Potential for settlement developing: concept, subject matter, composition

The idea of a potential for the development of a settlement as its integral property to maintain and increase the level of its socio-economic development, is given. The settlement potential is determined by the level of development of the components of its internal and external structure, their interconnectedness and interdependence. The author defines the permanent components of the internal structure, forming functional blocks like population, social and industrial infrastructure, service sector, as well as natural resource ones, including the territory and components of the natural environment. All these components and their functional blocks are necessary and mandatory for any settlement. The components of the economic sector are required for the settlement, but they are variable and different in distinct settlements. The population consisting of various sex and age groups is the central block. To assess the development potential of a settlement, it is necessary to structure it and weigh the connectivity and interdependence of the components of various blocks, their level of development and elasticity. The second part of the potential is formed by the external structural links of the settlement, which constitute the territorial socio-economic system defined for the central settlement. This system includes all neighboring settlements and nature management structures that are directly tied with the central settlement by a transport network. The generalized schemes of the invariant functional structure of a settlement as well as the estimates of the connectivity and interdependence of the components of various functional blocks are given. Concenters of connectedness and interdependence of blocks directed from the population are distinguished.