Slonim and Ross (Grodno Oblast). There are over 5900 flats (with a total dwelling space of over 360.000 sq. m). Such residential areas were built in Russia as well (for example in Elnya, Smolensk Oblast). However there are some problems in social sphere and a limit of labour market and as a result there is high rate of unemployment. Using the patterns of several residential areas in Belarus and in Russia some modern social-economic problems of mentioned residential areas and ways of their solutions are showed in the report. The situation in the field of the development of new urban settlements in Belarus and in Russia requires, in principle, a continually monitoring as well as an subsequent investigation and evaluation. Key words: Belarus, Russia, urban settlement system, master plans, residential areas.

Evaluation of the Development Potential of Russian Cities

The quantitative expert evaluation encompasses all of the centres of constituent members of the Russian Federation with resident population over 50,000 as well as significant industrial, transport, scientific, tourist centres etc. (almost 200 cities). It is important to emphasise that the Russian urban settlement system has developed in the past decades primarily on the basis of state central planning without any evaluation of the development potential of specific cities and centres. The expert evaluation was curried out within the framework of the scientific Project at the Institute of Regional Geography in Leipzig "Change of significance of the urban settlement system in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union” with the aid of 22 indicators, which form the following 11 factor groups: demographic situation (including regionally differentiated effects of migrations to the cities), administrative significance (including changes within the hierarchical central system), industrial potential (The Russian urban settlement system was, to a large extent, dependent upon the process of industrialisation of the country), scientific and cultural potential, transportation (including effects of the new state borders which change the significance of border and port cities), quality of life, infrastructure, ecological situation, political conditions, criminality. The „million-cities“, judging by the development potential and the attractiveness of investment, form the group of the most significant Russian cities (13 regional metropolises, among them Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara etc.), as well as other large cities, such as Krasnoyarsk, Vladivostok, Voronezh, Saratov, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk (all of them are the centres of the administrative regions of the Russian Federation) and Togliatti (the large centre of motor-car construction). All of these 20 cities have a large, international or all-Russian significance. Although the correlation between the expert opinion of the development potential and the number of residents of this or that city is very large, some cities have got a relatively higher (Kaliningrad/Konigsberg, Vladivostok, Irkutsk, Arkhangelsk, et al.), or lower (Ivanovo, Tambov, Saransk, Ryasan et al.), evaluation, judging by the development potential as would otherwise be indicated by the corresponding number of residents. The expert analysis affords a good opportunity of understanding what the contemporary important cities of Russia are (Those which bear the economic and social development of the country) and thereby of formulating a representatively new re-evaluation of the cities according to the present investment potential by demonstrating the further development possibilities within the framework of the economic and geopolitical transformational process in the strongly differentiated economic regions of Russia, including determining and typifying the centres according to their development potential (i.e., depressed, stagnant, prosperous). Key words: development potential of cities, Russian Federation

New urban settlements in Belarus: some trends and changes

The modern urban settlement system of Belarus and Russia is under the influence of European social-economic and political transformational processes. This paper presents and discusses some new trends and changes of this development. In Belarus a number of small urban settlements and residential areas in cities have been built for civil representatives of military contingents which left Central and Eastern European countries. Besides that it was done to take off a tension in housing problem in the Armed forces. These residential areas were built with participation of different Byelorussian and foreign building firms and German financing (1,4 billions DM). It is characterized by high quality of housing, service, engineering and transport infrastructure. Plots of land for residential areas location were defined with Institute for Regional and Urban Planning participation according to the master-plans of cities with idea of habitat improving. Planning projects of the districts were made through tenders. Totally seven residential areas for civil representatives of military contingents were built in Belarus: in Borisov and Maryina Gorka (Minsk Oblast), in Baranovichi and Beryoza (Brest Oblast), in Lida, Slonim and Ross (Grodno Oblast). There are over 5900 flats (with a total dwelling space of over 360.000 sq. m). Such residential areas were built in Russia as well (for example in Elnya, Smolensk Oblast). However there are some problems in social sphere and a limit of labour market and as a result there is high rate of unemployment. Using the patterns of several residential areas in Belarus and in Russia some modern social-economic problems of mentioned residential areas and ways of their solutions are showed in the report. The situation in the field of the development of new urban settlements in Belarus and in Russia requires, in principle, a continually monitoring as well as an subsequent investigation and evaluation. Key words: Belarus, Russia, urban settlement system, master plans, residential areas

