Man on Territory: Spatial Analysis in the Research of the Novosibirsk Economic–Sociological School

This article examines the history of research by the Novosibirsk Economic–Sociological School (NESS) in the field of analysis of social problems of territories from the early 1960s to the present. The logic and main stages of the development of the NESS are shown in the works of its founders, successors, and modern researchers. The consistent transformation of both the complex of problems studied and the sociological tools used is considered. The analysis of the problems of migration between rural areas and cities and the development of a typology of rural settlements were subsequently supplemented by studies of the processes of urbanization and spatial mobility of the population and then by a systematic study of the socioterritorial structure of Soviet and Russian society. The stable features of the NESS are noted, traced in the works of authors of different generations, devoted to spatial mobility and the functioning of socioterritorial structures. These include the use of a systems approach to setting objectives and designing research projects; the use of complementary data sources; conceptual differences from the political mainstream, allowing researchers to draw conclusions that do not always coincide with government policy and the current conjuncture; a desire to use the latest tools for collecting and analyzing sociological data; and a desire to be included in the global context.