Coastal Cities and Agglomerations in the Innovative Space of Western Russia

Abstract

A wide range of scientific studies worldwide reflects the influence of the coastal situation factor. The shift of socioeconomic activity and the settlement system to the sea and ocean coasts forms the prerequisites for changing the national innovation landscape. The paper revolves around coastal cities and agglomerations in western Russia based on how they influence innovation processes. The authors present a typology and emphasize the characteristics of the key coastal cities and agglomerations in European Russia as transformational elements of the innovation space. It is revealed that the tourist, marine, transport and logistics, trade and distribution, and industrial components control the strategic relevance of cities and urban agglomerations in European Russia in the development of Russia’s territorial social system. Their role as a transformational element of the innovation space is not quite obvious, unlike similar agglomerations in foreign countries. Innovation support institutions are just beginning to form; they have appeared in the largest agglomerations in the early 2000s, and over the past few years in remaining cities considered. Currently, it is still difficult to assess the contribution of these institutions to the formation of Russian cities as innovation drivers. The authors offer indicators that demonstrate this important city activity. Based on the scoring method, coastal cities and agglomerations in European Russia have been divided into four groups: generator cities, starting generator cities, cities with the potential to generate innovative processes, and cities with weak potential. It was found that cities launch innovative processes precisely through strategic innovations (support institutions, technological environment, and agent operators). At the same time, not only the largest cities have great opportunities, but also individual regional centers integrated into regional development programs and actively force the transition to the smart city platform.

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