The article examines possible scenarios for the development of the city of Rostov-on-Don, which allow giving a comprehensive assessment of its likely future. The authors give three possible scenarios for long-term development of Rostov-on-Don – a negative scenario, a positive scenario and an inertia one. In all scenarios the social and economic development will be strongly influenced, above all, by the degree of participation of the city in the creation and development of the Rostov agglomeration area as a center of Southern Russia.