Lack of urban landscape: hidden risks for the development of megacities

Urban space, as the process of urbanization develops, deformes the natural environment, adapting it to its own needs. The natural growth of urban populations, the inclusion of suburban areas or the transformation of rural areas entail the need to distribute natural complexes in order to minimize the direct and indirect impact of man, as well as the effects of his activities on the natural components of the environment. At the same time, assessment of indicators of comfort of a city landscape based not on subjective judgment of the individual, and use of a complex of data (indicators of the area of territories, city forests, forests, population, average life expectancy acted as criteria), allowed the author to carry out the analysis of forest exploitation of city forests of megalopolises as podjobjekt of ensuring economic security and permanent development of the forest industry at the territorial (regional) level. The ecological and social orientation of the study of fifteen millionaire cities of Russia found non-compliance with forest area standards in the eleven largest settlements of the country. The author ranked the megacities of Russia according to the criterion «placement of urban forests». The presented methodology for diagnosing forest management in millionaire cities allows you to identify trends in meeting the needs of the population in urban forests and justify the formation of challenges to the economic safety of the forest industry, including those related to the life expectancy of the population and the amount of money allocated for the maintenance and development of urban forests.

urban landscape, economic security, urban forests, megacities, forest management diagnostics