Aleksandr Polozun (p), Nadezhda Zamyatina, Ruslan Goncharov

Uliana Koriugina

Technological advancements influence Arctic cities’ development. The steamship era saw the emergence of coal bunkering points along the Arctic coast; during oil reserves development was a switch to shift-based development with reliance on few base cities. Now rare earth metals dominate, yet their exploitation is unlikely to spawn new cities as previous resources did. However, in this study we focus on tranportation technologies shift, which also has pivotal role in Arctic settlement system.
Technological development changes the role of distance and, consequently, the principles of the spatial structure of economic activity. For example, with the development of the information society, the role of distance paradoxically did not disappear, but on the contrary, increased. Distance has become especially important for innovative industries because, as Edward Glaeser puts it in Triumph of the City, “ideas cross corridors and streets more easily than continents and seas”.
The Arctic region seems to be the opposite of cities, a zone of maximum remoteness. However, this zone is also maximally sensitive to distance, since it is transportation accessibility that is a critical variable determining economic development. So, the Arctic economy should be no less sensitive to the development of space-crossing technologies than innovation centers. A historical review shows the anomalous impact of advances in transportation technology on the development of Arctic cities. The more advanced transportation technologies became during the 20th century, the less the need to develop Arctic cities became, and the less resilient Arctic cities became due to their increasingly narrow economic specialization.
The paper proposes zoning of the Arctic territories in terms of different territorial development models corresponding to different stages of technological development: 1) natural resource development with reliance on a relatively traditional urban network, 2) natural resource development with reliance on basic cities combined with shift settlements, and 3) modern frontier areas. The paper is based on spatial analysis of the mutual location of mining sites and settlement systems in the circumpolar Arctic. The phenomenon of modern frontier regions included in global communication systems is examined in more detail with the involvement of qualitative research (including the experience of working in shift camps and base towns of resource companies). A characterization of the modern transformations of the connection between resource projects and the settlement system in the Arctic conditions is proposed, as well as an assessment of the spatial distribution of the zone of the modern variant of the Arctic frontier.

Yuri Kulchitsky, Uliana Koriugina (p)

Gayeon Lee

A broad spectrum of research addresses disparities and the processes of divergence and convergence at the subregional level. The dependence of municipal growth on local factors and distance from local growth centers has been well-documented using data from Europe, Russia, and China. While it is widely recognized that areas near state borders often face challenges in economic development, the impact of administrative border proximity at the subregional scale remains relatively underexplored.
In highly centralized countries with limited subnational autonomy and strong reliance of municipal growth on regional policies, regional differences often emerge as significant factors, related to the mechanisms of financial support and subsidies as well as to the infrastructure development policies. Previous studies have highlighted that regional administrative borders can act as barriers to municipal growth. Such barriers are particularly pronounced for municipalities located near local growth centers, which could otherwise benefit from spillover effects, proximity advantages and shared market opportunities.
This study provides estimations of a generalized linear modeling framework with spatial dependence, integrating local Moran’s indices and incorporating spatial factors related to border position and proximity. Key parameters include growth rate of production, average monthly wages, population density, and several proxies representing regional policy effects within municipal territories. The proposed method allows to identify municipalities experiencing reduced economic growth due to their border position, signaling the presence of barriers or inadequate targeted support. Results of a study offer a basis for refining regional policy interventions and contribute to a deeper understanding of how administrative divisions and institutional factors influence the development of local economies. Moreover, the findings highlight potential gaps in national and regional policies, suggesting the need for adjustments to federal and regional programs and subsidies to better support affected municipalities.

