INTEGRATIVE THEORY OF URBAN FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT: SYNTHESIS OF TEKTOLOGY, CENTAURISTICS, AND THE CLUSTER APPROACH

Abstract

This paper advances an integrative theoretical framework for understanding urban formation and development by synthesizing three complementary strands of thought. First, it draws on A. A. Bogdanov’s Tektology as a universal science of organization, emphasizing systemic principles of structure, feedback, and transformation. Second, it incorporates D. S. Danin’s concept of Centauristics, which highlights the methodological potential of reconciling seemingly incompatible elements through constructive complementarity. Third, it employs a cluster-based model of urban systems to operationalize processes of specialization, integration, and disintegration across spatial and temporal scales. Within this framework, the city is conceptualized as a multi-level, adaptive system in which formative and regulatory mechanisms, recursive feedbacks, and the dynamics of ingression and desingression shape the emergence and evolution of functional clusters. The approach provides practical instruments for comprehensive urban diagnostics, design of inter-cluster interfaces, adaptive coordination, and interdisciplinary capacity-building. Special attention is given to temporal integration, balancing short-term operational measures with long-term strategic trajectories, and establishing mechanisms for horizontal and vertical governance coordination. By emphasizing crises as transition points that catalyze reform and innovation, the paper outlines a platform for empirical validation and pilot implementation across diverse urban contexts. The proposed framework contributes to urban theory by linking systemic organizational principles with applied tools for sustainable and resilient urban development.