Improving the management of sustainable development of Ukraine’s regions based on the European experience in the formation of agglomerations

The article analyzes the experience of strategic planning of sustainable development of metropolitan agglomerations in individual EU countries. Based on the study of the goals, objectives and tools for ensuring sustainable development, which are defined in the strategic plans and programs of the Vienna, Budapest, Dublin and Paris agglomerations, positive practices regarding the comprehensive solution of economic, social and environmental problems have been summarized. The state of institutional support for the formation of agglomerations in Ukraine, the degree of coordination of strategic documents at the local and regional level with the goals of sustainable development are analyzed. The sustainable development of the region is considered as a process of transition of quantitative changes of all elements of the socio-economic system into qualitative ones, as a result of which the qualitative characteristics of the system are improved. The directions of implementation of the European experience in Ukraine regarding the use of effective sustainable development management tools at the local and regional levels have been determined: (1) formulation of strategic goals for the development of the agglomeration and the region, taking into account all the guiding principles of sustainable development, which include the need to conserve resources, improve the quality of life and ensure social integration, implementation of innovations as a key lever of sustainable development; (2) institutionalization of the process of formation and functioning of agglomerations through the development and implementation of legal provisions and amendments to existing legislative acts regarding the determination of the status and structural elements of agglomeration management as a component of the regional development system; (3) solving the problem of financing sustainable development projects implemented in the agglomeration, based on the implementation of state incentives for “sustainable” investments and public-private partnership tools to ensure investments of business structures in the development of urban infrastructure; (4) strengthening the region’s ability to resist threats arising from climate change and limited resources, using modern tools within the framework of digitalization and circular economy development programs.