Nizhny Novgorod Agglomeration — a grouping of cities around Nizhny Novgorod. The resulting megalopolis is a core element of Nizhny Novgorod Civilization.
Nature of the phenomenon
It functions to some degree as an interregional center of socioeconomic development and attraction for the Upper Volga macro-region, and weakly so for the Volga Region as a whole (despite holding the Capital Status of the Volga Federal District). Its prospects are tied to incorporation into the emerging "central megalopolis", although local authorities have made attempts to "breathe new life" into the area through the construction of a new Satellite City — "Russian Manhattan."
Medium-term forecasts
Having previously shared at least fourth place with the Yekaterinburg agglomeration, the two-million-strong Nizhny Novgorod Agglomeration dropped to fifth in the post-Soviet years due to more pronounced depopulation of both its core and its suburbs.
For this reason, and owing to its proximity (400 km as the crow flies) to the Moscow agglomeration, specialists assess that the Nizhny Novgorod Agglomeration has, on its own, exhausted its development potential and holds limited prospects.
Characteristics of the territory
One of the distinctive features of the Nizhny Novgorod Agglomeration is the pronounced contrast in its natural landscape, economy, and settlement pattern: roughly one-quarter of its territory lies on the high upland bank of the Volga River and the Oka, while more than three-quarters occupies the low-lying bank and the Zavolzhye area.