SOCIAL CONTRADICTIONS OF SMALL TERRITORIES OF THE VOLOGDA OBLAST: ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY

The relevance of the study is due to the growth of the urban population, for whom the quality of the place of residence is of paramount importance. The quality and comfort of the environment determine the competitiveness of municipalities, their sustainable development. However, small territories of Russia are characterized by the presence of pronounced social contradictions, negative processes that hinder their development. The purpose of the research stage is to create an express methodology for assessing the state of affairs in small territories in order to develop the right management strategies. The methodological component of the work is devoted to the assessment of the situation of small territories and their typologies, data on domestic assessment systems are provided. The information base of the study: official data of Rosstat, a database of indicators of municipalities, objective indicators of the Urban Environment Quality Index for 2018-2022, data on the development of small and medium-sized businesses for 2021, a sociological survey of the population of the Vologda Oblast (N = 1500; sampling error does not exceed 5%). 10 small towns of the region were selected to form the rapid assessment methodology. The Vologda Oblast municipalities with favorable and unfavorable urban environment have been identified, problem areas, including those related to demographic processes, have been identified. Objective characteristics of small towns in the region are supplemented by the opinion of citizens on the activities for their improvement and development of the urban environment. It is concluded that the indicators of the express methodology should be supplemented with studies of territories, taking into account the development of the institutional environment and the activity of local communities, the possibilities of collaboration of various actors in solving the social contradictions of small towns.