Shymkent agglomeration

The population of the agglomeration, according to the Project of the interregional territorial development scheme of the Shymkent agglomeration, by the end of 2017 amounted to 1.8 million people (10% of the population of the Republic of Kazakhstan) ^[1] , which makes it the second largest agglomeration of the country (after Almaty in 2 5 million people). Demographic capacity (the limit of the population that the territory can accommodate, taking into account land, water and food resources) of the Shymkent agglomeration, according to estimates, is about 4.07 million people ^[3] .

According to the data for 2016, the Shymkent agglomeration showed a migration decline (8 thousand people), only in the city of Shymkent there was a migration increase (5 thousand), which did not compensate for the migration loss that was observed in all other cities and regions of the agglomeration (13 thousand) ^[6] .

Shymkent agglomeration incorporates 367 settlements located on the territory of 1573.5 thousand hectares. Using the isochron method (1.5-hour transport accessibility), the structure of the Shymkent agglomeration was determined. Its area of ​​influence includes: the center (core) - the city of Shymkent, the Arys city administration (including Arys ), Baidibek, Tulkubassky, Kazygurt (including the village of Kazygurt ), Tolebi (including the city of Lenger ), Ordabasynsky and Sairamsky areas (including the villages of Mankent and Sairam ) ^[3] .

51% of the territory of the Shymkent agglomeration are the territories of the city akimat of Arys and the Baidibek district (14.8 thousand km²), however, the population of these territories (129,320 people as of January 1, 2017) is only 7.6% of the total population of the agglomeration. Excluding these territories, the population density of the Shymkent agglomeration will be 109 people / km².

It is predicted that the population of the Shymkent agglomeration in 2020 will be 1.9 million people, by 2030 - more than 2.3 million ^[1] . For the agglomeration, priority was given to the development of high-speed rail ground transport (including on the suburban routes Shymkent-Lenger, Shymkent-Arys and others), unified public transport and small aviation within the agglomeration.

Given the competitive advantages of the Shymkent agglomeration, measures will be taken to develop it as ^[3] :

• industrial and innovation center of the region;
• regional agricultural processing center;
• regional pharmaceutical cluster;
• Center for transport and logistics services and distribution of the region;
• tourist and historical-cultural center of the region ^[3] .

Due to the fact that the process of urban growth in the Shymkent and Almaty agglomerations is proceeding at a rapid pace and is accompanied by an aggravation of environmental, transport and social problems, it was recommended that their centers stop new industrial construction and also remove parts of existing industries outside the city limits. Recommended measures to improve the environment ^[3] .