TOWARDS SOCIO-GEOGRAPHICAL CONCEPTUALIZING INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The article deals with the essence of the concept of “inclusive development”, the reasons and preconditions for the forming concept of inclusive development in the context of changing the paradigm of spatial development in the World and in Ukraine are analyzed. It is emphasized on the interdisciplinarity of research in the topics of inclusiveness. The historical preconditions of the forming the concept of inclusive development are highlighted. It has been determined that the policy of inclusive growth provides the involvement of all population and all social groups (without exception and including the most vulnerable categories), as well as territories (including the most remote ones) in solving political, socio-economic, ecological and cultural problems of country’s (region’s) development. Attention to the quality of life and increase of the average life expectancy, strengthening the ideas of human centeredness led to the actualization of theories of economic growth and social welfare, their transformation into the conceptual foundations of inclusive development and the dissemination of these ideas into all sciences, in particular into geography. At the same time, the new concept of inclusive development has become a logical evolutionary result of the continuation of ideas embedded in its time in the spatial theories of development. The inclusive approach broadens the traditional models of economic growth and emphasizes the equality of health, human capital, state of the environment, social protection as factors of social security. Of great importance are non-material factors relating to culture, ethno-national characteristics, specific political systems, which determines possibilities of creating and successful activities of inclusive institutions. Inclusive spatial development in the article is defined as a process of structural changes accompanied by economic and social activity at every vertical and horizontal spatial levels, that provides improvement of the quality of life on the basis of maximum employment, equal access to opportunities and services for the local population and on the basis of the effective use of all resources. The contours of modern inclusive policy in the World and Ukraine are marked, directions of further scientific research of inclusiveness in social geography are determined.