The development of small and medium cities in Russia has been and remains relevant. Small and medium mining cities deserve special attention. In Soviet times, there was a peak in their development, but now they have partially lost their potential, and some of them are in crisis. The aim of our study is to develop practical recommendations for the transformation of extractive small and medium cities into regional growth poles, taking into account their socio-economic specifics and key development factors. Based on the scientific literature analysis, we found that the key factors in the formation of growth poles are the consideration of the existing total economic potential, developed engineering, commercial infrastructure and institutional environment, and a sufficient level of financing. Using the example of the Northwestern Federal District, common problems of small and medium mining cities have been identified: an undiversified economy; a reduction in investment (Inta and Vorkuta); a decrease in population; difficult natural and climatic conditions due to the location of cities in the Far North and areas equated to it. We proposed the directions of economic transformation for some cities: the development of alternative deposits, the extraction of rare earth elements from landfills, scientific and industrial cooperation, the opening of new areas of personnel training in institutions of higher and secondary special education; general recommendations are given on creating conditions for the transformation of the economy into a growth pole at the regional level. The scientific novelty of the work consists in substantiating promising areas for the development of extractive small and medium cities based on the commercialization of their strengths. The materials of the article may be useful to local governments of small and medium mining cities and regional government authorities to develop policies for the development of cities of this type and adjacent territories
Keywords
Poles of growth, mining cities, small and medium cities, economic transformation, spatial development