Evelina Filatova1, Emilia Patarchanova2
1PhD Student 2Associate Professor
1, 2 Department of Geography, Ecology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, South-West University “Neofit Rilski”, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
1ORCID ID: 0009-0000-3356-9904 2ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1806-557X
Corresponding Author: Evelina Filatova filatova.e@swu.bg
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https://doi.org/10.63711/ijdr.net20250309
ABSTRACT
Cities have always been drivers of culture and social progress. They are centers of socio-economic life, concentrating not only population, but also infrastructure, services, and others on their territory. Urban change is most often characterized by two main units of measurement: the degree of urbanization and the rate of growth of the urban population. Intensive urbanization in conditions of rapid population growth and its activity is a basic prerequisite for the need to create scientifically based concepts for the city and settlement formations. The development of settlements is an essential part of the development of society. Historical and geographical knowledge is necessary to clarify the genesis of settlements and understand modern settlement processes. From their formation as a geographical feature with an increasing concentration of functions and population on a limited territory to their current state of a complex and dynamic social organism, the development of cities gives rise to significant research interest. The settlement type of the city is relatively young, if compared to villages. The city is the result of the division of labor, the differentiation and concentration of non-agricultural activities. The emergence and development of certain cities must be linked to their place and contribution to public life during different periods. The growing industrialization since the middle of the last century has led to strong urbanization, which poses many challenges to cities, both in Europe and Bulgaria, and around the world. The growth of cities leads to serious demographic and economic changes, which modern cities have difficulty coping with. Therefore, they need research for the purpose of planning and good management in the name of citizens and business.
Keywords: City development, Urbanization, Urban population, Spatial organization