Gayeon Lee (p), In Kwon Park

Connie Reksten

The rapid advancement of technology and industrial transformation have intensified regional inequalities, creating a handful of 'superstar' cities concentrated with high-tech industries and human capital, while leaving other regions 'left behind.' In South Korea, a striking recent phenomenon is the severe decline of traditional industrial cities like Ulsan and Gumi, which once served as the backbone of Korea's economic growth. These cities now experience regional marginalization as they lose resources to the Seoul Metropolitan Area while failing to compete with foreign cities offering cheaper labor.
South Korea's regional disparities must be understood beyond mere economic differences as products of state-led development strategies. Despite ongoing decentralization policies since the 1990s, local governments outside the Seoul Metropolitan Area face structural limitations due to their low fiscal independence, forcing them to rely heavily on central government funding. This lack of autonomy significantly hampers local governments' ability to address urban shrinkage. Critics argue that local governments avoid acknowledging urban shrinkage because planning for a declining population would result in reduced central government subsidies.
The recent 'Left-behind' places discourse in economic geography offers a fresh perspective by demanding a comprehensive understanding of regional disparities beyond economic metrics, incorporating demographic and social dimensions.
This study aims to contribute to the literature by examining how regions acquire 'left-behindness' within South Korea's developmental state context, analyzing how regional marginalization is reconstituted in the context of decentralization, and how dependency on central government affects regions' self-perception.
This study will focus on two major state-driven shocks in Korea's regional development history: industrialization during the developmental state period and the relaxation of Seoul Metropolitan Area regulations in the 2010s. This historical examination will explain how the central government has contributed to the cultivation of left-behind places by constraining regional autonomy and development potential. This research also contributes to understanding East Asian developmental states' experiences with late deindustrialization and shrinkage.

Connie Reksten (p)

Theodore Tsekeris

This paper aims to elaborate the concepts of ‘new regional conflict’ due to the highly temperature controversies in the area of sustainability technology and constructions of wind farms. The discussion is based on empirical studies, case study, law and policy document, and ethnography on social media.

New sustainability technology is often located in left behind areas and insularity. In the Scandinavian countries this technology is even located in the high mountain areas. Today, this 'new uses of rural spaces’ have turned the European periphery to a venue of highly temperature controversies as well as new regional conflict.

This paper will discuss the case of Fosen in Norway. In 2023 the Norwegian authority’s construction of the wind farm in the high mountain of Fosen was charged to be a human rights violation. The conflict reaches a preliminary peak on the night of Monday 27 February 2023, when the activists Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen together with the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was carried away by the Norwegian police. Fosen wind farm is to date the largest onshore wind farm in Europe, with a total of 277 wind turbines.

In this paper the empirical case of Fosen wind farm will be discuss along several approaches, like new regional conflicts and sustainable conflicts, as social and cultural identity and conflicts of place identity, too. In the case of Fosen in Norway, Fosen wind farm was charged to be a human rights violation to Saami Reindeer husbandry, though it soon turned out to be a conflict of Indigenous Peoples' Rights and a conflict of ethnic identity as well.

Keywords; regional conflict, sustainability technology, wind power technology, place identity, social and cultural identity.

Theodore Tsekeris (p)

Aleksandr Polozun

The present study describes the problem of the increased insularity and transport costs, and the reduced market accessibility of Greek islands, including suggestions based on a recently completed project about the evaluation of the Islands’ Transport Equivalent for firms. This policy measure aims to harmonise the cost of transporting goods to and from the islands with the corresponding land transport costs (in the mainland country) to ensure equal treatment and minimise the economic disadvantage of island businesses compared to mainland businesses. The study employs a unique micro-dataset from the Islands’ Transport Equivalent platform, including the geographical and logistics features of 1,026,469 freight shipments during 2021, based on the receipts of payments made by firms for outsourcing transport services to companies with public-use truck vehicles, together with demographic and socio-economic data at the island level.
The set of plausible indicators calculated from processing these data depicts different aspects and the high spatial heterogeneity of the transport cost, (consumer and producer) market accessibility and competitiveness of Greek islands. Specifically, the findings underscore the importance of population size, geographical proximity to large markets and network connectivity, and signify the severe trade imbalances among consumers’ (importers’) and producers’ (exporters’) accessibility to and from the Greek islands. Moreover, the use of shipment cost in accessibility indicators significantly alters the accessibility hierarchy and the trade imbalances among islands, compared to the use of network distance, as it incorporates inherent characteristics of the logistics and product markets.
The results are supplemented with findings of the Islands’ Entrepreneurship Barometer, which was conducted in 2023, using a structured questionnaire, aiming to provide a permanent tool for recording, systematic study and monitoring of indicators of islands’ competitiveness, comparable to the Eurobarometer surveys. The latter results underline the multitude of factors influencing the cost of business operation and the benefits of the Islands’ Transport Equivalent measure for businesses, in conjunction with the need to simplify application procedures for businesses compensation, and improve coastwise transport connections, local infrastructure and logistics equipment. Additionally, the more targeted policy measure of Fuel Transport Equivalent is presented as an example for potentially establishing the Islands’ Cost Equivalent for specific product categories, given the availability of information about the corresponding retail prices. The synthesis of the above research findings can offer valuable insights into addressing data-related challenges and supporting island-proofed policies emphasising on transport services to promote the business environment and the sustainable development agenda.