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Copyright of Praehistorische Zeitschrift is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Industrial copper production during the Early Bronze (EB) Age III–IV made the southern Dead Sea Valley around Faynan attractive to southern Levantine society. Despite continuous investigations, no previous research has revealed the settlement system or the ceramic regionalism, including the hinterlands. Forty-one recently confirmed sites from the Early Bronze Age in the northern Shawbak, located to the immediate east of Faynan, contained remarkable settlements in the late EB III and EB IV. A typo-chronological analysis of the ceramic assemblages provided evidence of occupation peaks in the late EB III and a continuation of the settlements in the early EB IV and the earlier phase of the late EB IV. The ceramic types indicate influence from the central southern Levant and the Negev Highlands in both periods. The settlements in the northern Shawbak are expected to have played key roles in the copper production system centered on Faynan. Exploitation of wood for smelting fuel, food provisioning, and circulation of copper were major economic activities. In the EB IV, these settlements coexisted with remnants of pastoral nomadism. Therefore, the economic interdependency between the northern Shawbak and Faynan likely intensified temporarily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable development of urban and rural settlements is considered one of the primary objectives of economic, social, and urban planning. Recent studies focused significant attention on the issue of the resilience of rural settlements due to the challenges and threats they face. One of the essential drivers affecting the resilience of rural settlements is cultural heritage preservation. The research methods were based on the complex systems approach. The study employed a multidimensional analysis method to evaluate the resilience of rural settlements based on five sub-systems: social, economic, environmental, physical, and managerial. The proposed method for evaluation of the settlement sustainability involves the application of a settlement development index and considers the preservation of cultural heritage objects. The data sources used contain open-access information and statistical data provided by municipal organizations, including GIS maps, statistical, and archival records. The study aim was to establish methodological frameworks for evaluating the influence of cultural heritage on the resilience of rural settlements as well as to obtain a quantitative assessment of the resilience of rural settlements within the Zavałočycy local council, located at Hlusk district, Mahiloŭ region, Belarus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a review of global and Russian research on features and patterns of the development of regions of a country in crisis and post-crisis periods. It is shown that the theoretical foundation of studies on this issue is the concept of regional resilience, as developed in global research since the 2010s. The features of the resilience concept are analyzed and compared with regional growth theories and economic security studies. Factors that influence the resilience of regions of a country to economic crises are summarized: they include features of a region's settlement system (the ratio of the urban to rural populations) and its position in the national settlement system (location in relation to large urban agglomerations), the structure of the region's economy (level of diversification, specific features of specialization and employment structure), innovation potential and quality of human capital, cohesion of the local community, and quality of public administration. It is noted that differences in regional resilience levels are consistent; in particular, the features of regional spatial development observed during the current crisis (associated with the COVID-19 pandemic) follow previously established patterns. Negative consequences of crises, specifically, regional divergence and reduced inclusiveness of economic growth, are also described. Issues of transforming the state spatial development policy during crisis periods, as well as opportunities for managing regional resilience, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Definition: Mobile operators' data are one type of Big Data. These are any data about events related to the use of a mobile phone. These data include subscriber identifiers and associated time and location attributes. Big Data in general usually includes datasets with sizes beyond the ability of commonly used software tools to capture, curate, manage, and process data within a tolerable elapsed time. Big Data can be described by the following key characteristics: volume, variety, velocity, veracity, value, variability etc. Mobile operators' data are supplied by the Mobile Network Operators. The main distinguishing features of the operator are, firstly, the possession of a state license to use the radio frequency spectrum, and, secondly, the possession or control over the elements of the network infrastructure necessary to provide services to subscribers in the authorized radio frequency spectrum. The smallest structural territorial element for cellular communication systems is a cell; its dimensions can be different (250 by 250 m, 500 by 500 m, etc.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Területi Statisztika is the property of Hungarian Central Statistical Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Formulation of the problem. In 2020, there were some radical changes that took place in the administrative and territorial structure of Zaporizhia region; as a result, 5 new administrative districts were created on its territory instead of 20 previous ones, which significantly affected the structure of the regional settlement system. Therefore, the question arises about the study of the settlement system of the region in the new socio-geographical realities. The purpose of the article. The purpose of the article consists in identification of the current state and spatial differences of the system of settlement of the territory of Zaporizhia region after the reform of the administrative and territorial structure. Methods. The study used methods for calculating quantitative and relative indicators of the state of urban and rural settlement systems, the comparative analysis of the assessment