Town-Forming Nodes in the Settlement System of Southern Siberia

The purpose of this publication is to identify and substantiate the possibilities and directions of urban development of settlements in the South of Siberia by identifying city-forming support nodes in them. The author of the article proceeds from the assumption that the location of the city-forming nodes is determined by the geomorphology of the territory, and their functional filling should not disrupt the rhythm of natural geochemical processes. The subject is urban and rural settlements in southern Siberia for possible directions of urban transformation. The methodological basis is the basin approach, network methods, and scenario approach of forecasting urban planning activities. As a result of the study, it was found that the South of Siberia with all settlements within its borders has a natural and urban planning system in which there are town-forming nodes. Any urban transformation in one of these nodes affects the development of the entire settlement system