COMPANY TOWNS OF THE URAL FEDERAL DISTRICT: DEVELOPMENT RISK MATRIX

Abstract

The study focuses on company towns of the Ural Federal District (UFD). Based on the analysis of the features of these settlements’ development, their typology was built as a tool for identifying the potential; and promising models and scenarios of spatial development were suggested. The research is based on the analysis of statistical materials, regulatory and legislative acts of the Russian Federation, as well as unconnected observations and expert interviews conducted by the authors on expeditions in 2020-2022. The study showed that among the company towns of the UFD region, settlements with a difficult socio-economic situation or with risks of its deterioration prevail. In addition, company towns form single-industry districts in the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions. Promising scenarios of spatial development of Ural mono-settlements are considered: «local» (the development of company towns only by the administrations of cities and settlements), «regional» (participation in the development of company towns of forces and means at the regional level) and «federal» (the development of company towns with the help of a purposeful, coordinated state policy at the level of the whole country). For a more visual visualization of the results, the mapping method in the original development was used. According to the results of the study, it is concluded that with synchronized federal and regional support, the classic resource specializations of company towns can develop in the branches of a new techno paradigm. In order to systematically improve the situation in the mono–settlements of the Urals and prevent crisis phenomena in them, first of all, measures are needed aimed at increasing the competitiveness of city-forming enterprises, as well as increasing the social burden of large businesses – owners of city-forming enterprises.