Assessment of the Digitalization Potential for the Spatial Development of Northern Territories

The authors consider conceptual approaches to determining the impact of digital transformation on the spatial development of the northern territories and propose their own understanding of assessing the potential of digitalization, which makes it possible to obtain a fairly verifiable picture of the localization of digitalization opportunities at the regional level. In the course of the study, territorial differentiation was revealed in terms of the level of implementation of digital technologies, and a number of characteristics of the types of regions were determined in this context. Based on the obtained assessment of the potential, the authors present promising areas of digitalization that can affect the spatial development of the northern (Arctic) territories. The carried out assessment showed that in most of the subjects of the Russian Federation, the selected areas correspond to those identified as promising economic specializations in the Spatial Development Strategy. At the same time, those regions were identified in which these positions do not coincide. The authors believe that the implementation of a reliable assessment of the potential of digitalization on the basis of the proposed methodology will allow to implement more effective management solutions in solving the problems of spatial planning of the northern territories of Russia and will allow using the specific features of the North as an advantage in its development.