RESULTS OF THE TERRITORIAL COMMUNITIES’ SURVEY ON THEIR IDENTIFICATION AND POSITIONING TO IMPROVE THE LIFE QUALITY OF POPULATION

Section Economics: Socio-Economic Problems of Regional Development

Abstract

The results of the territorial communities’ survey on their identification and positioning to improve the quality of life, which conducted among representatives of territorial communities of Luhansk and Donetsk regions located in the territories controlled by the Ukrainian government, were generalized. Its purpose was to determine the opinion of the respondents regarding the quality of life in the communi ties, their vision of the community uniqueness, as well as an idea of its image and positioning. Information collected on identifiers and signs of the communities’ attractiveness, the attitude of community residents to changes in the quality of life in the reform process, the desired directions for the future communities’ development, a vision of their positioning, the role of community branding and advertising. It was determined that the majority of the interviewed respondents positively assess the living environment of their communities, and not, however, associating changes for the better with decentralization. The subjective residents’ vision of their own community formed by the following main identifiers, such as the availability of administrative services, the condition of highways and sidewalks, infrastructure for recreation and leisure. The community attractiveness, according to the respondents, determined by the availability and level of administrative services, comfort of living and convenient transport location. The main obstacles for improving the quality of life, as well as the primary resources for its impro vement, are considered by the majority of respondents to be ineffective local authorities, as well as lack of initiative and activity of residents. More than 70% of respondents identified a negative impact on the development of the proximity of their community to the zone of armed conflict. The tendency of the respondents to focus more on problems than on the achievements of communities ascertained. In addition, trend of greater accentuation of respondents on the issues, as well as a certain indifference about the future of their community, in the process of determining the positioning of their own community and the vision of its image manifested most clearly in the number of uncertain options. It substantiates that the results obtained can be extrapolated to all communities in the region, and are the basis for optimizing the strategic planning process for the development of territorial communities, which will contribute to improving the life quality of population.