The development of Russian peripheral region. Ecological and geopolitical problems of the region of Caucasian spa resorts

The region of Caucasian spa resorts is now one of the most important tourist regions of Russia. Before the collapse of the USSR 7% of the total number of health facilities of this country was situated in this region. The favourable natural recreation conditions, their concentration in a relatively limited territory, the considerable potential of health-resorts and the efficiency of therapeutic treatment provide good perspectives for the further development of a health-resort complex among Caucasian spa towns. But this region also faces numerous problems which could affect its future development. The ecological situation of the region is of special interest from the economic-geographical point of view. Over the last 30 years the total population of the region has considerably increased, because of the development of non-resort activities. During this period the industrial zones in the spa resorts and other towns of the region have also expanded considerably. The industrialisation of this region has initiated a conflict of interests between economic growth, resort development and acceptable living conditions. The bad ecological situation in the region of the Caucasian spa resorts was partly a result of the peculiarities of the regional planning system of the Soviet Union and Russia, namely of the poor track record of the realisation of regional and urban planning. Recent scientific and planning studies suggest a complex of environmental protection measures, which will provide opportunities for the stabilisation of the ecological situation and for the restoration of the region of Caucasian spa resorts region in the future. In this event the region of the Caucasian spa resorts could then be held up as a model of environmental protection among resort and recreation areas, and not only in Russia. Although the region of the Caucasian spa resorts does not directly border on the former Soviet Republics (Georgia), it is located directly in the centre of the northern Caucasus, where the political situation in a series of former autonomous subjects of the Russian Federation, especially in the Chechen Republic is rather pronouncedly incalculable and explosive. For the present, the implementation of the new health-resort concept will only be possible with capital investment (domestic and foreign) and modern technology from abroad. But the limitation factor in this case is the unstable geo-political situation in the Northern Caucasus and the corresponding bad investment climate in this part of Russia

Die Kaukasischen Mineralbäder: Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Entwicklung einer Tourismusregion

The Caucasian spa region (German abbrev.: KMB) whose recreational function developed at the end of the 18th century is one of Russia's oldest health resort regions. With respect to its qualitative and quantitative properties, the KMB region possesses a unique character in Russia. Principal centres are the four spa resorts of Kislovodsk, Essentuki, Pyatigorsk, Shelesnovodsk, the industrial town of Lermontov as well as the city of Mineralnye Vody as a traffic centre. The existing KMB capacity of rest and recuperation homes now amounts to 45 000 places in sanatoriums, boarding-houses and resort hotels. The favourable natural recreation conditions, their concentration on a relatively limited territory, the considerable potential of health resorts and the recognized high efficiency of the therapeutic treatment provide good perspectives for the further development of the health resort complex among the Caucasian spa towns. But this region also faces numerous problems which will affect the development perspective of the KMB region: air-polluting industrial establishments, a critical ecological situation, oversized resort hotels without international standards as well as an uncertain geopolitical situation. The Caucasian spa region is nowadays a polyfunctional agglomeration with an overall population of about 600 000 inhabitants. The population density along the Mineralnye Vody-Kislovodsk city axis is about 950 inhabitants/km2. During the last 25 years the population of this region has grown intensely; this was especially due to the location of industries that are not linked to recreation. At present, the KMB region with its unique natural conditions and resources is a zone with a relatively unplanned settlement structure where industrial establishments, public enterprises and warehouses, facilities for transport and agriculture extend directly into the residential areas and even into the health resort zone. Due to the unsatisfactory ecological conditions, it is not possible to make use of the entire range of mineral waters for therapeutic purposes. As marketing of the health resort potential is needed, development plans were conceived with special orientation towards the dislocation of industrial, transportation and agricultural activities (these are the main air-polluters), towards the delineation of a natural resource region committed to restrictive resource use as well as towards the organisation of complex environmental control. For the present, the implementation of the new health resort concept will only be possible with financial assistance from abroad due to Russia's financial problems