Theoretical Foundations of the City Social Space Study

Abstract

Cities are always in the focus of research attention due to their special importance for the present and future development of society. A city is a unity and a clash of mutually exclusive projections, trends, forms, which makes it a unique, specific, multifaceted phenomenon not just of the social life of its citizens, communities, but a basic element of civilization, a bond of a scattered and atomic world. Modern transformational changes are manifested most vividly and on a large scale in cities, hence the search for adequate measures, resources, management models for embedding in the context of the changes taking place. The search for conditions and tools for managing the development of cities is important. Strengthening the importance of social factors and elements for society, at the same time actualizes both scientific and practical interest in the social space of the city. The purpose of this article is to describe the theoretical foundations of the study of social space, its elements as an object of management in the context of the transition to digitalization. The social space of the city as a spatio-temporal focus of social activity, identity, normative perceptions of citizens is accepted as the basic object of research. The novelty of the article is determined by: an integrated approach to research, which is a combination of various scientific directions and schools; additional argumentation to substantiate the essence of the concepts of the stated topic; an attempt to translate abstract categories into indicators for management purposes. Analysis of modern ideas and classifications that characterize the concept of «smart city», the experience of its implementation allowed expanding the understanding of the characteristics of the «smart city dweller» and his role as a city dweller. A review of research works made it possible to reveal the meaning and characteristics of different types of space, the connectivity of space and place, the properties of urban practices, and modern municipal governance. The paper presents the argumentation that allows to identify the relationship between the main indicators of the city social space: modern and traditional (thick/thin) urban identity of citizens, urban identity of citizens and the identity of the city, forms of involvement and participation of citizens.