Defining the boundaries of urban agglomerations: problems, international experience, solutions and results
Abstract
The article discusses the problem of defining the boundaries of urban agglomerations or delimiting urban agglomerations. The importance of this problem comes from the need to develop various methods of planning and managing territories that form urban agglomerations or are not a part of them. The development of such territories according to unified master plans can contribute to the optimal placement of social infrastructure facilities, increase the efficiency of budget planning, optimize planning of inter-and intra-agglomeration transport infrastructure, create new jobs, etc.
The problem of delimiting urban agglomerations is of an international nature: currently, there are no generally accepted common criteria for determining the boundaries and composition of agglomerations, and, accordingly, urban agglomerations of different countries, calculated according to different criteria, are not comparable with each other. The use of such a unified methodology would allow an objective assessment of the level of urbanization in different countries and territories. Therefore, it is important that, on the one hand, the assessment of the boundaries of urban agglomerations be carried out on the basis of available data for all countries, and, on the other hand, that the assessment methodology be based on accumulated world experience and provide an acceptable approximation to many already used models of delimitation.
The purpose of this study is to analyze and systematize the main methods of delimiting urban agglomerations used by foreign countries, as well as to determine the methods of delimitation that are suitable for wide application in different countries.
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References
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