results, as well as methods for typing administrative districts according to the structure of the settlement system. Results. For each new district of the region, there were calculated the following indicators: the population density, population concentration index, the average population density of settlements, the average density of settlements, the average distance between them, the leadership index of the administrative centers of the districts, the level of urbanization of the territory by the share of the urban population, according to the hierarchical method of O. Tereshchenko and according to E. Arriaga’s approach. According to these indicators, the spatial differences in the settlement system of the administrative districts of the region were revealed. Differentiation of the system of urban settlements of the administrative districts of the region significantly exceeds the contrast of the average general indicators of the system of settlement of districts. This is especially evident when using hierarchical approaches to determine the level of urbanization. The district systems of rural settlements in Zaporizhia region have smoother differences in terms of similar indicators in comparison with the systems of urban settlement, which indicates the relative rationality of the new administrative-territorial structure. Based on the calculations, a typological grouping of the new administrative districts of Zaporizhia region according to the modern structure of settlement was carried out.As a result of this grouping, 2 types of districts were singled out: 1) districts with a monocentric settlement system; these include Zaporizhia, Melitopol and Berdyansk districts (they are clearly distinguished by the size, functions performed and the impact on the settlement system of multifunctional regional centers); 2) districts with a polycentric dispersed settlement system, these include Vasilievsky and Pologovsky districts (in these districts there are no centers with strongly marked leading positions both in terms of population and functions performed). Scientific novelty and practical significance. For the first time, there was carriedout an assessmentof the settlement system of the new administrative districts of Zaporizhia region; the spatial differencesof the settlement system were revealed according to various indicators. The data obtained can be used to optimize the territorial management of the region, to predict its further development and to work out strategies for socio-economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Geography & Environmental Management is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Shovakh cave is a late Middle Paleolithic cave site in Northern Israel, situated ca. 8 km from the Sea of Galilee. The Cave was originally was excavated by Sally Binford in 1962, and results of the analyses of its lithic assemblages played a major role in the then-raging Bordes-Binford debate, as well as in the initiation of the field of inquires known as “technological organization.” A renewed excavation in 2016 led to a better understanding of site formation at the cave and to a refined chrono-stratigraphic framework of the Middle Paleolithic occupations at the site. Here we present the results of the analyses of lithic and faunal assemblages combining material from both the original and renewed excavations at the site. Together with the results of the geoarcheological work, we are able to offer a refined reconstruction of the modes of occupation in the site as well as of its role within late MP settlement systems in the Levant. We show that during three periods of site occupation, settlements in Shovakh were mostly ephemeral, a rare phenomenon among the late MP cave sites. At the same time, the lithic and faunal assemblages suggest that the nature of these ephemeral occupations differed temporally and spatially. In each of these cases, the fitting scenario for Shovakh’s occupations is as a “transient camp,” used over short-term occupations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Human Geography Journal is the property of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

It considers the prerequisites for developing a methodology in order to create touristic recreational complexes based on resource capacities of local settlement systems (territorial communities) in Ukraine. Attention is given to the situation in the industry and its prospective capabilities to play a principal role in economic development of a number of territorial communities. It outlines a number of principles that need to be used when considering the process in the urban planning activities. It also provides a specific example of a strategic program of local system development with the touristic and recreational component as its basis. The research materials analyze the current state of affairs of urban planning activities in Ukraine, in particular, peculiarities of regional planning, using three largest cities and their suburbs as case studies. A number of negative trends have been discovered in the relations between the city and suburban area, that need to be resolved during the subsequent stages of designing to take into account the changes in the management system - decentralization and development of territorial communities that will be interacting with the city on systemic positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is devoted to assessing the impact of passenger railway transport increasing speed on change in the conditions of commuting. The role of commuting in the composition of settlement relationships is considered on the example of transport directions from Moscow to Tver, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, Belgorod, and Kursk, on which projects for a significant speed increase of railway traffic were implemented in the 2010s. The data on the dynamics of passenger traffic for different types of trains and the results of sociological surveys of regional express trains' passengers in the selected directions serve as the informational base for assessing the conditions for the transformation of settlement systems through changes in the railway transport. The improved accessibility to transport between Moscow and several regional centers due to the launch of express trains has affected the spatial behavior of residents of these regions in different ways. Conclusions are made on the effect of the technical and economic parameters of the speed increase in rail