BIG, MIDDLE AND SMALL TOWNS WITHIN THE STRATEGY OF SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT OF STAVROPOL TERRITORY

The article shows the nature of a town as a social and economic and cultural center of a territory – a possible point of economic growth facilitating the progress on the basis of extension of social division of labour. The author discovered that the urbanization degree of the Russian federal districts is different: the Central and Privolzhsky districts are the most urbanized, and the North Caucasus federal district is the least urbanized.

It is discovered that the towns of Stavropol Territory responded in different ways to the social and economic reforms carried out in two last decades, so their social and economic state is considerably differentiated. 

According to the degree of adaptation of the towns of Stavropol Territory to the carried out economic reforms the author distinguished four groups: adapted, economically adapted, socially adapted, and hard adaptable. The “unprofitable enterprises ratio” index was chosen to evaluate the degree of economic adaptation. The degree of social adaptation was measured by the “population growth” index,

The industrial centers of Stavropol Territory – the towns Nevinnomyssk, Blagodarny, Neftekumsk and Zelenokumsk – became the problem areas. The author proved that the necessity to work to achieve the results of production and urbanization localization.

As the conceptual starting point of the municipal policy development the author suggested considering the conclusion on the necessity to promote the increase in population of industrial towns and their change to the status of big towns, and, at the same time, it is reasonable to constrain the increase in population of recreational towns that is very important from the ecological point of view. The leading industrial towns of the region should become the centers of well-established cluster structures.  

The municipal economic policy of small towns – the centers of agricultural districts should be focused on the development of infrastructure for the agricultural raw materials processing and the production of commodities with high added value.

The development of social infrastructure typical for the modern bedroom communities is the important direction of municipal policy of small towns.