Main Directions of Development of the Baku Urban Agglomeration

An analysis is made of the historical development and formation of the major Baku urban agglomeration. The theoretical and methodological foundations of population distributions are considered, and an analysis is made of the influence of the natural, historical and economic factors on the formation of this region. The historical development of the major urban agglomeration and productive forces is investigated, which involves a high level of concentration of production and mining industries as well as with infrastructural development. A study is made of the dynamics of demographic processes, the characteristics of natural and migration movement of the population, and of the age/gender and marriage/family population composition which form the social-demographic structure of population and have an important practical significance in the determination of long-term development of the Baku agglomeration. The structural and dynamical formations of new settlements of Baku depended on their functional characteristics as well as on the distance from the center. An analysis is made of the Soviet and post-Soviet periods of population growth in the agglomeration. The dynamics of the demographic processes of the population in the agglomeration shows that the growth rates of the settlements in the outer zone are substantially higher than in Baku itself; therefore, pendulum migration is taking shape between the city and the suburb, which creates serious problems. Urbanization and its influence on the settlement process, and the problems of development of urban settlements are investigated. The ways of long-term socioeconomic development, and the transformation of the territorial organization of the Baku agglomeration are outlined. Also, an analysis is made of the population dynamics and formation of labor resources, and the problems of using and employing them in the region are considered. Based on the research done, recommendations are made for the regulation of demographic processes across the territory under investigation.