Directions for increasing the practical impact of economic and geographical researches

In the conditions of a market economy and private investments, the forms of regional development and governance are changing significantly. However, the processes of territorial division of labor and territorial-production complex formation, economic regional formation remain there. It is necessary to study their new forms and mechanisms. The author highlights the following directions of the socio- economic-geographical researches focused on practical use, namely: the study of the structure and dynamics of territorial socio-economic systems as a portion of integral geosystems; development of methods for multilevel assessment of the inclusion (exclusion) of certain social and economic components in the structures of such systems; development of regional programs and relevant geographic information systems for sustainable development; development of the theory and methods of territorial organization, covering the population, economy and natural-technogenic territorial structures, assessment of a territory’s potential, monitoring of regional development. The spatial development of different-level territories is considered as an important area of economic and geographical research aimed at obtaining of applied results. At the same time, the following geographical factors should be covered and assessed namely: geographical location, including economic and geographical one, territorial combinations of natural conditions and resources, existing territorial patterns of the economy and population., There is always a combination of geographic factors within certain territories which determines many of the features and properties of spatial patterns and spatial development. Their quantitative measurement and comparison makes it possible to obtain estimates of the potential of a territory, which are of great practical importance.