2011 Issue №1(7)

The territorial cohesion concept became a key priority of the European spatial development policy due to the growing awareness of the role of geography in ensuring sustainable regional development. The article is focused on the way of adapting this concept to the Kaliningrad region as a foundation for a sustainable spatial development policy in the context of the EU and the Baltic Sea Region cohesion policy.

The territories of Vistula and Curonian lagoons, centrally located in the cross-border region, have numerous remarkable nature sites as well as monuments of history and culture. The article analyses the internal and external factors affecting the development of the Russian segment of the transborder "Southeastern Baltic" tourism and recreation region.

This article focuses on opportunities for studying cultural landscapes in the Kaliningrad region and offers methodology for it. The author outlines types of the information required: genetic types of natural landscapes, spatial settlement and land use features, and the network components of the landscapes environment.

The article focuses on the problems related to the disparities in the settlement system of the Kaliningrad region, the problems of small and semi-mediumsized towns, and the role of such towns in solving the regional development problems of the Kaliningrad region. The author analyses the Lithuanian experience of revitalizing small towns. The article outlines the ways to apply this experience to the Kaliningrad region.