Zoning as a tool for regulating the region's socio-economic development

There is a significant number of territories not provided with sufficient resources for their development which leads to an aggravation of a wide range of socio-economic problems. This causes the search for tools for regulating territorial development opening up new opportunities for the regions' sustainable and balanced development and increase the local government's effectiveness. The article discusses the foreign and Russian practice of using zoning as a tool for regulating territorial development. It was determined that the zoning procedure is always focused and contributes to the solution of many tasks of the territories' socio-economic development. Judging from the zoning experience features in Russian regions, the authors came to the conclusion that it is necessary to use the problem-resource approach in zoning. The proposed algorithm allows not only to identify territories that are homogeneous in terms of development level and internal potential, but also approach the system of territorial development regulation differentially. The application of this (differentiated) approach allows introducing into the practice of regulation such methods and tools that are most appropriate and effective for each type of territory included in one of the identified zones. In addition, differentiated regulation allows to approach the use of resources more efficiently and stimulates the creation of partnerships between local governments. In the course of the algorithm testing, the five territorial zones on the data of the Vologda Oblast were identified; a set of regulatory instruments aimed at solving the main problems of the municipalities development was proposed for each zone. The results of the research can be used by regional and municipal authorities in the development of regional policies and strategic documents that determine spatial landmarks for the future. The research materials presented in the article may be interesting for a scientific discussion, used in research and educational activities.