LANDSCAPE FEATURES OF THE RURAL SETTLEMENT PATTERN IN THE TVER REGION

Статья посвящена рассмотрению особенностей сети сельских населенных пунктов (СНП) Тверской области в ее связи с ландшафтной структурой региона. Большая роль социально-экономических факторов в современной трансформации сельского расселения приводит к меньшему интересу со стороны научного сообщества к анализу природной составляющей. В современных географических работах влияние природных условий рассматривается с позиции исторической реконструкции и эволюции сельского расселения той или иной территории. В данном исследовании акцент сделан на сопоставлении современной сети СНП и ландшафтных условий Тверской области. Показана, с одной стороны, азональность сельского расселения региона, когда наибольшая плотность сельского населения оказалась характерна для притрассовых территорий, вне зависимости от природной основы. С другой стороны, продемонстрирована определенная устойчивость сети СНП, присущая ландшафтам, наиболее благоприятным в отношении ведения сельскохозяйственной деятельности и проживания. The article is devoted to the consideration of rural settlements network of the Tver region in its connection with the landscape structure of the region. The large role of social and economic factors in the current transformation of rural settlement leads to less interest from the scientific community in the analysis of the natural component. In modern geographical works, the influence of natural conditions is considered from the position of historical reconstruction and the evolution of rural settlement pattern on a particular territory. In this study, the emphasis is placed on the comparison of the modern network of rural settlements to the landscape conditions of the Tver region. On the one hand, it is shown the azonality of the rural settlement pattern of the region, when the highest density of the rural population is characteristic of the highway areas, despite on the natural basis. On the other hand, a certain sustainability of the rural settlement network was demonstrated, inherent in the landscapes most favorable in terms of agricultural activity and residence.

Historical and geoenvironmental analysis of the development of the Russian North within karst areas (by the example of Kargopol’ Region)

The paper deals with the history of agrarian development of the East European plain in the frame of the geoenvironment concept of agricultural landscapes, taking Kargopol’ region as an example. A large agricultural landscape unique for the middle taiga zone was formed there no later than in the twelve century. We have analyzed the natural environment of the Kargopol’ region and its influence on the agrarian development and the rural settlement pattern. We paid particular attention to the karst, which was widespread in the area and its relation with agricultural landscapes. We made mathematical modelling of both elementary agricultural landscape spatial pattern and the corresponding rural settlement pattern. A feature of the proposed modeling is its emphasis on the relationship between the natural landscape and agricultural landscape. The mathematical morphology of landscape (method proposed by A. Victorov) and, in particular, the karst system model is the base of modeling. This model is first used for the analysis of cultural (anthropogenic) rather than natural landscapes.

The Study of Modern Evolution of Rural Settlement Pattern in Chaoshan - Case Study of Xinhe Village

Rural settlements in Chaoshan area are of distinct regional characteristics, and one of them is the coexistence of different construction fragments of several periods of time.Based on the diachronic analysis of the development of settlement pattern in a village-level, the paper explored the counter-balance between the factors that caused or resisted the changes in settlement pattern during the process of modern development from a multi-subject perspective. With the discussion on the problems indwell in the development, the paper tried to put forward some strategic suggestions for the future development of the rural settlements.

Rural settlement pattern in Belarus

The article presents the analysis of the Belarusian rural settlement system over the period of the years 1959‒2009. Spatial and temporal shifts in the rural population distribution and settlement structure were found, and types of the Belarusian rural settlement pattern were developed. Distribution features and demographic development of a new form of the Belarusian rural communities - agrotowns - were discovered