METHODOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF RESEARCHING THE SYSTEMATIC OF POPULATION DISTRIBUTION: A COMBINATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE-TERRITORIAL AND GENETIC PARADIGMS

Abstract

In domestic social and geographical science, research into the systematics of population settlement is traditionally based on the administrative-territorial paradigm, within which settlement systems of different hierarchical levels are considered as given elements of the modern administrative-territorial structure. This approach leads to the predominance of descriptive-comparative studies and, at the same time, limits the possibility of in-depth analysis of the genesis, evolution and spatio-temporal dynamics of population settlement. In the context of the transformation of state regional policy and the actualisation of European principles of territorial organisation of society, there is a growing need to rethink the methodological principles of researching the systematics of settlement. The article justifies the expediency of combining administrative-territorial and genetic paradigms in the methodology of studying the systematics of population settlement. Particular attention is paid to the genetic approach, which focuses on identifying the historical and geographical prerequisites for the formation of settlement systems, analysing the processes of primary settlement, the economic development of the territory, and subsequent transformations and changes in the spatial structure of the population. It is shown that the genesis of settlement is a complex socio-geographic process, characterised by its own dynamics, development trends and a specific demographic and socio-economic trajectory. It is proven that the genetic systematics of settlement allows us to move from the formal separation of settlement systems beyond administrative boundaries to their scientifically substantiated identification, based on careful consideration of historical and geographical factors and the evolution of the settlement network. The conclusion is that further theoretical and methodological development is needed in the field of research on the systematics of population settlement in the context of modern ekistics.