City of district significance (Ukraine)
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A city of district significance ( uk, місто районного значення, ) is a special category of city
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
within each of the rural
raions A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...
(districts) of
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
's first-level of
administrative divisions Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
. These cities are subordinate to the raion authorities and derive their powers from them. The
KOATUU Classification of objects of the administrative-territorial system of Ukraine (KOATUU) ( uk, Класифікатор об'єктів адміністративно-територіального устрою України, КОАТУУ), is a ...
national classification system refers to them as the third-level of the country's administrative divisions. there are 276 cities of district significance in Ukraine. Cities of district significance are automatically considered as "small cities", a status which is recognized by a few normative acts of the
Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
, the Ukrainian parliament. Ukrainian law designates these populated places with populations of up to 50,000. In 2008, the average population of a city of district significance was 13,400. Small cities can belong to one of several specific economic categories, often having a regional transportation significance, important local industry, or an important historical and tourist attraction. , 63 of the 276 cities of district significance are members of the Association of Small Cities of Ukraine, a public organization that was registered in 2011 to recognize the common issues of small cities in general and to further promote their development.


Characteristics

Under Ukrainian law, every city of district significance automatically belongs to the category of "small cities" ( uk, малі міста, ), which is defined by the law "On the Approval of the National Program of the Development of Small Cities" dated 4 March 2005 as cities which have populations of up to 50,000. These small cities have populations of up to 50,000, and they contain a certain amount of social and industrial infrastructure within their boundaries. They have a proportionally lower rate of industrial expansion compared to cities of regional significance, however, they allow for favorable conditions for the creation of social, cultural, household, communal areas to meet the needs of its urban residents and the surrounding district countryside. A large number of these cities are centered on important industrial enterprises, creating the need of maintaining a favorable economic climate for industry. Cities of district significance are often the administrative centers of the districts they are located in. The lives of approximately 22 million inhabitants (both urban and rural) are tied in with the socio-economic activities of small cities, which plays an important role in the development of suburbs and the Ukrainian economy. The law "On the General Scheme of the Territorial Planning of Ukraine" is Ukraine's comprehensive
general plan Comprehensive planning is an ordered process that determines community goals and aspirations in terms of community development. The end product is called a comprehensive plan, also known as a general plan, or master plan. This resulting document e ...
, which was adopted on 7 February 2002. It organizes small cities into five different categories: # cities that are adjacent to the geographical centers of local population; # cities with a significant recreational and health potential; # cities with a significant natural, historical and cultural potential; # cities that are important local centers of predominantly rural areas; # single-function cities. The law "On the Approval of the National Program of the Development of Small Cities" was adopted on 4 March 2005. It organizes small cities into seven economic categories: # cities of predominantly industrial functions; # regional transportation crossroads; #
sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
-resorts and recreational centers; # historical, historical-architectural, cultural, and tourist centers; # administrative centers of rural raions (districts); # business centers of local importance; # important local centers of society, cultural, communal, and other services.


Legal sphere

The
Constitution of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine ( uk, Конституція України, translit=Konstytutsiia Ukrainy) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament ...
and the 1997 law "On the Local Self-Governance in Ukraine" defines cities as independent units of administrative-territorial structures, which manage their own local self-government, economic, and financial activities. However, there is no clearly defined mechanism for designating populated places as cities of district significance under Ukrainian law. Rather, these cities are designated based on old Soviet laws such as the decree of the
Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Президія Верховної Ради УРСР, translit=Prezydiia Verkhovnoi Rady URSR), referred to between 1991 and 1996 as the Presidium of the Verkhovn ...
of the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
"On the Resolution of the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Ukrainian SSR" dated 12 March 1981. The legal competence of designating populated places as cities of district significance belongs to the Ukrainian parliament subject to proposals from the executive committees of regional and city councils. The 1981 decree stipulates that populated places are designated as cities of district significance if they have important regional industry, communal utilities, and networks of social, cultural, and business enterprises. In addition, they have to have populations of over 10,000 people, of which not less than 2/3 were workers, employees, and their families. The presidium's decrees, "On the Resolution of the Administrative-Territorial Structure of Ukrainian SSR" and "On the Practice of Applying the Legislation on the Order of Naming and Renaming of Administrative-Territorial Units and Populated Places of the Republic" were to have expired after the Ukrainian parliament adopted the law "On the Administrative-Territorial Composition of Ukraine". However, to this day, such a law has not been passed.


Governance

Local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
in cities of district significance is delegated to their popularly elected mayoral administrations and legislative city councils, which derive their authority from the law "On the Local Self-Governance in Ukraine". These councils are local government areas that may often contain some
urban-type settlements Urban-type settlementrussian: посёлок городско́го ти́па, translit=posyolok gorodskogo tipa, abbreviated: russian: п.г.т., translit=p.g.t.; ua, селище міського типу, translit=selyshche mis'koho typu, ab ...
and rural localities under their jurisdiction aside from the respective cities themselves.
Local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...
take place nationwide every four years, and elect anywhere from 12-46 deputies, depending on the city's population. Cities of district significance receive their funding through the rural raion state administrations they are subordinate to, amidst other sources of local revenue, as determined by the Budget Code of Ukraine. In 2015, the Association of Small Cities of Ukraine criticized the adoption of the 2015 Ukrainian budget, which they stated limited the authority of local government institutions throughout Ukraine, contrary to what was proposed by all five of the coalition parties in parliament as part of
decentralization in Ukraine Decentralisation in Ukraine is a series of reforms to give additional power and resources to local authorities. This process was intended to advance regional development and border reform. Successful steps have been taken. Angela Merkel, Georg ...
.


