URBAN AGGLOMERATIONS: ESSENCE, STRUCTURE AND MAIN STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

The article presents a comprehensive study of urban agglomerations as a multifaceted form of spatial organization of territories, which plays a key role in ensuring sustainable development, efficient use of resources and spatial coherence. The relevance of the study is due to the urgent need to adapt Ukrainian cities to the challenges of decentralization, digitalization, military destruction and strengthening of regional policy, where agglomerations play the function of centers of concentration of human, economic and infrastructure potential. The problem is posed by the lack of a coherent scientific approach to the interpretation of urban agglomerations, the vagueness of the legal status of such entities in Ukraine and the fragmentation of institutional mechanisms for their management. The purpose of the study is to systematize modern scientific approaches to understanding the essence of urban agglomerations, outline their structural organization and determine the main historical stages of formation. The object of the study is urban agglomerations as a form of spatial urban organization, the subject is structural and functional characteristics, stages of development and features of the Ukrainian context. The methodological basis is: typological analysis,structural and logical modeling, historical and genetic method, comparative analysis, as well as source analysis of current publications. In the process of the study: approaches to defining the concept of "urban agglomeration" were systematized; the structure of agglomerations was characterized and key components were identified; historical and modern stages of development were identified; the situation in Ukraine was analyzed and directions for further research were proposed. The conclusions emphasize the need for regulatory regulation, intermunicipal coordination and the application of digital management technologies for the formation of effective, sustainable and inclusive agglomerations. The results of the study can be used in the system of strategic planning, state regional policy and professional training in the field of urban planning and public administration.