Theories of central places and economic landscape: significance for the “turn to the East”
V.A. SHUPER
Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Keywords: Siberization, pioneer development, rotational work, stages of settlement evolution, pluralism of transport-logistics solutions, Indiga Seaport
Abstract
The article considers S.A. Karaganov’s concept of Siberization and the possibilities of using such theoretical tools as V. Christaller’s theory of central places and A. Lösch’s theory of economic landscape for its implementation. It is concluded that a version of the relativistic theory of central places for systems with a dispersed (distributed) main center may be useful for describing and planning urban settlement systems in Asian Russia, which are significantly less mature than those in the European part of the country. In the Far East, it is possible to form a system of central places with a hierarchy corresponding to K = 2. It has been established that settlement development in the post-industrial period should not be treated as a secondary factor in relation to production development, since the standort (location) of modern enterprises should ensure not only reduced costs for energy, raw materials and semi-finished products, as well as proximity to markets, but also advantages in the competition for highly qualified labor. Only a high-quality urban environment can provide these benefits. It is reasonable to expect different patterns of production distribution in the north and in the south of Siberia. In the north, according to Weber, the standort should ensure minimal costs, while in the south, the location according to Lösch will predominate. Such a standort ensures maximum profit. It is shown that even in the most developed regions of Siberia, the location of new high-tech production facilities “according to Weber” is still inevitable. This follows from the continuous nature of territorial development established by B.N. Zimin: each new industry develops it anew. Siberization is being hampered by a serious delay in the implementation of long-discussed railway infrastructure projects: the Barentskomur, the North-Siberian Railway, and the Northern Latitudinal Passage. Only the construction of these railways will significantly increase the cargo-generating base for the ports of the Northern Sea Route. Meanwhile, projects far less urgently needed for the country are being discussed, such as a bridge to Sakhalin and even a tunnel under the Bering Strait.
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