URBAN AGGLOMERATION IN THE SYSTEM OF SPATIAL ORGANIZATION OF SOCIETY: CONCEPT, CRITERIA AND CLASSIFICATION

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the essence, dominant features, and typological characteristics of urban agglomerations as a complex spatial-functional phenomenon. The study is based on a spatial-integration approach, which offers a renewed perspective on agglomerations as multidimensional forms of urbanized spatial organization. An agglomeration is conceptualized as a dynamic, multi-level system formed through the interaction of various factors – socio-economic, demographic, institutional, infrastructural, and spatial-geographical – which integrate settlements around one or several urban centers into a cohesive territorial-functional structure. The scientific approaches to understanding agglomerations in both domestic and foreign academic discourse are summarized and systematized, and key stages in the evolution of agglomeration studies are identified. The main structural and functional characteristics of agglomerations are outlined, including hierarchical organization, networked interactions, commuter migration, types of land use, and levels of internal integration. Particular attention is paid to the integrative logic of development and the role of agglomerations in the formation of spatial cohesion and regional resilience. The study presents an analytical typology of agglomerations based on a set of classification criteria, such as morphology, scale, functional complexity, population size, and degree of infrastructural connectivity. A comparative analysis of monocentric and polycentric development models is provided, alongside the identification of megacities and cross-border agglomerations as advanced forms of globalized urbanization. The research highlights the strategic importance of agglomerations as key territorial platforms of economic activity, innovation generation, and interregional cooperation. It is argued that urban agglomerations act as structural nuclei of economic dynamics, capable of concentrating human, infrastructural, and intellectual resources, stimulating endogenous development processes, and enhancing the competitiveness and adaptability of regions in a rapidly changing global space.