Statistics

Although not every small city is designated as a city of district significance, in 2003 there were a total of 305 such small cities, which is 3/4 of the total number of cities in Ukraine, and 13% of the total population (19% of the urban population). In 2003, 15 cities had a population of up to 5,000; 66 cities had populations between 5,000–10,000; 160 cities had populations between 10,000–20,000; 109 cities had populations between 20,000–50,000. The locations of cities of district significance throughout Ukraine is unevenly distributed throughout Ukraine's 24
oblasts An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...
(regions) and the
Autonomous Republic of Crimea The Autonomous Republic of Crimea, commonly known as Crimea, is a de jure autonomous republic of Ukraine encompassing most of Crimea that was annexed by Russia in 2014. The Autonomous Republic of Crimea occupies most of the peninsula,
. The number of cities of district significance varies depending on the level of urbanization in a specific region. The region with the largest number of cities of district significance is
Lviv Oblast Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a wikt:Appendix:Glossary#relational, relational adjective—in Englis ...
in western Ukraine with 35 such cities, which is close to 80% of the oblast's city population.
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...
and
Luhansk Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...
oblasts also have a proportionally larger number of cities of district significance with 24 (46% of the oblast's city population) and 23 (62% of the oblast's city population), respectfully. Half of the cities of district significance are located within just six oblasts, not to mention that 94% of all of the cities in
Ternopil Oblast Ternopil Oblast ( uk, Тернопі́льська о́бласть, translit=Ternopilska oblast; also referred to as Ternopilshchyna, uk, Терно́пільщина, label=none, or Ternopillia, uk, Тернопілля, label=none) is an obl ...
and 82% in
Chernivtsi Oblast Chernivtsi Oblast ( uk, Черніве́цька о́бласть, Chernivetska oblast), also referred to as Chernivechchyna ( uk, Чернівеччина) is an oblast (province) in Western Ukraine, consisting of the northern parts of the regio ...
are designated cities of district significance. These numbers are particularly higher than those in other regions throughout Ukraine due to a lower number of larger cities that could meet the status of
cities of regional significance City of regional significance ( uk, місто обласного значення, ''misto oblasnoho znachennia'') in Ukraine was a type of second-level administrative division or municipality, the other type being raions (districts). In the fi ...
. Out of the 276 cities of district significance, 89 of them (32% of them) are not administrative centers of their surrounding rural raions. Only four out of 24 cities of district significance in Donetsk Oblast are administrative centers; seven out of 23 in Luhansk Oblast; three out of seven in
Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ( uk, Дніпропетро́вська о́бласть, translit=Dnipropetrovska oblast), also referred to as Dnipropetrovshchyna ( uk, Дніпропетро́вщина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, obla ...
; and 17 out of 35 in Lviv Oblast. Every city of district significance in
Cherkasy Cherkasy ( uk, Черка́си, ) is a city in central Ukraine. Cherkasy is the Capital city, capital of Cherkasy Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of Cherkasky Raion (Raion, district) within the oblast. The c ...
,
Khmelnytskyi Khmelnytskyi ( uk, Хмельни́цький, Khmelnytskyi, ), until 1954 Proskuriv ( uk, Проску́рів, links=no ), is a city in western Ukraine, the administrative center for Khmelnytskyi Oblast (region) and Khmelnytskyi Raion (dist ...
,
Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Southern Ukraine, the Administrative centre, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides U ...
,
Rivne Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...
, Zhytomytr, and
Zakarpattia Zakarpattia may refer to: * Zakarpattia Oblast, an administrative region of modern Ukraine, on the inner side of the Carpathians ** Zakarpattia Oblast Council, regional assembly of Zakarpattia Oblast ** Administrative divisions of Zakarpattia Obla ...
oblasts are also administrative centers of their respective raions.


Nomenclature

A city of district significance can also be referred to as a city of district importance, depending on the translation from the original Ukrainian terminology. For the same category of cities in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the subject of a territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine, the term for this type of urban populated place is a city of district subordination ( uk, місто районного підпорядкування , ). Cities of district significance and similarly named categories date back to the forms of local government and administrative divisions of
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. In countries of the former Soviet Union, these types of cities are subject to similar characteristics and economic categories as those that are located in Ukraine. In neighboring
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, they are referred to as
cities of district significance A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
(russian: город районного значения, ), while in
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
, they are known as cities of district subordination ( be, горад раённага падпарадкавання, ).


See also

* Geography of Ukraine * City of regional significance, similar category for larger cities * ISO 3166-2:UA *
List of cities in Ukraine This is a complete list of cities in Ukraine. On 1 January 2022, there were 461 cities ( uk, місто, ''misto'') in Ukraine. City status is granted by the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. The city status is only partially related to th ...
, sortable list of cities by region and population * List of places named after people (Ukraine)


References

Notes Footnotes Bibliography * *


External links

* * {{Cities in Ukraine Cities by type
District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
Subdivisions of Ukraine