Аннотация
The article examines the urbanization processes of Kostanay in a historical retrospective, the current mood in the youth environment regarding reproductive and migration strategies of behavior, and also draws conclusions about the future prospects of urbanization, taking into account the obtained data and the general planning of the city's development until 2050. The historical component reveals data on the population of the city from 1897 to the present period, considering historical events and key trends that influenced the course of the urbanization process, its dynamics, population composition and migration motives. The research part of the article describes the results of a survey of 500 respondents, namely, students and working youth aged 16 to 26, as well as data on 1000 parents of respondents. During the survey, it was found that ethnic Kazakh youth has a greater potential for internal migration (41 %), and ethnic Russian youth — for emigration (68 %). Almost a third of the respondents are considering the possibility of emigration abroad. The average number of children per family of respondents (brothers and sisters), as well as in families of parents, was established, which amounted to 2.6 and 4.87 children, respectively. In conclusion, considering the annexation of suburbs and population growth up to 380 — 410 thousand people in the next 30 years, the prospects for the development of the city, its ability to increase the territory are emphasized.