Abstract: The presented research is part of the work on the formulation of the principles of urban development of northern settlements. The object of this study is the territories of settlements located in the arctic climate of the extreme North. The subject of the study is the patterns of formation of the environment of northern settlements in the context of the problem of the life cycle. The author emphasizes the primary and determining role of natural and climatic conditions. Such elements of the life cycle as the place of employment, population, and infrastructure are considered in more detail in order to find their relationship and determine the role of each of them. Special attention is paid to the study of real-life settlements (Kadykchan, Halmer-Yu, Ynykchan, Iultin) located in extreme climatic conditions of the North and now closed. Using their example, the patterns of the life cycle of the northern settlement are analyzed to determine the prospects for further urban development. The research method implies a consistent analysis of the elements of the life cycle of the designated settlements (place of employment, population, infrastructure), as well as the execution of graphoanalytical materials. The novelty of the study lies in identifying the features of the elements of the life cycle of the actually existing northern settlements, the life cycle of which has already been completed. The main conclusions based on the results of the study are the following provisions:
1. The primacy of the place of application of labor relative to the other two elements of the life cycle.
2. The duration of the life cycle and the success of the existence of a settlement is determined by the harmonious interrelation of its elements.
3. The need for an infrastructure element in the context of the values of the XXI century at any stage of the life cycle of a settlement.
4. The formation and existence of a northern settlement should not be an end in itself: a timely choice of a vector for "compression" of the settlement may be acceptable and environmentally rational.
The prospects for further research should be focused on the concept of a master plan for settlements in extreme climatic conditions of the North. The use of the concept of the life cycle of the northern settlement is proposed as the main basis for master planning.