THE ROLE OF MARKET POTENTIAL IN THE EVOLUTION OF THE RUSSIAN URBAN SYSTEM IN 1991-2020

Abstract

The paper studies the change in the proportions of the development of the Russian urban system over the period 1991-2020 and examines the influence of market potential on these processes. The methods of the analysis include descriptive statistics, empirical estimates of the density functions, maps, estimates of the Zipf’s equation parameters, and regression equations for the dependence of the city size on various types of market potential. The analysis showed that the urban system of modern Russia is undergoing structural changes, and there is an increase in heterogeneity in the development of cities due to the growth of large and the reduction of small cities. These changes are due to the size of external and internal markets, which include both urban and rural settlements. The market potential is unevenly distributed over the territory of the country, this resource is concentrated in the European part of the country, what will create a gap in the pace and quality of development of the urban system of Russia in the west-east dimension.