Formation and development of urban agglomerations: theoretical and methodological aspects of research

The article systematizes the scientific heritage of retrospective and a number of modern domestic and foreign theories of urban agglomeration. The subject of the study is the analysis of the fundamental theories of the formation and development of urban agglomerations, starting from ancient times through the modern period. The aim of the study is a comprehensive analysis of scientific schools and trends that are the conceptual platform of the theory of agglomeration, in order to develop possible directions for further promising trends related to the theory of agglomeration development. The following research methods are used in the article: methods of theoretical knowledge, general logical methods and research techniques (abstraction and generalization, induction and deduction, system approach, structural and functional method, methods of comparative analysis).The result of the study is the analysis and justification of the most promising directions of foreign and domestic theories of agglomeration processes. The scope of application of the results is that along with other works, the article expands the scientific field of fundamental research related to the theory of spatial development in the context of the theory of urban agglomerations. As a result of the analysis, conclusions are drawn about the priority trends of scientific research in the theory of agglomeration, focused on the search for reserves to improve the efficiency of spatial management by activating agglomeration processes.