Smart Territories Rating: Methodological Foundations and Key Indicators

The relevance of the study lies in the fact that, taking into account the currently large-scale, comprehensive and irreversible digitalization of various spheres of life, including municipal economy, it is necessary to expand the conceptual framework of a smart city, since further emphasis on this concept can exacerbate the already significant imbalances between megacities and large cities, on the one hand, and other settlements., on the other hand. The subject is factors affecting the quality of life of the population of the periphery, taking into account which and the practical implementation of appropriate measures will allow us to talk about the development of smart territories. The purpose of the work is to analyze approaches to the design of the corresponding rating, substantiate the principles of its organization, and propose a system of indicators based on the conceptualization of the phenomenon of smart territories and highlighting their specifics in comparison with smart cities. The author shows the role and importance of the smart territory rating as an effective indirect management tool that can be a driver of profound transformations, and also identifies and classifies the following possible types of smart territories: urban agglomerations, smart regions, or spaces located in close proximity to a regional center or other large city. It is noted that at the first stage, «titular» municipal districts and districts can be considered as potential smart territories, first of all. The rating of smart territories is based on technocratic, human-centered, systemic, strategic and other traditional approaches to the interpretation and rating of smart cities. The analysis of foreign and Russian ratings of smart cities revealed comparable parameters. Based on the results of the study, the principles of forming a rating of smart territories were formulated – both general in comparison with smart cities, as well as specific, as well as auxiliary ones. In order to build a variant of the rating, 41 indicators were selected, belonging to eight groups, reflecting the basic conditions, the development of smart elements and systems in certain areas of the formation of smart territories in order to ensure national security, increase their economic and demographic potential.