Specific features of population and housing concentration in the regions of the Ural Federal District

Abstract

Introduction. The specific features of the socio-economic space organization are an important factor in the development of the region and largely determine the risks and prospects of the policies implemented in relation to it. The article is devoted to identifying the specific location in the space of the region of the population and the elements of social infrastructure (housing) providing for its vital activity. Materials. The research is based on the Rosstat data and materials from the socio-economic development strategies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and the concentration level indicators (concentration indices and Herfindahl-Hirschman indices) are the basis of the methodological tools. Results. The article shows that the regions of the Ural Federal District differ from each other in such criteria as the concentration level of the analyzed parameters (population, housing stock and development activity) and the consistent placement of the analysis objects, described with these parameters. Discussion. The highest level of heterogeneity of the socio-economic space is typical for the Tyumen and Sverdlovsk regions (regional centers are large-scale concentration points), the lowest is for the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug. The Sverdlovsk Region and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug also differ from other regions in the inconsistency in distribution of pockets of population concentration, housing stock and development activity. The accelerated growth of urban agglomerations has been chosen as a guideline for the further spatial transformations in five of the six regions considered (except for the Kurgan region), which allows us to expect a further increase in the concentration level of both population and housing in certain points of the space - the largest municipalities (and in the surrounding territories). The results obtained can be used to give grounds to spatial development priorities and update of the regional and urban planning policies of the regions of the Ural Federal District.

Keywords

• concentration
• location features
• population
• social
• infrastructure
• housing
• development activity
• region
• ural federal district