STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF NORTHERN URBAN AGGLOMERATIONS IN RUSSIA:  REGULATORY, LEGAL, AND ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS

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Irina A. Sekushina1, Ivan A. Kryukov2

1, 2Vologda Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vologda, Russia

1sekushina.isekushina@yandex.ru, ORCID 0000-0002-4216-4850

2ivan.kryukov.1974@mail.ru, ORCID 0000-0001-6086-5696

 

Abstract. Urban agglomerations serve as key drivers of socio-economic development. However, their management at the regional level remains insufficiently studied. This article examines the regulatory and organizational aspects of strategic management for the development of urban agglomerations located in the Far North of Russia or the territories equated  to this region. The study draws on both domestic and international experiences in strategic urban agglomeration management. In the Russian context, the authors identify a hierarchical structure of documents related to agglomeration development at the regional, inter-municipal, and municipal levels. A detailed analysis of strategic management documents was conducted for five northern urban agglomerations — Arkhangelsk, Norilsk, Khanty-Mansiysk, Surgut, and  Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The findings reveal significant variation in the content and comprehensiveness of the available documents, indicating the absence of a unified system for the strategic management of urban agglomerations. A key issue is the lack of coordination among the strategic planning documents of municipalities within each agglomeration. Additionally, inter-municipal cooperation tools are not being utilized effectively. Among the cases analyzed, only Norilsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk,  and Surgut have developed formal concepts or plans for agglomeration development. The study’s scientific contribution includes the diagnostic assessment of the strategic management system for northern urban agglomerations, as well as the development of a methodological approach to classifying strategic planning documents. Future research will focus  on designing an organizational and economic framework for managing the development of northern urban agglomerations.

Keywords: northern urban agglomerations, strategic management, development planning, master plan, coordinating council

Acknowledgments: This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant No. 23-78-10054, https://rscf.ru/project/23-78-10054/.

For citation: Sekushina I. A., Kryukov I. A. Strategic management of northern urban agglomerations in Russia: Regulatory, legal, and organizational aspects. Sever i rynok: formirovanie ekonomicheskogo poryadka [The North and the Market: Forming the Economic Order], 2025, no. 2, pp. 51–68. doi:10.37614/2220-802X.2.2025.88.004.

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