Experience of European countries in studying and solving the problems of socio-economic development of monocities

Introduction. Almost all countries with industrial sectors have faced the crisis of monocities and their development and have gained some experience in this area, implementing a number of measures, such as the development of special state programs for the development of such cities, the adoption of laws, soft loans. Many countries around the world, especially in the advanced countries of Europe, now have regular monitoring to alleviate the economic crisis in monocities towns and prevent them from becoming depressed in the future. Taking into account the fact that today in Uzbekistan there are dozens of monocities and most of them have actual socio-economic, demographic, environmental problems, in order to study the existing problems in these settlements and develop sound scientific proposals for the development of narrow specialized cities, it is important to study in depth the reforms taking place in developed countries and draw appropriate conclusions.

Aims and objectives of the work. The aim of the work is to study the work done in the economically developed countries of Europe on the development of monocities, which differ in a number of features and to analyze the accumulated successful experience. To achieve this aim, the following tasks have been identified:

• -    to study the causes and characteristics of the economic crisis of monocities in some developed countries of Europe and the former Soviet Union;

• -    analysis of methods of socio-economic development of single-industrycountries on the basis of foreign scientific literature;

• -    to study the directions of economic recovery of different types of monocities.

The main part. Although no special research has been conducted in Uzbekistan on the socio-economic problems of narrowly specialized industrial cities and no literature has been created in this field, and even the concept of mono-city has not been described in detail in geoburbanistics, it should be noted the concept is not new for almost no post-industrialized country in the world.

During the industrialization phase mono-cities were formed in many countries of the world, mainly in connection with the mining industry and in some cases with the forest industry, light industry and machine-building industry. A study of the experience of foreign countries on the formation and development of mono-cities shows that the stability of the socio-economic situation in such cities or their depression can depend on many factors. For example, the decrease in domestic and international demand for a product produced by an urban enterprise or a particular industry, the disruption of the economic chain as a result of the disintegration of some large states, or the significant cost of production resources, primarily labor, due to factors such as intolerance, a sharp decline in the activities of urban enterprises or a complete crisis in many monocities which led to the aggravation of the socio-economic situation. Therefore, in most industrialized countries special attention is paid to the development of measures to overcome the crisis of single-industry-countries and special programs are being developed in line with the dynamics of the world economy.

In countries facing the crisis of narrow specialized cities a number of measures have been taken to get such areas out of the depressive situation, primarily to solve the problem of unemployment and improve living standards. It should be noted that in many foreign countries the revival of the economy of single-industry-countries means the transition from old industries such as metallurgy, coal mining, textiles to production based on environmentally net, modern technologies.

In addition to government regulation, transnational corporations with huge financial resources for large-scale investments play a crucial role in modernizing the old industrial zones of developed countries [2, 3].

In Europe, the cradle of industrialization, textiles were one of the most important industries in the twentieth century, beginning from the last century it was noted the increase of competition in global market in most economically developed countries of the world and decrease of significant importance in the old branch of industry as textile with the development of industrial branches based on subject demanded modern technologies. As a result, a crisis has occurred in many cities whose economies are based on light industry. For example, Manchester, one of the largest textile centers not only in Britain but also in Europe, is one of the cities that has lost its industrial status in the global market due to the growing position of developing countries in this field. As a result of the exit of Manchester’s textile industry from the city, the process of suburbanization intensified and socio-economic problems became more urgent. In order to overcome these problems, a high-speed transport system has been built to connect the suburbs, and great attention has been paid to the development of services. As a result, Manchester’s economy diversified and it became a cultural, sports and entertainment center.

A clear example of a radical change in the economy of monocities is the work done in the middle of the XIX century in the Ruhr industrial zone of

Germany, which was formed mainly on the basis of coal mines. The crisis began in the region in the second half of the twentieth century, when coal replaced oil as the world's main fuel and energy source, and a number of universities were established to address it with specialization in economics, medicine, information technology, and microelectronics and great importance was attached to the creation of high-speed rail transport connecting the Ruhr with large agglomerations.

