The Conception of a Unified System of Settlement and the Planned Regulation of city Growth in the USSR

A unified system of settlement, defined as an interrelated network of places that is regulated for the benefit of society, is viewed as the most effective approach to overcoming socio-economic differences between town and countryside. Such a settlement system is viewed as ultimately replacing the present settlement patterns ranging from large urban agglomerations at one extreme to small rural places without adequate services at the other extreme. The unified settlement system is expected to insure roughly equivalent living and working conditions for all people within such a system. Some of the recent changes in Soviet settlement patterns are viewed as steps in that direction: an expansion of the network of large cities in connection with the economic development of new regions; the policy of industrializing small towns bypassed by the previous development of industry; the growing practice of establishing research organizations and branch plants in small towns to foster their development; the mechanization and industrialization of animal husbandry; the improvement of rural bus lines, providing access to service centers.     

THE USE OF ANALYTICAL METHODS OF MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS FOR IDENTIFYING RURAL PLACES WITH GROWTH PROSPECTS: (with particular reference to Kaliningrad Oblast)

One of the key objectives in the rural development program for the Nonchernozem Zone of the RSFSR is the consolidation of rural settlement in larger places. An example of the dispersed settlement pattern is Kaliningrad Oblast, which has a total of 1,527 rural places ranging from fewer than 5 to more than 2,000 inhabitants, with a total rural population of 195,529 (1970 census). The author shows that growth prospects are dependent on a combination of five factors—geographical setting and level of development; population; fixed assets in agriculture; nonfarm fixed assets; availability of services—and, using correlation analysis, identifies 283 places with prospects of future growth, ranging from 32 in the 51–100 size class to one of more than 2,000 population. The preservation of some small rural places is termed inevitable because many serve as outlying settlements for livestock subdivisions of collective and state farms, and dairy and beef cattle represents a characteristic type of farming in Kaliningrad Oblast.     

COMMUTING LINKS AT LOWER LEVELS OF RURAL SETTLEMENT

The study of commuting links in rural areas of the Non-Chernozem Zone offers a useful approach to the redesign of settlement patterns. Commuting to work is analyzed in 80 primary settlement systems (farm systems) in five rayons of Vologda Oblast. Most of the commuting streams are found to occur toward the central farm settlements within systems and also between adjacent systems, with rural nonfarm places (both industry-based and transport based) offering the principal opportunities for employment. Commuting is analyzed in terms of two indices: a labor-balance index (relating resident population and employment opportunities) and a commuting intensity index (relating the number of commuters to resident population).     

Agricultural variation and human fertility in antebellum Pennsylvania

Focus in this discussion is on research designed to examine human fertility variation in 59 Pennsylvania counties in 1850 and 1860. The research goes beyond previous historical studies in examining the relationship between land quality and fertility and in separating the possible impacts of settlement from the availability of land for agricultural purposes. The measure of human fertility used in the analysis was the child-woman ratio, defined as the number of children aged 0-4/1000 white women aged 15-49. In 1850 the child-woman ratio ranged from 488-889. The child-woman ratio fell slightly between 1850 and 1860, and county level variation was reduced. Yet, Pennsylvania counties varied substantially in fertility levels during this period. The range between the highest and lowest fertility countries was over 400 children in 1850 and almost 350 in 1860. The set of agricultural variables displayed expected differences at the 2 time periods. The excess demand for farmsites increased between 1850 and 1860, while the variation in demand decreased by over one-half, reflecting additional settlement within all acres of the state. The settlement ratio increased over the decade; the sex ratio declined, most likely in response to outmigration westward. The agricultural variables were all negatively related to the child-woman ratio and were statistically significant, except for the labor/acre variable. The strongest correlation in 1850 was between the excess demand for farmsites and fertility. This coefficient indicated that the greater the excess demand for farmsites, the lower the child-woman ratio. This relationship was attentuated somewhat for 1860, yet it continued to be negative and statistically significant. The socioeconomic and demographic variables were all related to fertility in the expected direction, but only 5 of the 7 correlations were statistically significant in 1850 and 6 in 1860. The settlement ratio, sex ratio, percent urban, distance to urban place, and the measure of female age composition were all significantly related to fertility in 1850 and 1860. The study results support the growing body of research which has identified agricultural opportunity as a significant factor in fertility in rural areas of 19th century America. The findings also suggest that the importance of agricultural opportunity extended beyond the frontier period.     

Changes in the Distribution of Rural Settlement in Northern Kazakhstan from 1959 to 1963

After the first great population movement to northern Kazakhstan in the period 1953–1958 in conjunction with the start of the virgin-lands cultivation program, a period of reordering and restructuring of rural settlement within the region set in during 1959–1963. Three types of settlement areas are distinguished: (1) in areas of predominantly old settlement (preceding the virgin-lands program), the increase of rural population during this five-year period was below the average rate of natural increase for northern Kazakhstan as a whole; there was a net-outmigration from rural to urban areas and to other parts of northern Kazakhstan, (2) in areas of combined old and new settlement, population increase was more significant and there was a noticeable reduction of small populated places and increase in the number of larger places, (3) in areas of predominantly new settlement, where the density of population is lowest, the rate of population increase is highest, and settlement is mainly in widely spaced larger places.     

