Continuum of Cities in the Integrative Space of Green Economy

Small towns constitute the framework of rural areas and play an important role in development of the green economy. Proximity to agricultural production and natural resources make them the “engine” for applying of green technologies. However, a significant part of Russian small towns continues to be in a depressed state because of the imperfect legislation, weakness of local authorities, and lack of necessary investments. The mathematical tools and the construction of a three-dimensional matrix made it possible to determine the competitive status of a small town, optimize investment flows. It was shown that involvement of personalized triggers increased the significance of small towns at the regional level. The strategies developed by the government should create conditions for the development of green and smart cities on the platform of small towns, ensure their interaction with megacities and rural settlements. Small towns located in rural areas have a special space-time continuum, consolidated society and personalized responsibility of the authorities. The green economy should be developed in the following vector: small towns - innovation - production. The purpose of the study was to substantiate the space-time continuum of small towns, increase their competitive status in development of smart and green technologies and attraction of investments.