In the modern world, urbanization processes are becoming more and more intense, and the number of cities and their size are steadily increasing. The specific character of the country is quite well reflected in the geography of Russian cities, i. e. the large dimensions of space, a consistent approach to formation of the State territory, and the course of urbanization. The regions of the RF differ from one another by the degree of development, the level of socioeconomic advancement and matureness of the systems of cities, and by the spatial pattern of population distribution. Nowadays, the prospects for formation and development of large urban agglomerations (UAs) of Siberia are generating great interest. The characteristics of development of agglomerations in Siberia are considered. Based on analyzing the demographic processes and the existing population distribution pattern, an assessment is made of the problems and prospects of formation of agglomerations in Siberia.

This study is devoted to the suburbanization as an important stage of agglomeration development. Foreign research into suburbanization has almost a century-old tradition. In Russia the degree of previous study on these themes is low and very few investigations on this problem have been carried out to date. Therefore, the current relevance of the topic presented remains beyond any doubt. The novelty of this research implies that suburbanization is regarded as one of the main trends in the development of the settlement structure of the Irkutsk agglomeration and a new way of life of a large peripheral city. This study permitted us to identify specific features of suburbanization in the Irkutsk agglomeration. The main trends in suburban development are determined, which are due to the economic, social and ecological factors. Of particular importance in this investigation are mapping and geoinformation methods which have great potential for integral real-time presentation and analysis of the suburbanization process. For this purpose, a series of maps displaying different aspects of the study territory (change in population size, dynamics of construction, etc.) has been compiled. We identified five groups of municipalities of the Irkutsk agglomeration according to the development factors of the territory. The findings indicate a sufficiently dynamic process of change in the suburban territory of the Irkutsk agglomeration. The main conclusions are of great practical significance for administrative bodies considering that the development of the network of suburban settlements and its delimitation are most relevant to date.