Human Spatial Mobility and the Role of Dachas in the Old-Developed Areas

This article considers labor and dacha (second home) return migrations in Russia. These types of population spatial mobility have much greater extent than moving to a permanent place of residence. Temporary work outside the place of permanent residence was typical for the old-developed regions around Moscow and St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 20th century. In the 21st century, this has become widespread due to job cuts and wage differences between large centers and small towns with rural areas. The life of citizens in two homes: in the city in winter and in the countryside on dachas (second homes) in summer and on weekends is also typical feature of Russia. The authors attempt to compare the migration flows for permanent residence, labor and dacha migrations in the old-developed regions of the Center of Russia. Two main types of dachas are considered: houses in garden settlements relatively close to cities and houses of citizens in villages, often in remote areas. To study the current and potential dacha development, remote sensing images are used, which make it possible to see not only organized dacha settlements, but also to reveal the actual summer population of rural areas according to the state of rural houses and surrounding territories. The maps show villages with a population of less than 100 inhabitants, which are most popular for urban summer residents and their accessibility from federal roads and small towns. Areas of potential seasonal dacha resettlement of rural areas and zones of its social desertification have been identified.