FORMATION OF REGIONAL AGGLOMERATIONS UNDER SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONDITIONS: INTERNATIONAL PRACTICES AND STRATEGIC PLANNING DIRECTIONS

This thesis explores global experience in the emergence and advancement of regional agglomerations. It outlines the key historical phases of agglomeration growth and investigates how the Industrial Revolution and accelerating urbanization have shaped regional spatial structures. Drawing on United Nations frameworks, the study emphasizes major development priorities such as sustainability, improving human living conditions, and minimizing environmental and transport-related challenges. Moreover, the research examines typical issues faced by large agglomerations, including ecological decline, traffic overload, commuter (pendular) mobility, and spatial disparities between territories. The thesis also highlights a contemporary shift in regional planning from monocentric patterns towards polycentric development models. Through international cases—such as megacity integration in China, the European "Blue Banana" corridor, and strategic initiatives like Greater Paris, Greater London, and the Netherlands' "Ring City"—the paper systematizes approaches to governance, planning instruments, and mechanisms aimed at achieving territorial sustainability.