transport, the established settlement system, and other geographical parameters of the territory on the transformation of rail links. Due to these factors, the effects of speed increase have manifested themselves unequally in the considered directions. It is shown that they are observed most clearly in the territories where the increasing speed has made it possible to implement the potential of intra-agglomeration mobility (Tver) and less noticeably on routes of medium length involving inter-agglomeration (Nizhny Novgorod) links. Some cities (Oryol, Kursk, and Belgorod) are characterized by a restrained effect of the speed increase in rail transport on the change in the commuting, which is sensitive to the distance from the capital and to the potential of migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International migrants are often a major force reshaping settlement geography. However, their role in urbanisation processes has predominantly been explored in more established immigration countries, whereas such knowledge remains limited in Central and Eastern Europe. This paper investigates trends in participation of different groups of foreign residents in urbanisation processes in Czechia, which has recently become a new immigration destination. Using a longitudinal dataset of the Czech migration registers (2005–2017), it assesses the extent of participation in urbanisation processes. It also evaluates the strength of sociodemographic and place‐based factors contributing to suburbanisation, a process which makes the Czech suburbs the settlement type with highest net migration and to which both the Czech majority and the immigrant population contribute. The paper finds similarities between the internal migration of different immigrant groups and that of the Czech majority, indicating the predominance of suburbanisation of affluence, notably in culturally and economically well‐off groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Problems of Sustainable Development / Problemy Ekorozwoju is the property of Faculty of Environmental Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper describes a dataset of archaeological sites and villages now partially covered by the water of the Mosul Dam Reservoir. For the first time the dataset offers digitized information on c.150 archaeological sites detected during a survey carried out by the Iraqi State Organization for Antiquities and Heritage in the 1980s. Knowledge of the map of these sites will have a substantial impact on interpretation of Tigridian settlement dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Területi Statisztika is the property of Hungarian Central Statistical Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Human Geography Journal is the property of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Documenta Praehistorica is the property of Documenta Praehistorica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Arqueologia is the property of Revista de Arqueologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Human Geography Journal is the property of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Miejskie is the property of University of Opole / Uniwersytet Opolski and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article analyzes the discussion of the draft of the Spatial Development Strategy of Russia, related to the issues of transformation of the settlement system in the country. The results of sociological surveys, scientific research proving the advantages of the largest urban agglomerations as points of economic growth and places of residence of the population, are generalized. The author proves the inevitability of transformation of the settlement system as a result of the changes taking place in the economy and society. Correspondingly, she suggests improvements of the system of statistical accounting (increase of transparency of the territorial structure of expenditures of federal and regional budgets, formation of statistical accounting in the context of urban agglomerations) and federal spatial policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global urban science has established the notion of a megalopolis (a city with a population of over 10 mln people), the characteristics of which, after publication of the classical work by J. Gottman and the results of numerous studies by foreign and domestic scientists, were described in detail, making it possible to isolate megalopolises into a separate group of settlements that play a leading role in global and national socioeconomic systems. In Russia, the only megalopolis is Moscow; at the same time, there are about 100 other cities exhibiting features characteristic of megalopolises. In this article these are labeled megalopolis-type cities that involve above all regional capitals—the administrative centers of the federal subjects. These centers host federal and subfederal state power bodies (very important administrative resource in Russia), and practically all of them surpass in terms of population other cities and towns of their respective regions (in some cases, concentrating 40% or more of the region’s entire population). Consolidating about 30% of Russia’s population, megalopolis-type cities make up 40-70% of GRP and the bulk of revenues of each federal subject; their actual unemployment levels are 30-40% lower than in the rest territory of the region. They concentrate the majority of service sector facilities, higher education (about 90% of the Russia’s higher education students study there), modern health care and cultural and leisure organizations. Russian megalopolis-type cities for many years have been the foci of relative (compared to the periphery) well-being, and their influence on the spatial environment is limited mainly to providing low-skilled jobs to labor migrants and sites to chain hypermarkets on the outskirts. Experts voice concerns that the implementation of plans to form large agglomerations based on several megalopolis-type cities would deepen socioeconomic and demographic differences between these cities and the periphery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Human Geography Journal is the property of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we present the results of the geoarchaeological studies carried out in two archaeological localities of the Upper Delta of the Paraná River (Argentina). The main objective of these studies is to depict the pre-Hispanic strategies involved in