THE INSTITUTIONAL ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN SHAPING THE URBAN SPACE OF POST-REFORM KHERSON (SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to define the institutional role of the Kherson City Duma and the city administration in shaping the urban space of post-reform Kherson based on an analysis of municipal records, as well as to analyze the mechanisms through which local self-government influenced the modernization of the city’s infrastructure, socio-functional organization, and management practices, which shaped the nature of the city’s urban transformations during the post-reform era. The methodological foundation of the study is modernization theory, which allows for the interpretation of urban self-government as the driving force behind the transition from traditional to rationalized forms of urban space management. Additionally, elements of historical-genetic and structural-functional analysis are applied, enabling the identification of interrelationships between administrative decisions, economic resources, and spatial practices of urban development. The main focus of the article is on the analysis of the minutes of the Kherson City Duma meetings, which reflect key areas of urban policy: the development of transportation and logistics infrastructure (cleaning the Dnipro estuaries, regulating navigation, and establishing commercial infrastructure), the modernization of public utilities (water supply, sanitation, and urban improvement), as well as the institutionalization of educational and cultural spaces (reorganization of educational institutions and support for theatrical life). Particular attention is paid to mechanisms for financing urban projects, municipal lending practices, and the city’s interaction with state agencies. The conclusions emphasize that Kherson’s municipal government served as a key institution in the modernization of the urban space, combining administrative, financial, and infrastructural tools of influence. At the same time, its activities demonstrate limited autonomy, constrained by the imperial regulatory framework, even despite the full independence granted to municipal institutions by the 1870 reform, which shaped the specific nature of urbanization processes in the southern Ukrainian region.