International and Russian approaches to studying the sustainable development of urban environment: from theory to practice

We consider international and Russian approaches to the definition of sustainable development. The report Our Common Future was based on a triune concept of the sustainable development - environmental, social and economic. Gradually the emphasis of sustainable development has shifted from the global problems of continents, separate states and regions to studying the sustainable development of urban environment, as currently more than half of the world’s population lives in cities. On the one hand, cities determine living standards, the improvement of which is a prerequisite for meeting basic needs for employment, housing, health care, education, and rest; on the other hand, they face problems such as lack of financial resources and jobs, increasing homelessness and poverty, widening the gap between the rich and the poor. We present an analysis of the accepted documents of the UN-Habitat on sustainable human settlements development on the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements (1976) to the World Cities Report 2022: Envisioning the Future of Cities. We present the European way through the European Charter. The main points and concepts of the sustainable development of big and small cities of Europe are considered from the Aalborg Charter (Denmark, 1994) to the Mannheim Message (Germany, 2020). We analyze northern city ranking, which has been implemented by the Rating agency SGM since 2013. We propose a methodology for assessing the sustainable development of northern cities on eight demographic and labor indicators; conduct a grouping of 115 cities of the Russian North on the types and indicators of the sustainable development, and mark 10 most sustainable cities and 10 - with the worst ranking. The considered theoretical provisions and practical results can be used for comparative studies and planning of territorial development. We suggest the directions for improving the sustainable development of Russia’s northern cities.