CITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE REPUBLIC OF AZERBAIJAN IN CONDITIONS OF FORMATION OF RELATED SYSTEMS OF SETTLEMENTS
Authors:   Azerbaijan University of Architecture and Construction, NAGHIYEV N. , ISBATOV I. 
Published: February 2023

The established network of localities of the Republic of Azerbaijan despite the relatively small territory of the Republic (86.6 thousand square kilometres) includes all the types of settlements - from narrow-profile villages and small towns to multifunctional big cities (Ganja, Sumgait) and the largest city of Baku. The network of populated areas of the Republic of Azerbaijan consists of 60 cities, 125 urban-type villages and 4,256 settlements which allows considering it due to enough density, as the basis for the formation of prospective settlement. In the context of the rapid recovery of the agricultural economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan significant changes are taking place in the network of rural settlements consisting of a settlement of different industrial specialization. Work is underway to reorganize the existing dispersed network of rural settlements based on selected promising villages, a system of large comfortable rural settlements of the republic is being created. Today, the trends of inter-settlement ties between the population of the villages of Azerbaijan and the centres of social amenities and agro-industrial production that predeterminate in general terms the urban planning directions of the transformation of rural settlements of the Republic are increasingly evident. Therefore, in the conditions of Azerbaijan, certain difficulties arise in the urban planning order, which must be overcome in the foreseeable future. The experience of construction in the Republic of Azerbaijan shows that the development of cities and inhabited settlements systems is a process that can be consciously and purposefully influenced by society. Improving the management of the urban development of the Republic is a necessary condition for realizing the advantages and opportunities of the developed society in further improving the working, living and recreation conditions of people. Based on the above, at the present stage of development of the historically established settlement of the Republic of Azerbaijan, it seems necessary to take into account the importance of a comprehensive solution of urban development problems and the need to develop provisions that contain the real prerequisites for their consistent implementation. The transformation of the resettlement of the Republic of Azerbaijan is aimed at achieving several basic goals, predetermined by the steadily expanding practise of modern construction and the prospects for developing a network of populated places in the republic. The first main purpose of the transformation of the settlement of the Republic of Azerbaijan is to create urban planning prerequisites for the formation of a republican perspective system of inhabited places ensuring the best living conditions and comprehensive human development. This is the main social goal of prospective settlement in the territory of Azerbaijan. The second main goal of the transformation of the settlement of the Republic of Azerbaijan is aimed at creating urban planning prerequisites and conditions of the settlement, actively contributing to further rational development and placement of productive forces of the Republic. This is the main economic goal of prospective settlement in the territory of Azerbaijan. The third main goal of the transformation of the settlement of the Republic of Azerbaijan. This main ecological goal of prospective settlement in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan is determined by the need to maintain ecological balance and preserve a favourable natural environment in different regions of the Republic, meeting the needs in a healthy natural environment, in creating an optimal microclimate in attractive landscapes. By the goals, results of the state analysis and the conditions for the transformation of resettlement in the Republic of Azerbaijan, the main options for the development of the regional system of populated areas of the republic for the long term are proposed. The development options are based on the concept of formation of group systems of settlements (GSS), which provides for a systematic transition from relatively separate autonomous development of cities and villages of the Republic to their interconnected spatial development.