Territorial Peculiarities of the Demographic Development of the Stavropol Urban Agglomeration

Abstract

The article is devoted to the intra-agglomeration features of the demographic development of the Stavropol urban agglomeration (Stavropol Krai, Russia). The object of study is the population of the Stavropol urban agglomeration. The empirical basis was based on official statistics of the current population census developed by Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat) for the North Caucasian Federal District and data from the All-Union (1989) and All-Russian (2002, 2010, 2021) population censuses. Data obtained by processing the databases of online services for posting real estate ads, TsIAN and Avito, which the authors define as big data, were also used. Geoinformation technologies were used to implement the analytical part of the study. The materials are presented in the form of tables and maps reflecting the demographic aspects of the study and the dynamics of urban development in Stavropol and Mikhailovsk. Four zones have formed within the Stavropol urban agglomeration, within which the population dynamics, scale of housing construction, and cost of residential premises change from the center to the periphery. It was found that the rate of development of territories correlates with the rate of population growth. The urban agglomeration’s populated areas are becoming a preferred settlement zone for Russians, Armenians, Roma, North Caucasians, and other peoples. In Stavropol—the urban agglomeration core—the ethnic structure of the population is changing, including due to active educational migrations. These processes also influence the age structure of the population; in particular, the youngest residents of the urban agglomeration live in the zone of intensive population growth (Stavropol and its suburbs), while in the zone of intensive population decline the average age of residents is higher.