the colonization and settlement of southern South America wetlands. Paraná Delta is one of the most conspicuous areas of these lowlands and comprises a large wetland macrosystem. Its current geomorphological configuration was established after the last transgressive mid-Holocene event c. 6000 14C yr BP. In this environment, a high ecological heterogeneity, with diverse and abundant tropical and temperate biota, was developed. These features were important factors to the human colonization and utilization of these wetlands. However, this environment has the highest hydrometeorological susceptibility of La Plata basin. This susceptibility had an impact on settlement systems and resource exploitation strategies established in the area since at least 2000 14C yr BP. These strategies involved at least two settlement types: semi-permanent residential camps and transitory camps oriented to exploit particular resources. The semi-permanent settlements were located in anthropogenic elevated mounds, locally known as 'cerritos', and were not subjected to seasonal inundations. Conversely, the transitory camps are found in levees exposed to recurrent flooding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional Foresight, which focuses on some of the specific land area in a given territory sub-national aims to achieve the desired future decisions, will be operational This article examines the spatial organization of Settlement systems in Isfahan province And Presentation of the urban system in the horizon 1420. This paper tries to identify the key factors influencing the development process at the regional scale, producing both possible and probable scenarios to provide the in the next 25 years Isfahan province. This research is a combination of documentary and survey methods in terms of category and is based on new methods in the science of future studies, analytical and exploratory in terms of nature, which is conducted by a combination of qualitative and quantitative models. Structural analysis is used to analyze data by use of MICMAC software. The results indicate that the key and strategic variables of Isfahan province development in Horizon 1420 includes: the way of countries macro management, the way of managing the province, water resources, inter-institutional cooperation, population, Research & Development, role of transnational Province, Investment security, Industrial Production and mineral, level of IT, Tourism, production technology. Based on the findings, Isfahan province in terms of arrangement space systems will face in the next 25 years with five main scenario: Radial scenario, a scenario dismissed Islands, a cluster scenario, the scenario of multi-center, network scenario. Among the scenarios planned, the network scenario we can see the functional spatial integration in the region and the development integrated and balanced space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The migration balance of urban municipal areas (hereinafter, okrugs-Russ.) and municipal districts in Russia in 2012-2014 is analyzed from the standpoint of its impact on the concentration and deconcentration of the population. The paper reviews the distribution of urban okrugs and municipal districts by population density and the current ratio of sparsely and densely populated areas across the country. Calculations show that the conditions in Russia today contribute to concentration of the population and, hence, the polarization of space between densely populated major cities and deserted poorly developed areas. Unlike in many European countries and the United States, where concentration and deconcentration processes have been alternating for decades, concentration of the population is an ongoing process in Russia. Two directions of migration are analyzed: (1) from the intraregional periphery to regional centers: the farther from the center, the more intense the outflow; (2) from low-populated municipalities to densely populated territorial units, primarily, large cities. The contributions of individual migration flows (intraregional, interregional, and international) to the concentration and deconcentration of the population are evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Human Geography Journal is the property of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Stratum Plus Journal is the property of P.P. Stratum plus and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Historia is the property of Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Based on the data of the second national land survey and GIS method, this paper takes Fujin City as a study area to reflect the similarities and differences of settlement system characteristics between reclamation and agricultural region in Heilongjiang Province, in order to discover the effect of land system on structure of settlement system. The results are as follows: (1) In the aspect of the spatial distribution pattern, settlement systems of both reclamation and agricultural region show clustered distribution, but those in reclamation region are denser; (2) The settlement systems of reclamation and agricultural regions can be divided into 4 levels, and their settlement systems are not incompatible with the 3 distribution patterns proposed in the center place theory, and show completely different hierarchical orders; (3) The average scale of reclamation settlement is smaller than that of agricultural settlement, but the difference is much more significant; (4) The settlement systems in reclamation and agricultural regions have some problems, such as high proportion of the mini-settlements, and unreasonable space network system. Some measures should be taken, such as accelerating the reconstruction of the settlement system, optimizing the layout of settlement network system and transportation network, and promoting the connection between settlement systems in reclamation and agricultural regions in near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of the problem of the administrative-territorial division is characterized. The objective and criteria for addressing the problem are substantiated. The content of reform is defined at various spatial levels. The ways and sequence of reform implementation are suggested in the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of the problem of the administrative-territorial division is characterized. The objective and criteria for addressing the problem are substantiated. The content of reform is