Seasonal population of Pskov region: quantitative and qualitative assessment

Abstract

The seasonal population is an extremely important component of the pulsating settlement systems, especially in such sparsely populated areas as the Non-Chernozem region. Estimating of the size of this population is an urgent and difficult task due to objective difficulties in taking it into account. In this paper there was made an attempt of quantitatively and qualitatively estimating of the seasonal population of the Pskov region (dacha residents) and analyzing of their spatial distribution. The aim was to estimate and spatially analyze the summer (dacha) population of the Pskov region based on the data of the Russian agricultural census and expert assessments of local authorities based on the results of a survey of administrations of rural settlements. The authors used official and expert data, based on the synthesis of which the study was conducted. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that for the first time a quantitative assessment was carried out and the key factors influencing the seasonal population were identified. As a result, spatial patterns of seasonal population distribution were revealed and its main areas were established based on the analysis of the main factors of attractiveness. Also, there given a calculation, showing the quantitative extent of the distribution of summer residents, so, according to the results of the study, the population of the rural areas of the region at its peak can double.