ANALYSIS OF SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS IN A MOUNTAIN REGION

In a continuing study of settlement systems using space imagery and aerial photography, systems of settlement and central places are analyzed on the basis of the intensity of transport movements between places. Central places are assigned to different categories according to the patterns of transport linkages in their tributary areas. Relationships between the maximum extent of zones of influence and the population of central places are discussed. The concept of developmental phase of a settlement system is introduced. For previous articles by the author, see S.G., Jan. 1975 and Oct. 1976. [The study area, though not identified, is in the Altay Mountains.]     

A Small-Scale Map of Rural Settlement in the USSR

The methods used in mapping two versions of a map of rural settlement of the USSR are described. Both versions use 17 basic economic types of settlement as suggested by rural settlement patterns shown on topographic sheets. The first version, which includes in the typology additional indicators such as density and size of places, yields a highly complex map legend and reduces map legibility. The second version simplifies and generalizes the settlement patterns by the proportional plotting of settlement symbols against a shaded or tinted background representing the 17 basic economic types.     

The Impact of the Territorial and Sectoral Structure of Production on the Renewal of Population and Labor Resources

Significant indirect relationships are found to exist between the territorial-sectoral structure of the economy, the demographic structure and employment and the process of population renewal. A key element in these correlations is the male-female ratio in employment, which tends to vary with regional wage levels, the availability of services, and the age-sex structure of the population. In rural areas, the relationship between the structure of the economy and population reproduction is associated with three factors: (1) the settlement pattern, (2) the type of farming, and (3) the territorial organization of farming (for example, the functional type of rural places).     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LOCATION OF SERVICES AND RURAL SETTLEMENT

Soviet planners are advised to consider the linkage between rural settlement patterns and the provision of services, an issue that is assuming particular significance in connection with the present development program in the Nonchernozem Zone of the RSFSR. The number of service establishments per 1,000 population is not considered a useful indicator because it tends to be high in areas with widely dispersed settlement in small inhabited places, and yet does not reflect a high level of services because of the small size of the establishments. It is desirable to cluster sets of services in central places; the presence of a single kind of service (store, school, etc.) in a small place is found tantamount to having no service whatever. Adequate provision of services is found to reduce, or even reverse, rural out-migration.     

国外乡村聚落地理研究进展及近今趋势

乡村聚落地理的研究是乡村地理学的重要研究领域。本文通过对大量的文献资料分析,系统梳理了国外乡村聚落地理的研究动态,将其研究历程划分为:萌芽起步、初步发展、拓展变革、转型重构四个阶段。对乡村聚落地理的研究内容体系进行归纳总结,主要集中在聚落布局、聚落形态与分类、聚落景观、聚落用地、聚落生态等方面。在此基础上对近今乡村聚落地理的研究趋势及发展方向进行了分析,发现乡村聚落的人文社会化和乡村重构的研究趋势。以期能对国内乡村聚落地理的研究提供借鉴和参考。     

Some Aspects of the Formation of Urban Settlement Patterns (Illustrated by the Tatar ASSR,Bashkir ASSR,and Kuybyshev Oblast)

Using the example of the Soviet Union's principal oil-producing region between the Middle Volga and the Urals, the authors identify systems of urban settlement and classify urban places in terms of their situation within systems of settlement. The situation of a place within a system is used as a criterion for determining whether future industrial growth of that place should be stimulated or restricted. A related article by one of the authors, F. M. Listengurt, appeared in Soviet Geography, October 1965.     

Rural Settlement Trends in Moldavia

An analysis of changes in rural settlement in the Moldavian SSR for the period 1959–1968 finds a high degree of stability, with few places eliminated because of resettlement or consolidation, and few new places established. The total rural population continues to increase, despite a relative decline of the rural component in the entire population. Growth rates have been highest for large central settlements of state farms and collective farms, but outlying peripheral villages within farm territories have also been growing.     

Quantitative Regularities in the Urbanization of the USSR

Simple arithmetical formulas are proposed for the study and analysis of urbanization processes. The formulas establish functional relationships between the urbanization level at the beginning of a particular study period, the changes in urban and rural population during the period, and the urbanization level at the end of the period. The relative share of administrative centers and of other urban places in a particular major civil division in total urban population is also considered. Different types of urbanization processes are discussed and plotted on a graphic-analytical model (nomogram). Contrary to general assumption, it is found that in the USSR it is not the very large cities (500,000 and over) that are increasingly concentrating urban population, but the next lowest size class (100,000–500,000). Further research into urbanization processes in particular spatial settlement systems is urged.     

