The relevance of the study is due to increased attention to small cities and improving the quality of life, which is directly related to the strategic planning of small cities development, taking into account individual features. However, small cities in Russia are characterized by negative trends in the social and economic spheres. The aim of the study is to identify key areas of small cities development strategies, taking into account individual trajectories identified on the basis of expert assessments. The city of Kostomuksha of the Republic of Karelia, which is the administrative center of Kostomukshsky Urban Okrug, was chosen as the object of research. We use qualitative sociology methods, namely, the results of an expert focus group and individual interviews with representatives of government, business and non-profit organizations. We reveal problems in the social sphere typical for the city of Kostomuksha and for small cities in general: low level of accessibility of education and healthcare services, including personnel in these areas, migration outflow of young people, lack of renovation of housing stock. Regarding the stakeholders of territorial transformations, we find out that the main feature of Kostomuksha is predominant participation of large socially oriented businesses in addressing urban problems with rather weak participation of citizens. As a result of the research, we have identified new individual development trajectories: sports and wellness tourism, which must be taken into account in the development strategy of Kostomuksha. We conclude that it is necessary to design strategies for the development of territories, taking into account the opinions and activity of local communities, opportunities for collaboration of various actors in addressing social issues of small cities. The novelty of the research lies in expanding the methodological approach to strategic planning for small cities development using original tools of qualitative sociology – expert assessments of stakeholders in territorial development
Keywords
small cities, small territories, development strategies, socio-economic development, civic participation, individual trajectories