Population dynamics in the coastal urban settlements of the baltic sea region

Abstract

The study is focused on providing an in-depth understanding of the development trajectories of the post-Soviet urban settlements in the Baltic Sea region. The main goal is to specify the particularities of population dynamics in coastal areas and provide the assessment of coastalization. The research scope covers the area of the Baltic Sea macro-region, including the entire territories of the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) and three Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Finland, and Sweden), the northern lands of Germany (Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein) and Poland (Pomerania, West Pomerania), as well as the north-western part of Russia (the city of St. Petersburg, Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions). The research methodology is focused on cities with over 50,000 inhabitants and a detailed study of settlements with over 100,000 people covering a period from 1990 to 2016. The results support the typology of countries by the level of coastalization-pronounced (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia), moderate (Germany, Lithuania, Poland), and differentiated (Russia). Urban settlements with more than 100,000 inhabitants are further classified into demographically stable and depopulating. Population dynamics and economic development is also analyzed against the background of nation-wide growth or decline trends, resulting in a classification.