Review article

The present article is the first part of the study devoted to the evolution of the spatial-planning structure of Kharkov. The conditions for the formation of the basic planning structure of the city are specified, and the development features during the period of Kharkov`s expanding as a commercial and industrial city are revealed. It is proved that the development of the radial direction of the city's street network basically remains unchanged, the city having been originally founded at the confluence of two rivers where the fortress was built. The stages of transformation of the spatial-planning structure of the city are determined. It is revealed that this transformation has been dictated by the landscape-geographical, economic, and historical-political factors. The study was carried out by the method of retrospective and landscape analysis and the method of graphic modeling based on cartographic material.