R. F. Turovsky, O. S. Vaselenko. Current State and Prospects of Development of Municipal Self-Government in Big Cities

UDK 352(1-21)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.106.027.201901.100-121

Introduction. The article is devoted to the issue of identifying the general and specific features of arrangement of local self-government in big cities. This issue is relevant both for the theoretical understanding of the activities of local authorities in city districts, and for improving the system of local self-government in megalopolises.

Materials and Methods. The study used publicly accessible information and scientific literature on countries and cities with the most pronounced models and approaches to the arrangement of local self-government. The authors adopted the comparative method of research and analyzed the regulatory framework of the selected countries and cities in terms of the arrangement of local self-government as well as the administrative and territorial division.

Results. A number of foreign models of municipal self-government in large cities have been considered. The analysis of the selected cases (including those of major cities in Europe, America and Asia) has demonstrated the similarity of certain tendencies inherent in both Russian and foreign megalopolises. A trend has been revealed towards the centralization of powers at the city level of administration as a result of the delegation or alienation of resources from the district municipalities.

Discussion and Conclusion. The foreign experience of arrangement of local self-government in the territories within cities demonstrates that the determining factor for the models of municipal self-government in megalopolises is the balance between the representation of intracity municipalities at the city level and their autonomy, and not the influence of the legal system or political regime. The results of the research can be used when studying the political subjectivity of city districts. Further research will help develop a conceptual framework for the political analysis of the district-level municipalities.

Keywords: local self-government, local authorities, municipal policy, city administrative division, city district, megalopolis

Acknowledgments. The article was done with the financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project No. 17-03-00566 “The Settlement Level of Local Self-Government in Russia: the Political Situation and Development Problems.”

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Submitted 09.08.2018; accepted for publication 31.10.2018; published online 29.03.2019.

About the authors:

Rostislav F. Turovsky, Vice-President, Center for Political Technologies; Professor, National Research University Higher School of Economics (20 Myasnitskaya St., Moscow 101000, Russia), Dr. Sci. (Political Science), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8496-3098, Researcher ID: J-6842-2015, rturovsky@hse.ru

Oksana S. Vaselenko, Student, Faculty of Social Sciences, National Research University Higher School of Economics (20 Myasnitskaya St., Moscow 101000, Russia), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6447-1405, oxana.vaselenko@gmail.com

Contribution of the authors:

Rostislav F. Turovsky – scientific supervision; development of methodology; critical analysis and revision of the text of the article.

Oksana S. Vaselenko – formulation of the purpose, scientific novelty and practical significance of the research; analysis of the literature on the research question; preparation of the initial version of the text of the article.

For citation:

Turovsky R.F., Vaselenko O.S. Current State and Prospects of Development of Municipal Self-Government in Big Cities. Regionologiya = Regionology. 2019; 27(1):100-121. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.106.027.201901.100-121

The authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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