Abstract
The article is an analysis of the settlement systems development of East Asian countries from the point of view of the adopted measures of urban planning regulation and their resulting effect on the spatial populated areas development. A sample of countries with the greatest potential for identifying various representative principles of urban planning regulation and geographical dispersion – China, Japan and Singapore – was taken for the study. The time range of the analysis is from the 80s of the XX century to the 20s of the XXI century, corresponding to the period of the most active urbanization in the countries of East Asia, influenced by domestic urban policies and global social processes. Based on the analysis, the key principles in the formation of the approach to urban planning regulation of the settlement systems development in China, Japan and Singapore are defined. To conduct a comparative analysis and assess the effectiveness and adequacy of the application of certain principles of regulation in urban planning activities in the Russian Federation, several criteria are introduced, considering the domestic specifics of urban planning activities. The study proposes an algorithm of actions to introduce and implement one of the principles compatible with Russian urban planning in the process of spatial development.