According to the French experience, the main directions of development of mono-cities are the involvement of more own employers through the allocation of high-interest loans, the organization of retraining and the creation of innovative clusters. In Japan, too, much attention is paid to solving the problems of monocities through the creation of innovative clusters, in particular, car clusters. The experience of most countries shows that in monocities it is not always necessary to radically change production, and sometimes the modernization of existing industrial enterprises on the basis of modern technologies can solve the problem.

In general, in the development of mono-cities in Europe, the flexibility of the economic system to market requirements, the adoption of rational decisions on regulatory mechanisms in times of crisis and their implementation in the short term are important. Due to the successful implementation of such measures, the decline in the socio-economic development of single-industry-countries is achieved being kept to a minimum. It should be noted that the modernization of the territorial and functional structure of single-industry-countries focuses on increasing the share of service industries and recreational landscapes with a significant reduction in industrial production zones.

The experience of developing resource towns and small towns in unfavorable environmental conditions can be seen in the example of the Arctic region of Canada, the inland continental deserts of Australia and Chile. In the first case, due to the cold climate and in the second drought, people gradually refused to live permanently in such conditions and the method of temporary migration is becoming more common in the development of deposits located in difficult natural conditions [6].

As a result of the disintegration of the former Soviet Union and the breakdown of the economic chain in its territory, the problems of socio-economic development of monocities in many countries in the region, in particular, Russia and Belarus, are becoming increasingly important. In these countries, a number of effective methods of solving problems in narrow specialized cities have been developed and it is important to study them and analyze in depth the opportunities and prospects of their application in Uzbekistan.

In 2010 the Association of Small Towns of Russia developed measures to "overcome the crisis of mono-cities of small and medium industry and create conditions for their progressive development." The main principles of solving the problems of monofunctional settlements include: general recommendations

(development of state policy on relatively small mono-specialized settlements, adoption of the Federal Law "On Urban Planning", distribution of responsibilities of governing bodies in solving problems of monocities); development of recommendations to support urban enterprises and improve the system of local self-government in monocities [4].

In May 2011 the Eurasian Institute for Economic Research developed and patented the Doctrine of small towns, science cities and monocities. The main elements of this doctrine concerning mono-specialized settlements are: modernization and development of science cities and territorial closed autonomous structures; creation of investment zones in monocities and small and medium cities; creating an investment plan for small and medium-sized cities; development of innovative management systems for small and medium-sized cities, etc. [1].

Taking into account the level of risk to the sustainability of economic development in Belarus a classification of narrow specialized industrial cities has been developed and two main groups and a number of subgroups have been distinguished. The first group is divided into the following subgroups: a) monopopulation points that face temporary difficulties, which allows to solve problems independently; b) mono-populated areas whose problems are anomalous (unconventional) and it is not possible to solve these problems without creating effective, modern workplaces.

The second group is barely viable mono-settlements, which in turn are divided into three subgroups: a) cities where the urban enterprise has signs of insolvency and works at a loss, living on subsidies, government subsidies, other commercial organizations, financial assistance provided by financial donors; b) cities where the town-planning enterprise has signs of permanent insolvency and faces economic bankruptcy; c) cities where the town-planning enterprise is not allowed to go bankrupt due to the fact that it is included in the list of important strategic enterprises, although it has signs of insolvency [5].

It should be noted that the analysis of different approaches to the study of single-industry-countries, the classification of narrow specialized cities according to the current economic situation and development opportunities serve as a methodological basis to develop principles to prevent them from depression and prevent future socio-economic risks and develop a program of measures.

Conclusion. Concluding from international experience, it can be said that the development and use of special programs to ensure the socio-economic sustainable development of single-industry-countries is of great practical importance. It is necessary to identify the main features of the economy of singleindustry-countries, analyze the potential possibilities and on this basis to develop several alternatives for their development, to make a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of each of them and an in-depth analysis of the possible consequences. It should be noted that in the future, if mono-cities are formed as a result of urban development in the process of development of new deposits, it is necessary to determine appropriate measures to prevent them from becoming depressed over time, to assess the potential of temporary migration and regular monitoring of single-industry-countries.

- Date available: 11.10.2016.

"Экономика и социум" №4(71) 2020