Development opportunities in Yekaterinburg as a university city

Introduction.The article is devoted to the development of Yekaterinburg as a university city. Based on scientific literature and open information on recognized university cities of the world, the criteria and features of cities of this type are determined. Particular attention in the study is paid to modern Russian cities. A comparative analysis of recognized Russian university cities has been carried out. The conclusion is made about the possibilities of Yekaterinburg becoming a university city. Materials and methods. The basis of the work is a comparative analysis, in which regional specifics and the experience of individual national states play a key role. To reinforce the conclusions and theses, secondary data from open sources are used. Results and discussion. The key parameters of the definition of a university city, applicable to describe the experience of Russia, are identified: campus; sister cities; positioning the city as a university. To conduct a comparative analysis of the cities of Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, the following criteria were identified: the proportion of students in the total population, %; position in the ranking of cultural cities; position in the ranking of cities by the quality of public transport; the number of foreign students. Based on the analysis, it is obvious that Yekaterinburg can claim the title of the “Student Capital” of Russia, especially through the development of international relations and the attraction of foreign students, the construction of a new campus on the NovokoltsovskyTrakt, as well as the increase in areas of support under the Campus program. Conclusion. The absence of a normative concept of a university city in Russia makes it possible at this stage to form the concept of attributing cities to this type on certain criteria.