Sustainable economic growth in Russia is possible if a strategy for the development of 35 largest citie
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2025 8:58 am
Preliminary remarks
All cities need development strategies, regardless of their size. Small cities may need development strategies even more than megacities. After all, half of Russian small cities have a question of their survival in the next 10 years. But preserving small cities and bringing the level of development in them to at least the "average Russian norm" (a task of utmost importance for the population of these cities!) will in NO WAY help sustainable economic growth in Greater Russia. Alas and alack. But on the other hand, a development program for a city with a population of 25,000 can probably be agreed upon at the level of the vice-governor of your region, and not the prime minister.
Data on the current population of cities are taken from open sources, rounded to 5 - 50 thousand residents. Differences in estimates available in various sources are not discussed, not commented on and generally have no significance in the context of this article.
I proceed from the assumption that the population of Russia in the considered horizon (up to 2030) will not undergo significant quantitative changes and will be “conditionally constant” at the level of 146 – 148 million people. Thus, if we are talking about the population growth of megacities by 9 – 10 million people or by 20% over 10 years, then it is obvious that in some other settlements (rural, urban-type settlements, small and medium-sized cities) the population will continue to decrease.
There are more than a thousand cities in Russia. And there are 173 cities with a population of more than 100 thousand residents. More than half of all Russians live in them, 76 million people. 98 cities have a population of over 200 thousand residents. 50 cities have a population of over 400 thousand residents. More than a third of Russians (53 million people) live in these cities. And more than half of the country's economy is concentrated in these 50 cities today.
The following is nothing more than a broad outline of a strategy in argentina phone number data the original sense of the term - "a general, non-detailed plan for conducting a military campaign." And, if adopted (unlikely), it will of course need to be detailed and carefully worked out. For EACH of the 35 cities. The author realizes that he could easily have missed the mountain or the pit that separates the "neighboring" cities, and apologizes in advance for the mistakes made.
Formally, each (or almost each) of the mentioned cities has a "Socio-Economic Development Plan until a certain year" (most often until 2030), but this has no direct bearing on the essence of the issue under consideration. Since none of these plans sets the task of population growth of the city and its economy in an explicit, digital form. As a rule, these plans contain general guidelines in the housing, transport and social spheres. Which, of course, is also very important.
The adoption of development plans for the largest urban agglomerations of the Russian Federation (by the end of the current 2020, and not with sluggish discussions and murky "research" over the next few years) could become a powerful stimulus for economic growth of the entire country for the next decade. Attracting qualified specialists, investors, developers, retailers, would give a significant multiplier effect, covering almost all sectors of the economy.
All cities need development strategies, regardless of their size. Small cities may need development strategies even more than megacities. After all, half of Russian small cities have a question of their survival in the next 10 years. But preserving small cities and bringing the level of development in them to at least the "average Russian norm" (a task of utmost importance for the population of these cities!) will in NO WAY help sustainable economic growth in Greater Russia. Alas and alack. But on the other hand, a development program for a city with a population of 25,000 can probably be agreed upon at the level of the vice-governor of your region, and not the prime minister.
Data on the current population of cities are taken from open sources, rounded to 5 - 50 thousand residents. Differences in estimates available in various sources are not discussed, not commented on and generally have no significance in the context of this article.
I proceed from the assumption that the population of Russia in the considered horizon (up to 2030) will not undergo significant quantitative changes and will be “conditionally constant” at the level of 146 – 148 million people. Thus, if we are talking about the population growth of megacities by 9 – 10 million people or by 20% over 10 years, then it is obvious that in some other settlements (rural, urban-type settlements, small and medium-sized cities) the population will continue to decrease.
There are more than a thousand cities in Russia. And there are 173 cities with a population of more than 100 thousand residents. More than half of all Russians live in them, 76 million people. 98 cities have a population of over 200 thousand residents. 50 cities have a population of over 400 thousand residents. More than a third of Russians (53 million people) live in these cities. And more than half of the country's economy is concentrated in these 50 cities today.
The following is nothing more than a broad outline of a strategy in argentina phone number data the original sense of the term - "a general, non-detailed plan for conducting a military campaign." And, if adopted (unlikely), it will of course need to be detailed and carefully worked out. For EACH of the 35 cities. The author realizes that he could easily have missed the mountain or the pit that separates the "neighboring" cities, and apologizes in advance for the mistakes made.
Formally, each (or almost each) of the mentioned cities has a "Socio-Economic Development Plan until a certain year" (most often until 2030), but this has no direct bearing on the essence of the issue under consideration. Since none of these plans sets the task of population growth of the city and its economy in an explicit, digital form. As a rule, these plans contain general guidelines in the housing, transport and social spheres. Which, of course, is also very important.
The adoption of development plans for the largest urban agglomerations of the Russian Federation (by the end of the current 2020, and not with sluggish discussions and murky "research" over the next few years) could become a powerful stimulus for economic growth of the entire country for the next decade. Attracting qualified specialists, investors, developers, retailers, would give a significant multiplier effect, covering almost all sectors of the economy.