Examples of research, statistical supervision and management of urban agglomeration development
in several developed countries are considered. Directions of foreign experience use in
planning and management of the St.-Petersburg agglomeration are revealed.

The article is concerned with the study of epistemological significance of multiregional transport
systems. It is demonstrated by the example of Tikhvin water system, built 200 years ago, that
such objects may appear as not only a subject of historical or geographical studies, but also the
scope of activities in other fields of science. Thus, in fact, it was the need of building the Tikhvin
system owing to which the operations having laid the foundations of Russian hydrology and water
engineering were executed, and the development of Tikhvin system itself has provided the possibilities
of making primary discoveries in such fields of science and engineering as geology (the
first discovery of bauxite deposit in Russia), anthropology, shipbuilding.
The practical significance of similar transport systems (including ones taken out of service
due to loss of economic expediency) lies not only in fact that a number of discoveries made during
its construction is still being used, but also in that these systems up to the present day appear the
most interesting objects of scientific research including the expeditions held by the Russian geographical
society.