FUNCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF SETTLEMENTS - THEORY AND REALITY

The subject of research in the paper are the settlements and their functional development, which is the basis for the sustainability in a demographic, economic and social sense. The functional development is conditioned by several factors, such as physicalgeographical, social, economic and political, and is manifested by the presence of various economic and non-economic activities. The intensive changes in the human activities and needs are reflected in the functional characteristics and functional differentiation of the settlements, their role in the administrative-territorial organization, their place in the hierarchy of settlements, the gravitational power of the settlement and the extent of their sphere of impact. The functional development of the settlements is a potential for pulsating the development of micro, meso and macro levels and for balanced spatial, demographic, economic and regional development. The disproportion in the functional structure is a serious problem that complicates the network of settlements and affects their overall sustainability. The emphasis is placed on some of the factors that are a prerequisite for the functional structure of the settlements in Republic of Macedonia, such as the number of population, administrative-territorial organization, geographical characteristics of the area, etc.