Spatial diversification of the social sphere development in the Carpathian-Podillia region

Anotace: The article is devoted to the problem of the social sphere functioning of the areas in the Carpathian-Podillia region, in particular the emphasis is placed on the differentiation of the levels of its individual components, the dynamics of their changes and the complex analysis of functionality. The state of this sphere directly influences the economy and culture of the country and the region, and therefore the sectors of education, health care, culture, housing and communal services, etc. play a significant role in the economic development of the territory. Territorial boundaries of the research are defined within Transcarpathian, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi and Ternopil regions, among which there are established economic, labor-resource and informational-communicative connections, which also should be considered as the strong side of such cooperation. Also there were applicators in each of the suggested groups, demonstrating the functionality of the corresponding component of the social sphere (in some cases, two of them, in others five). At the first stage, we evaluated and analysed each component of the social sphere separately, based on selected applicators, which are reflected in thematic cartographic models. According to the results of the research, within the areas of the Carpathian-Podillia region there is a balanced development of the social sphere and its constituent parts. Lviv region is clearly by a high level of organization of the educational sphere, culture, trade and mass catering, as well as communication. For most areas of the region (Vinnytsia, Transcarpathian, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi) there is a very narrow amplitude of summary indicators, which can confirm that in the consolidated form, the level of functioning of the social sphere does not have a significant difference in these regions. Hypertrophic development of one or two indicators is detected in each of the evaluated areas, while the majority of them are at a low level. The indicators of low level of social sphere formation in Chernivtsi region are justified. A summary table is prepared on the level of functionality of the social sphere according to the selected criteria within the specified regions. The conducted study allows determining the strategic directions of the social sphere development in the Carpathian-Podillia region in general as well as its individual areas. In addition, a comparative analysis of the social sphere development level to the indicators of the Western Ukrainian region and Ukrainian based on the statistics from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine is provided.