Factors in the formation of the population's territorial identity: a sociological analysis

The territorial identity of the population is an intangible asset for the development of the city, because it acts as a factor in the retention of residents in their native region and as a resource of social activity in the practices of urban space transformation. The purpose is to identify the most signifi cant factors of the urban environment that affect the level of the population’s territorial identity. Territorial identity is considered through indicators of emotional attitudes to the city, migration intentions, attitudes and practices of social participation in the urban space development. The novelty of the work lies in the application of the author’s method of measuring the level of territorial identity, and the analysis of variance to determine the factors of its formation. A signifi cant aspect is a comparative analysis of the school students’ and adults’ answers. The empirical basis of the study was formed by the results of a survey of the population of Cherepovets over 18 years old and a survey of students of 9-11 grades of Cherepovets schools. It was found that 67% of students in 9-11 grades and 71% of the population speak positively about their hometown. However, only 23% of students intend to work there after graduation, and the percentage of the total population who want their children and grandchildren to stay in the city is 39%. The analysis of variance of the relationship between the level of territorial identity and assessments of urban environment parameters showed that satisfaction with urban infrastructure, cultural recreation and health care system has the most signifi cant impact on the level of territorial identity of the adult population; on the level of territorial identity of school students - assessment of the city as a place for cultural recreation and education. We found a gap between the reasons for migration attitudes declared by students and the parameters revealed in the analysis. In open-ended questions, students most often gave the reason for leaving as “no prospects, no opportunities for self-realization”. This fact allows us to build a hypothesis of stereotypical formation of attitudes towards the city among students by reference groups, such as teachers and parents.