Centre for Economic and Regional Studies Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre of Excellence

Start: 05/31/2018 14:00

End: 05/31/2018 16:00

Location: Research Centre for Economic and Regional Studies - 7621 Pécs, Papnövelde u. 22. - Conference room

Description

Program:

14:00-14:45 Dr. Tatyana Bystrova (Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia)
Growth or development: Philosophical fundamentals of modern urban processes

Abstract:
The lecture aims at correlating philosophical and urbanistic development notions. While quantitative indicators help explain urban growth processes, urban development is explained by qualitative ones. Current welfare indicators like happiness (R. Florida), integrity of object and space environments (D. Brook, V. L. Glazychev, and others), health and ecological activities, education, openness and others are often unquantified. Their existence proper signifies moving both cities and urban studies to a new level, since they are connected with development rather than growth.
However, while these ideas may seem a nice metaphor for experts, they need additional arguments. In order to make them approach relevance, we resort to the history of the concept formation. This enables us to observe how successful urban existence depends on the accurate interpretation of, or on random coincidence with authoritative philosophical and theoretical sources. Relying of practical concepts on the present philosophic-methodological basis makes it possible to avoid direct borrowing from available approaches to develop a city (for example, everyone is engaged in territorial branding, or organizes a City Day, or employs the Creative City concept of Charles Landry, etc.) and to consider the peculiarity of each party as much as possible when there is the similarity of instruments, objectives and their fulfilment strategy.
In this presentation, we analyze 3 approaches:
– Reduction or Specification?
– Organicism or controlled systematicity?
– Evenness or unevenness?
The principal historic-cultural development interpretations are highlighted, and the significance of this concept for enhancing the modern urban environment is shown. The author proves that referring to philosophical development interpretations by experts provides the highest degree of specification and feasibility of urban projects.

14:45-15:30 Viola Larionova (Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russia)
Agglomeration Effects and Socioeconomic Potential for Sustainable Development of Small Cities

In the context of agglomeration processes taking place nowadays the problems of preserving small cities, their self-determination and the search for unique development paths are of major concern. It is small cities that occupy a significant part of urbanized territories in the world and mainly determine the level of social and economic development and the population welfare of the countries. Small cities in the surroundings of big agglomeration centers are experiencing strong problems connected with outflow of population, the lack of qualified personnel, decrease of the economic growth rate, deterioration of the investment climate and quality of living environment. Only some of these cities can follow a sustainable development strategy by choosing one of the alternative favorable scenarios, which include, in particular, the strategy of a small city as a part of an agglomeration with clear positioning and defining its role, functions and benefits.
The research is devoted to evaluation of agglomeration effects and potential of social and economic development of the urban territory using the case of Yekaterinburg agglomeration which includes one of the biggest Russian cities with population of about 1.5 million people and its city-satellites of the first and the second belts (in the vicinity of 60 km from Yekaterinburg). All these small cities are different in population, industry scale and level of socio-economic development. The crisis of old industrial areas caused by technological changes of the early 21st century, has led to the bankruptcy of their enterprises and population outflow from these cities, but they still have a considerable technical, industrial potential and significant natural and human resources for their sustainable development in new economic environment.
An urban agglomeration refers to a complex multicomponent dynamic system with different economic relations, transport and cultural bonds which can maximize its effect by means of integrity and cooperation. Large cities provide greater opportunity for economies of scale, availability of quality human capital, cluster effects, innovation processes and knowledge spillover, but under certain conditions smaller cities can also achieve some of the agglomeration effects which can play an important role in territory development.
On the basis of mathematical modelling the authors define dominant trends of economic development of the city- satellites of Yekaterinburg and the agglomeration as a whole, cluster them into different subgroups according to their social and economic potential and create a model of the territory development in midterm period. Using official statistic data on municipal development the time–dependences of socioeconomic development indicators for all cities of Yekaterinburg agglomeration were studied, and clustering was made with the help of Kohonen Self-Organizing Networks. To measure the level of agglomeration economies we used the Cobb-Douglas model, which allowed estimating elasticities of supply of labor and capital in the cities of the agglomeration.
Defining the tendencies of the agglomeration formation on the basis of system approach and citizens’ views allows justified optimal decision making on the strategic and tactic issues of the small cities’ development. The results of the research can be used by the cities’ administrative bodies to find the most appropriate and effective form of interaction between municipalities.

15:30-16:30 Nagy Erika–Nagy Gábor: Neoliberal European urbanism meets local strategies on the periphery – Culture and tourism-centred urban development in Gyula, Hungary (MTA KRTK RKI, Békéscsaba)