Sustainable development of single-industry towns in Russia

¹ Institute of Economics of the Ural Branch of RAS, 620014 Ekaterinburg, Russia;
² ITMO University, 197101 St. Petersburg, Russia
³ Russian State Hydrometeorological University, 197107 St. Petersburg, Russia

^* Corresponding author: volkovra@yahoo.com

Abstract

The modern practice of defining administrative-industrial territories has formed the concept of «single-industry towns». Currently, there are many definitions of this phenomenon; however, the common criterion for classifying a town as a single-industry town is that its socio-economic development depends on the activities of one city-forming enterprise or several enterprises in the technological structure that operate within a single production and technological process. Such dependence for settlements with narrow specialization has a negative impact during the crisis situation at the enterprise or its liquidation. The negative consequences include a sharp increase in unemployment (including hidden one), aggravation of social problems, acceleration of population outflow to more developed cities/regions of the region/country, sharply reduced revenues to the local budget, which leads to the impossibility of independent development of the settlement. The problems of single-industry towns in the periods of economic crises are pronounced. Results. This paper has defined the criteria of single-industry towns, approaches to the identification of single-industry towns. In addition, the models and factors contributing to the sustainable socio-economic development of single-industry towns and domestic experience in the modernization of single-industry town settlements are identified.