Abstract: The subject of the research of this article is the analysis of models of development of local self-government in small towns of modern Russia and the identification of the self-governing potential of their residents. The study of models of the territorial organization of local self-government and methods of formation of municipal government bodies allows us to identify trends in the evolution of the local self-government system, to determine their nature. The study of the ideas of residents of Russian small towns about the models of local self-government and the attitudes of citizens to participate in solving local problems allows us to identify the socio-cultural foundations of the processes unfolding in modern municipalities. The object of the study is residents of small towns in the Tver region. The methods of document analysis, statistical data analysis, and survey methods were used. The data of sociological monitoring carried out in the Tver region in 2018-2020 by the method of formalized interviewing are presented. В  The models of the territorial organization of local self-government in small towns are investigated, the degree of prevalence of elective procedures for the formation of municipal bodies is studied. The ideas of the population of small towns about the nature of local self-government and its place in the management system of Russian society are analyzed, the attitude of citizens to various models of territorial organization of local self-government and ways of electing the head of the municipality is studied, the nature of the attitudes of citizens to participate in self-governing practices is revealed. A special contribution of the authors to the study of the topic is the analysis of the prevalence of various models of local self-government in small towns, taking into account their spatial and geographical location, resource characteristics and the level of self-governing potential of the population. The information obtained can be used by state and municipal authorities in the process of forming municipal management systems and organizing work with the population to involve them in self-governing practices.

Keywords: municipalities of the settlement level, enlarged municipalities, self-governing potential, activist attitudes, chapter election models, territorial organization of self-government, models of local self-government, small town, local government, spatial development

Abstract: This article examines the image of a small arctic city and the architectural spatial environment based o the survey results of the dwellers of Far North. As an example is taken the city of Nikel in Murmansk Region that is located in arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The goal of this work consists in researching the place of residence; determination of correlation between the image of a city and the residence time; gender and age of residents; identification of places of emotional attachment; compiling a map of polar emotopia – favored and disfavored places among the dwellers of Nikel. The source base of this work is comprised by the results of anonymous survey conducted in January of 2017 among the local residents. The author makes a conclusion on the ned for implementing preventative measures in the places of emotional attachment with the help of converting the negative emotions into positive pertinent to the particular city loci and space overall for the purpose of preserving and strengthening the mental and psycho-emotional environment of a small city.

Keywords: adult population, everyday life, non-rootedness, emotional rootedness, places of emotional attachment, image of city, emotional geography, small sity, Arctic, favorite places

Abstract: Within the framework of emotional geography, this article reveals and examines the “unfavorable places” among the children of provincial town, as well as determines the types of “unfavorable places” – “open” and “closed”. The concept of “heterotopia” along with its classification introduced into the scientific discourse in 1966 by the French philosopher Michel Foucault is in the center of this work. The author introduced the notion of “sacrificial heterotopia” – a place ignored by the community, and thus, sacrificed by it for the sake of social tranquility and sense of rootedness in urban space. The data for this article is acquired through anonymous questionnaire that includes the drawings of the children (11-12 y.o.) of Velsk of Arkhangelsk Oblast. The author draws a conclusion on publicity of the “unfavorable places”, emotional segregation in the provincial town, and defined negative meaning of the neglected buildings in children’s emotional space. Out of the entire range of “unfavorable places”, the author highlights the universal heterotopias of the closed type: school, hospital, cemetery, the drawings of which are characterized by the presence of multiple repeating elements – window openings, school desks, tomb stone, and others.   

Keywords: rootedness, least favorite places, sacrificial loci, daily routine, provincial town, childhood, emotional geography, non-rootedness, place of alienation, heterotopia

Abstract: The problem of creating a clean, biosphere-compatible urban environment is currently one of the major issues for our society. Its importance is dictated by the multivectoral nature of modern megapolys development, which, in turn, becomes a stimulus for a transition from a technocratic model of urban planning to a biosphere-compatible one. However, the results of the current urban planning process appears ambiguous: by limiting industry development in some cases, the urban planners make other, no less serious problems, even worse. Because of this, the author believes that it is necessary to analyze the current situation in cities, to analyze the dynamics of environmentalist movements that are currently fashionable due to the modern social and political paradigms, to evaluate their potential good and harm. Case study is the main method of analysis in this work. The cases are analyzed for modern ecourban trends, deindustrialization, advertisement business regulations, ecologization, comprehensive planning, legal regulation of nuclear industry, interactions between environment movements and business. This work also employs traditional general scientific methods of inductive generalization of facts and deductive application of the generalizations generated, for the sake of identifying patterns in the dynamics of urban life. The author draws attention to the inconsistency of statements issued in the architecture and environment planning of modern cities, to the crises that we need to overcome for the sake of our civilization. The author points out the dysfunction of modern environmentalist movements - they are too political. And it becomes a reason for conflict situations and interferes with constructive dialog between the civil society and the Federal and municipal authorities (Selyatin and Khimki forest protection movements come to mind).

Keywords: biosphere-compatible environment, environmentalist movements, environment pollution, small towns, Moscow region, politization, technotronic field, activists, urban administration, dysfunctions