Cottage settlements in capital region of Ukraine

Abstract

In this paper, the phenomenon of suburbanization in Ukraine is considered for the first time on the example of cottage settlements of the capital region. The issue of cottage settlements has not been studied specifically in Ukrainian human geography. A review of the achievements of foreign colleagues has revealed that they are mainly being studied as a new stage in the development of former summer cooperatives (dacha). In our opinion, it is rather one of the forms of pseudourbanization and imitation of Western European standards and forms of life. The cottage settlements have a higher quality of life than the surrounding villages and this causes social polarization within the urban agglomeration of the Ukrainian capital. It was revealed that the transport accessibility to Kyiv, the capital of the country, as well as the presence of natural attractors – the river, pond or forest plays an important role in their location. Conflicts have arisen over access to former public beaches and recreation areas. Currently, only residents of the respective cottage settlements have access to them, which causes social conflict with the local rural population. With the exception of four villages within the administrative boundaries of the capital, the rest are 10 to 30 kilometers away from the main motorways. The social stratification of cottage settlements has great importance. The most prestigious of them arose on the south direction 10 km from Kyiv. They are located in Koncha-Zaspa along the Dnieper river. Here their greatest concentration is revealed. Cottage settlements in the Koncha Zaspa area have become the main residence of the richest citizens of Ukraine. This led to the complete transformation of this settlement into a network of gated communities. Thus, a new structure of population distribution in the city agglomeration is gradually forming. It is presented on the map of accommodation of cottage settlements among traditional urban and rural settlements.