Uneven Development of Old Industrial Regions in the Middle Urals

T. G. Nefedova () and A. I. Treivish
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T. G. Nefedova: Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences
A. I. Treivish: Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences

Regional Research of Russia, 2021, vol. 11, issue 2, 151-164

Abstract: Abstract— The article examines the degree of fragmentation and polarization of the socioeconomic space of Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk oblasts in the territory of the Middle Urals from Nizhny Tagil to Chelyabinsk. The study is based on an analysis of a number of statistical indicators for 29 municipalities and the results of expeditionary studies of cities and districts. The authors consider the specifics of individual areas, their evolution from the date of the first enterprise; population dynamics, including migration; the settlement pattern; the structure and current state of industry; and the main economic and environmental problems at the municipal level. It is clearly shown that the spatial trends of the 2000s in the Middle Urals as a whole correspond to the current all-Russian trends in concentration of the economy and growth of the largest centers and agglomerations. A peculiarity of the Urals is the increased role of big business, which controls the raw material industries, and the dependence of cities on industrial specialization and the state of key enterprises. The expeditionary survey of municipalities confirms the conclusion that the factory–town link conventional for the Middle Urals has been preserved. The main factors of survival were a successful “owner” (a large company whose products are in demand on the Russian and world markets) and the interest of the state, primarily in the defense industry. Nevertheless, analysis of various examples shows that, ceteris paribus, personal initiatives are also important for development. Environmental polarization in the Middle Urals is also very strong. With a multitude of ecological disaster sites, space, in which they alternate with vast areas of almost untouched nature, comes to the rescue.

Keywords: Middle Urals; space; polarization; cities; municipal areas; population; migration; industry; large companies; environmental problems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1134/S207997052102012X

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