The Framework for Socio-economic Development in the Steppe Regions of Russia

Abstract

The study aims to provide a spatial assessment of the socio-economic framework within the steppe regions of Russia. To achieve this goal, we described the density of the social-ecological structure and the development stage of the main cities. We offered a methodology for evaluating the level of socio-economic development. A conjugate analysis of six indicators revealed the density of the socio-economic structure. A similar interpretation of nine indicators identified the index of development of key cities in the socio-economic framework in 18 steppe regions of Russia. In addition, we developed a schematic map representing the spatial distribution of the studied indexes. In the steppe zone of Russia, we revealed several features of urbanization. The formation of a megacity in the eastern part is not easy. Moreover, the considerable remoteness of the main cities from each other hinders the development of agglomeration processes. In the western part of the studied region, one can form highly urbanized territories during advanced development. Therefore, there is an imbalance in the density index of the socio-economic framework between the south-western and eastern regions. The development of the socio-economic framework in the studied area reflects the spatial arrangement of the economy and population of the steppe zone of Russia. This is confirmed by the close relationship between the index of development of the major cities in the socio-economic framework and the value of the gross regional product. According to the Chaddock scale, the correlation coefficient between the corresponding indicators is 0.94.