| Abstract: | The notion of spatial development is defined as a relationship between two phenomena, in which the phenomenon that is being modified (the object of development) imposes constraints on the evolution of the modifier (the subject of development); the interaction achieves what was at first only potentially present in the object. The combination of a particular subject and object characterizes the intensity of the process of development (or the level of development). This conceptual approach is illustrated with particular reference to the development levels in the rural rayons of Tambov Oblast, where the output and fixed assets of agriculture are used as the subject of development, and the physical base and rural population as the objects. The interplay yields a number of types of development levels which have been mapped and interpreted in light of the history of settlement and the physical base of the area. |