A STRATEGY FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF SETTLEMENT BSf THE USSR; AIMS,PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

A General Program of Settlement in the USSR, worked out by the Central Urban Planning Institute, envisages a long-term evolution of settlement that would help ameliorate the quality of life, insure industrial development of small and middle-size towns and help protect the environment. Two alternative strategies are envisaged: (1) an extrapolative strategy that projects long-term trends on the basis of past experiences and would enhance agglomerative processes in Soviet settlement; (2) a normative, goal-directed strategy that would seek to foster the evolution of planned and regulated systems of interconnected urban and rural places, and would gradually transform the present agglomerations along the lines of such normative systems. The prospective distribution of settlement under both strategies is mapped. Under the extrapolative strategy, the urban population share in areas with agglomerated forms of settlement would reach nearly 70 percent over the forecast period compared with 44 percent in 1970. The normative, goal-directed strategy would yield 60 large interconnected urban-rural systems, centered on the country's largest cities and accounting for 53 percent of the total population; 170 middle-size systems, centered on moderately large cities and including 26 percent of the population; and 325 small systems, centered on small and middle-size towns and including 14 percent of the population. About 7 percent of the population would remain outside the systemic structure.     

晋中平原地区农村聚落扩展分析

在实地考察的基础上，章从规模、速度、形态和类型等方面分析了晋中平原地区农村聚落扩展的特点，并深入探讨了影响农村聚落扩展的因素，认为聚落扩展主要是人口增长和家庭规模变化、社会经济发展与收入增加、交通条件改善、农村地区工业化及其他因素共同作用的结果。最后指出了由于聚落扩展而带来的许多难以解决的问题。     

干旱区内陆河流域城乡聚落体系空间结构及影响模式研究——以石羊河流域为例

本研究以石羊河流域为研究区,选取2000、2006、2010年三期遥感影像为数据源,采用成本加权距离和城乡聚落体系潜能指数对传统的场强模型进行改进,综合利用扩张强度指数、扩张速度指数等分析研究石羊河流域内部城乡聚落体系空间结构分异。在此基础上,基于GIS技术并结合道路等级和长度计算流域内城乡聚落体系间最短时间距离来分析城乡聚落体系空间联系与空间相互作用,据此分析石羊河流域城乡聚落体系空间结构变化及影响模式。     

An Approach to the Mapping of Changes in the Settling Process

A variety of mapping techniques are used to establish regional differences in the settling process in Irkutsk Oblast and to measure the process in general terms. The most dynamic area, with urban and rural population growth, is the Middle Angara valley, where industrialization has been combined with the development of rural nonfarm places based on resource development and construction. Both urban and rural decline is typical of old mining districts, such as the coal district of Cheremkhovo and the gold area of Bodaybo. In most of Irkutsk Oblast, urban growth has been associated with rural decline. An important factor in the rural settling process has been a reduction of the number of places and an increase of the mean size of places, with remarkable stability in the 200–300 population class of rural places. Analysis of the settling process yields a map that distinguishes population growth, decline or stability in combination with a predominance of particular population size classes among rural places. A previous paper by the author on the mapping of the settling process appeared in Soviet Geography, December 1969.     

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL NONFARM PLACES IN THE USSR

According to the 1970 census, the Soviet Union had 37,800 rural nonfarm places with a combined population of 6.1 million, or 5.8 percent of the rural population. The census data are believed to understate the number and population of nonfarm places because they assigned rural places to the nonfarm category purely on the basis of their generic designation. Many multifunctional nonfarm places and rural places that serve as administrative centers and have little relation to agriculture were not categorized as nonfarm in the census. Although many of the smaller nonfarm places are likely to be eliminated over time, others will continue to perform clearly defined functions in industry, construction, transportation, and services. The situation is illustrated with particular reference to Novosibirsk Oblast.     

基于空间界面理论乡村社区选址研究——以河南省晴岚社区为例

空间界面理论是乡村社区选址的适宜理论。在分析传统农村聚落区位选址中空间界面取向及其演变、新形势下农户择居需求等基础上,得出乡村社区选址大致有四种倾向:城镇边缘区、交通沿线、产业集聚区外围、其他资源指向等。利用空间界面理论中的避害原则、就近原则、功能原则、加成原则,认为河南省商丘市柘城县晴岚社区的选址是合理的,接近于理想中的最佳区位。     

The use of Animals at Roman Roadside Settlements in Britain: Contextualizing some new Results from Ware,Hertfordshire

Recent analysis of a large faunal assemblage from a Roman roadside settlement at Ware, Hertfordshire has indicated potentially strong links between the nature of animal exploitation on site and its location on Ermine Street. Animal husbandry was focused on the production of cattle and sheep, both of which had experienced stock ‘improvement’ by the late Roman period. Relatively high proportions of horse, and the presence of young horses, suggest the importance of this animal and the potential for its local breeding; the site could have acted as a station for changing or selling horses. The presence of marine fish and black rat also indicate clear links to the wider trade network. This was not an isolated settlement, outside the sphere of Roman influence, as rural Roman sites are often considered to be, but well‐connected to wider economic networks. This paper places these new results in context, by providing a review of faunal assemblages from Roman roadside settlements across Britain. The review indicates that most of the characteristics of animal exploitation at Ware are shared with other roadside settlement sites, though interesting differences also emerge.