Uzbekistan is undergoing a period of rapid urbanization and chaotic urban growth and expansion, while its cities are struggling to become the drivers of economic growth and improved well-being largely as they are poorly managed and undersupplied with infrastructure, basic services, and amenities. The government of Uzbekistan has recognized the importance of tackling the challenge of urban expansion and moving to a better-managed model of urban growth. As a part of this new approach, the World Bank is supporting the Government of Uzbekistan with a loan to finance the Medium-Size Cities Integrated Urban Development program which combines investment in infrastructure and livability in id-size cities with capacity building at the national level to support government’s effort of managing urbanization better. The initiative includes plans to develop a country Urbanization strategy that should underpin the National Medium-size cities program and define investment and policy priorities in urban development for the years to come. In order to develop a better understanding of how cities comprising the system of cities in Uzbekistan functionally interact and connect, and inform infrastructure and service provision investments as well as critical national reforms for urban development, the World Bank is carrying out a spatial analysis including an analysis of population mobility.

This is a result of Habidatum’s mobile network (Beeline Uzbekistan) depersonalized data analysis under an assignment of the World Bank. The purpose of this report is to bring the attention of policymakers to the importance of integrating vast urbanized territories that emerged as a result of a chaotic urban build-up expansion in recent years around major urban centers of Uzbekistan and to inform infrastructure investment decisions that could support spatial integration and further the socio-economic development within these expansive urban agglomerations of FUAs (Functional urban areas).For that, we define the boundaries of FUA around 6 largest urban centers (Tashkent  and Chirchiq, Samarqand, Namangan, Denau/Denov, Urgench) based on the commuting patterns that indicate the extent of the catchment area of the city’s labor market. We then classify areas within each FUA. Area classes themselves may signal certain development needs and strategies.For example, acceptor areas attracting workers but not yet as populated and diverse as urban centers, may become the main targets in polycentric development strategy in the role of secondary centers. Or, donor areas losing population in competition with larger urban centers located far away, may be seen as development targets in terms of reducing commute, either through developing alternative job concentrations and workforce magnets or through developing high-speed connections with the existing far away urban centers.