defined at various spatial levels. The ways and sequence of reform implementation are suggested in the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamics of the system of cities in Russia in 1989-2010 is analyzed based on the population census data in 1989, 2002, and 2010, as well as the current population register. The extent of the decline or less often of the increase of the population size are considered for cities of different sizes for each intercensal period (1989-2002 and 2002-2010) and factors contributing to this are noted. The change in the population size of cities is analyzed, depending on their size and geographical location, expressed in the distance to the center of the federal subject. It turned out that in the 1990s and in the 2000s, the population of cities of different sizes, but located at a distance of up to 50 km from the regional center increased, and at greater distances the dynamics were not so well-defined. The dependence of the growth/decline of the population of cities on their size is more variable: the population of cities of different sizes both grew and declined. The dynamics of the natural increase and migration increase of cities with different sizes of population show that the higher the population size the greater the importance of migration increase as a compensator of natural decrease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a set of concepts denoting a hierarchy of integrated systems of urban settlement patterns ranging from the most common urban agglomeration to the still quite uncommon global city area, including concepts such as conurbation, metropolis, megapolis, megapolis, world city, and global city. The interpretations of these terms in different countries are discussed. Some terms are widely used, while others are used only in some countries, for example, the settlement system or the urban framework in Russia. Some terms are only used by researchers, while others have been turned into categories which are also applied by national statistical and regional planning agencies. Specifically, urban agglomerations are not yet officially identified in Russia, although there is discussion about the possibility of merging some closely located cities into uniform administrative entities, which are called agglomerations. In contrast, in France, a sophisticated and extensive system of terms defining urban agglomerations of different levels has been put in place. This paper is part of a thematic set of five articles published in the 'Urban Geography' category of the current journal issue. These papers review key terms and concepts used in geographic urban studies in Russia, France, and other European countries (in addition to the current paper, see also the following articles: 'Cities, Rural Areas and Urbanization: Russia and the World', 'City and Countryside under World-Wide Urbanization', 'Types of Cities in Russia and Across the Globe', 'Cities and Social Processes: Rethinking Notions and Concepts'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Colloquium Humanarum is the property of Asociacao Prudentina de Educacao e Cultura (APEC) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper analyses the formation factors of Belarus settlement system. We characterized the spatial and temporal trends in urban and rural settlement system of Belarus for the period of 1979-2009. Spatial and temporal shifts in the distribution of urban and rural population and the structure of urban and rural settlements are emphasized. Therefore, we presented the types of rural settlement of Belarus. Eventually, we discuss how agrotowns are developed and the features of distribution and demographic development of this new Belarusian rural settlements form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the challenges that will be faced by the Palestinian state should the solution on the geopolitical conflict between Israel and Palestine be supported by the public in West Bank and Gaza Strip. It mentions that the passage between Gaza Strip and West Bank will depend on the political resolution of Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It adds that differences from Hamas and Fatah, the two main political parties of the regions, have materialized regarding the Palestinian statehood.

Sustainability of settlement systems is of greatest relevance in political and socio-economic stability all over the world. The development effectiveness of a rural settlement system involves the solution of a number of matters in sustainable development, namely social welfare and environmental balance, economy and industry development, improving the pipeline and utility infrastructure, and improving the efficiency of the decision-making process. Currently, the sustainability of a rural settlement system is one of the key objectives in regional planning in post-Soviet countries. The introduction of new tools for assessing and managing the settlement system development is particularly true for Belarus, as a country with a strong focus on agricultural industry. The research aim was to develop and approve a model for evaluating the settlement system development. The research methods were based on the complex and interdisciplinary approaches, namely the system-element approach, the comparative analysis, spatial and mathematical modelling, factor analysis, and the cartographic analysis. The model was approved by practical consideration for evaluating the development of the analogue object at the local planning level. The practical relevance of the research is associated with the potential for using the model as a significant tool in land use planning. The model employs both quantitative and qualitative evaluation to obtain alternative solutions towards sustainable development of rural areas. Another advantage of the model is its multifunctionality, which enables: (1) sustainability evaluation of a settlement system, (2) establishment of regional planning priority areas, and (3) development of specific measures for ensuring the sustainability of a regional settlement system and its elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is a preliminary report on an excavation carried out on the Iron Age settlement Dongus Tapa in Kakheti (Eastern Georgia). This fortified settlement existed from the Late Bronze Age till the 7th century BC and lasted longer than the settlements in the Shiraki plain, which end in the same century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]