Project Russia magazine published a detailed interview with one of the authors of the Urban Planning Code of the Russian Federation, Eduard Trutnev. The conversation was about the painful problems of the legal city administration in Moscow and the Moscow region. The expert noted that the current metropolitan authorities have followed the destructive path of their predecessors, turning to the practice of manual control. As an example, for the territories annexed to the capital, most likely, an "exclusive" law on land relations will be adopted, allowing the authorities to seize any land for new construction. In addition, the expert spoke critically about the Urban Planning and Land Commission (GZK), outlined measures to establish urban regulation in the capital and the region, and also told how residents can resist sealing development.
At the same time, RBC daily spoke with Vladimir Resin, the ex-head of the Moscow construction complex and a member of the GZK. Unlike Eduard Trutnev, the deputy considers the draft law on land acquisition vital for the successful implementation of the Big Moscow project.
Urban planning issues were discussed during the week in the regional press. As Aktualno.ru wrote, the Yekaterinburg public was agitated by the news of public hearings on the project for further development of the city. In the opinion of the townspeople, the implementation of the project will lead to the development of park areas and the demolition of cultural heritage sites. Meanwhile, in Perm, Kommersant reported, the first meeting of the town planning council under the governor is scheduled to be held by the end of February. Its agenda will be to discuss the General Plan of the city.
Continuing the theme of urban planning, "Expert" devoted an article to the problems of renovating industrial zones in Russia. There are only a few successful experiences in revitalizing such territories in our country. The main reason, according to the publication, lies in the absence of clear mechanisms for the development of industrial zones, on the one hand, and the understanding that an individual plan is needed for each specific case, on the other. Also, the presence of architectural monuments in industrial zones, poor transport accessibility, lack of mechanisms for interaction between the authorities, business and the public often play a role. In the second article, the publication published 10 myths that, according to the adviser to the CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, Richard Tibbott, are interfering with the effective transformation of industrial zones.
The transport situation in the capital was actively discussed in the press. RBK daily posted the opinion of the Belgian urbanist Pierre Lacont, who believes that Moscow needs to invest in public transport, and not increase the number of highways. “Municipal authorities tend to overestimate the number of motorists' votes,” he says, proposing to focus on the development of rail transport, including the subway.
However, the Moscow authorities are still following the path of increasing the number and size of highways. So, in the capital, the discussion of the reconstruction of Leninsky Prospekt continues. In an interview with Moskovskiye Novosti, Chief Engineer of the Research and Development Institute of the General Plan of Moscow Mikhail Krestmain spoke about the details of the project, in particular, why the highway will be traffic-free, whether it will be equipped with pedestrian crossings, and whether green spaces will suffer during the project's implementation. He assured: “on Leninsky Prospekt, it was decided that the roadway towards the residential buildings would not move a single meter” and said that the start of construction was scheduled for 2014.
And in St. Petersburg, the struggle for the development of cycling infrastructure continues. Cycling activists of the city discussed the problem of suspension of the program for the development of cycling, - this was reported by "ZAKS.ru". At the same time, as reported by "My District", Governor Georgy Poltavchenko assured the public that Smolny did not refuse to build bike paths, and the project is currently undergoing approval.
Also during the week, the Moscow press paid attention to the transformation of public spaces. Izvestia spoke about the project for the improvement of the Crimean embankment, developed by the Wowhaus bureau together with Evgeny Ass. The concept implies the transformation of the embankment into a pedestrian zone with bike paths, cafes and even a pontoon embankment. The project, according to the publication, has already received the approval of the chief architect of the capital.
In addition, wrote The Village, the Wowhaus bureau has developed a concept for the development of the Boulevard Ring. And "ITAR TASS" published an article about what the Moscow cultural and exhibition cluster "Bolshaya Volkhonka" can be like.
In St. Petersburg, the issue of transforming public spaces is no less relevant than in the capital. So, the story with the Apraksin yard was continued. Nevskoe Vremya reported, however, with a clause about the unofficiality of the data, that after a personal meeting between Governor Georgy Poltavchenko and Oleg Deripaska, owner of Glavstroy St. Petersburg, the parties came to an agreement to extend the investment agreement.
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Many publications this week have been devoted to the topic of heritage conservation. In St. Petersburg, at a meeting of the Council for Cultural Heritage, they discussed the catastrophic state of wooden architecture monuments both in the city and in the Leningrad region, as well as plans to save the buildings - Novaya Gazeta SPb wrote about this. Ok-inform reported that the Council also raised the issue of the need to include buildings, which are a vivid example of Soviet architecture in the second half of the 20th century, in the list of objects protected by the state.
And finally, some good news regarding heritage preservation. Kommersant informed that the Moscow City Duma adopted in the 1st reading amendments to the legislation increasing fines for illegal work on protected historical buildings to 1 million rubles. Zvezdny Boulevard spoke about the upcoming restoration of the Ostankino estate, which will involve the French restorers who participated in the restoration of Versailles. And in Samara, they wrote "Arguments and Facts", a large-scale restoration of more than 100 architectural monuments is planned.
