Inter-Municipal Interaction in the Process of Metropolitan Agglomeration Development in the Russian Federation

The development of metropolitan agglomerations is an urgent issue in the Russian Federation because urban clusters depend on inter-municipal cooperation. The authors analyzed the existing models of inter-municipal cooperation to define the most relevant issues of metropolitan development. Since interaction models must comply with the federal legislation, an ideal form of inter-municipal cooperation does not exist. Subjects of the Russian Federation maintain associative, contractual, and economic cooperation, or a combination of these forms. Sustainable ecological and socio-economic growth of metropolitan agglomerations needs an effective governance arrangement. Inter-municipal cooperation is a legal tool that makes it possible to implement agglomeration projects, to combine financial and labor resources, to solve issues of territorial planning, etc. The form of inter-municipal interaction should be selected in line with the goals and objectives of a particular agglomeration in order to meet the standards of spatial development of the Russian Federation. Municipalities are limited in their autonomy and inter-municipal cooperation by imperative norms of the law. Therefore, inter-municipal cooperation in the sphere of metropolitan development must fully comply with legal regulations and prohibitions.