METHODOLOGY OF EVALUATING THE POTENTIAL OF THE ECONOMIC-GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION OF RUSSIA'S TOWNS
The favourable economic-geographical position (EGP) of a city is one of the factors of socialand economic development. The purpose of the study was to formalize the EGP category andassess the benefits of advantageous position of the Russian cities, including those situated in theArctic zone. A gravity model was used as a methodological base for EGP formalization. The cities locatednear St. Petersburg and Moscow agglomerations have the maximum potential of Russian domestic EGP,the potential value uniformly decreasing to the east and north. The maximum potential of the internationalEGP is concentrated in the cities on the coast of the Japan, Barents, Baltic and the Black seas. The totalpotential of Russian cities' EGP increased in the 2000s and shifted towards the southern cities of the FarEast due to the economic growth of the Asia-Pacific countries. Among the Arctic settlements the mostfavourable EGP is in the cities of the European Russia and northern Western Siberia. The cities of the north-eastern part are characterized by low values of the potential and its growth rate. The developed method forthe estimation of the EGP potential can be widely used in similar studies, including the evaluation of thepossible impact of infrastructure projects on urban development.