The Coastal Microdistricts of the Baltic Region: the Spatial Aspects of Development

Abstract

Active interactions between the countries, regions, economic entities, non-profi ts, and inhabitants of the Baltic Sea territories contributed to the emergence and development of a transnational socioeconomic region. Th e Baltic macroregion is one of the most developed among international regions that appeared as a result of regionalization, which is strengthened by globalization. At the same time, its creation is a consequence of coastalization, which aff ects settlement patterns and the spatial organization of the economy. In academic literature, this factor is primarily seen as a general tendency; however, there are signifi cant geographical diff erences. Th e impact of the coastalization on the Baltic region has not been studied suffi ciently. Based on available statistics, this article analyses diff erences in the levels and rates of settlement and economy in the coastal zone and the rest of the Baltic region. Th e economic, statistical and cartographical methods were applied. Th e indicators of the study object's condition include population density and growth rate, gross regional product (GRP) per capita, and GRP growth rate. Th e study covers the period from 2005 to 2016. Th e obtained results have allowed identifying the features of 'coastalization' at the microlevel by country, showing that this factor is less signifi cant in Russia, Germany, and Poland than in the other countries of the region. Th us, the study identifi es microregions with a varying eff ect of the 'maritime' factor on their development. Th ese patterns can be used in developing national strategic and spatial planning documents and in international spatial planning eff orts in the Baltic region.

A typology of the Baltic region states according to excellence in science and technology

“…In addition to the fact that one of the world's leading economies (the Federal Republic of Germany) is located on the territory of the Baltic Sea region, this territory is special for a number of other reasons. Firstly, the region is characterized by a developed industry and a high level of human capital potential, making it one of the most developed international areas [29]. Secondly, five out of the ten countries in the region were previously part of the "people's democracy" or the Soviet Union, and therefore share similarities in their development paths with the Russian Federation.…”

Russia in the World Ocean: Interests and Lines of Presence

“…Alkhimenko, etc.). In the 2010s, their renaissance has been observed, accompanied by a concentration of relevant scientific activity, primarily in the leading coastal cities: Vladivostok (Baklanov, 2018;Baklanov and Moshkov, 2015;Baklanov et al, 2017), Kaliningrad (Fedorov and Kuznetsova, 2019;Fedorov et al, 2017a;Fedorov et al, 2017b), Rostov-on-Don (Druzhinin, 2019a(Druzhinin, , b, 2020a, and St. Petersburg (Lachininskii et al, 2016(Lachininskii et al, , 2019Lachininskii and Semenova, 2015). Its tonality and themes reflect the increasing maritime orientation of modern Russia's socioeconomic space (Druzhinin, 2019b), which is trying (as recorded in the Maritime Doctrine of the Russian Federation) to regain a worthy place among the leading maritime powers.…”

Datasets on the GRP of Russian regions, GRP sectoral composition and growth rates in 2013–2018

“…These indicators have been extensively analyzed in economic literature. Many authors have built their typologies of regions based on GRP per capita [1] , [2] , [3] , [4] whereas much less attention has been paid to the sectoral structure of GRP. There is a vast body of literature on the sectoral composition of GRP.…”