Connectivity of the Regions of the South of Western Siberia in the Indicators of Population Spatial Mobility

The article presents the results of a study of the connectivity of the regions of the South of Western Siberia based on the indicators of population spatial mobility—one type of interregional interactions. The types of subregional and interregional connected spaces, including conurbations, are described. The possibilities of using various data sources to study the spatial mobility of Russians are shown. The socioeconomic and infrastructural features of the regions of the South of Western Siberia are also described. Data on travel time between regional centers when traveling by car, bus, or train were analyzed. It was revealed that the time spent traveling between such cities is minimal by car. The transport connectivity of all cities with Novosibirsk is better than with each other, which indicates that the space of the South of Western Siberia is monocentric for this indicator. To determine the migration links of Siberian regions based on Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat) data, the values of the coefficients of interregional migration links intensity were calculated in pairs between regions. Closer migration links between the regions of the Western Siberia’s South show their connectivity, and the presence of several pairs of territories among them with more intense migration links indicates the polycentric nature of macroregional migration interactions. Based on sociological data obtained in telephone surveys with people in Tomsk oblast and Altai krai in 2021, spatial mobility is described using the case of occasional trips outside the region according to such parameters as intensity, direction, modes of transport used, and purpose of travel. It was revealed that the structure of priority directions of occasional mobility coincides with the directions of intensive migration movements. Among the vehicles used on occasional trips, passenger vehicles predominate; the key purposes of occasional mobility are social, recreational, and work. The analysis shows that spatial connectivity through the population mobility is ensured largely due to the desire to maintain social contacts.