scholarly journals NATIONAL URBAN POLICY IN RUSSIA AND THE EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE

Baltic Region ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-20
Author(s):  
Olga V. Kuznetsova

This article analyses the features, shortcomings, prospects, and limitations of Russia’s national urban policy (NUP) and its international counterparts to formulate proposals for the further development of the Russian NUP. To this end, the study examines international documents and publications on NUP, particularly German ones, and Russian regulatory legal acts. The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to the resilience of cities to crises and the development of urban green spaces. Germany’s current NUP, adopted in 2007, stands out for its complexity and congruence with the regional policy. The Spatial Development Strategy is the principal NUP document in Russia. However, it overlooks some issues essential for the development of the city system: the federal authorities support only selected types of towns, such as single-industry municipalities, and the NUP is not comprehensive as it pays little attention to the economic aspects. A feeble information framework and municipal authorities lacking the powers impede the further development of the NUP. A transition to a comprehensive and well-designed NUP in Russia is proposed, which includes counteracting the concentration of population and economic activity in Moscow and establishing Saint Petersburg as a centre of economic growth. There is also an urgent need to understand the economic development prospects of smaller towns.

Author(s):  
Thomas K. Ogorzalek

This chapter chronicles the formative moments of the national urban alliance in American politics: when city leaders created the U.S. Conference of Mayors and petitioned Congress to develop a national urban policy in response to the massive crisis of the Great Depression. These leaders’ lobbying efforts led to a new kind of politics in which cities saw each other not only as rivals but as allies. This coalition lobbied for new urban policies—intergovernmental aid, relief work, affordable housing, and infrastructure development—that have remained the core of national urban policy and were ultimately institutionalized with the creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1965. Though the city leaders who created the USCM were from both parties, by the end of the 1940s, differences between the parties’ coalitions and elites meant that the urban political order had found a more comfortable home in the Democratic Party.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-81
Author(s):  
Denys Kutsenko

AbstractThe paper analyzes the transformation of identity politics of Kharkiv local authorities after the Euromaidan, or Revolution of Dignity, the annexation of Crimea, and the War in Donbass. Being the second largest city in Ukraine and becoming the frontline city in 2014, Kharkiv is an interesting case for research on how former pro-Russian local elites treat new policies of the central government in Kyiv, on whether earlier they tried to mobilize their electorate or to provoke political opponents with using soviet symbols, soviet memory, and copying Russian initiatives in the sphere of identity.To answer the research question of this article, an analysis of Kharkiv city and oblast programs and strategies and of communal media were made. Decommunisation, as one of the most important identity projects of Ukrainian central authorities after 2014, was analyzed through publications in Kharkiv’s city-owned media as well as reports from other scholars. Some conclusions are made from the analysis of these documents: Kharkiv development strategy until 2020, Complex program of cultural development in Kharkiv in 2011–2016 (and the same for 2017–2021), The regional program of military and patriotic training and participation of people in measures of defense work in 2015–2017, Program of supporting civil society in 2016–2020 in Kharkiv region and the city mayor’s orders about the celebration of Victory Day (9 May), the Day of the National Flag (23 August), the Day of the City (23 August) and Independence Day (24 August) in 2010–2015.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1283-1296
Author(s):  
K.A. Omarieva ◽  
P.G. Isaeva

Subject. The article addresses problems and prospects for the banking supervision development in the Russian Federation under modern conditions. Objectives. We review the essence and methods of organization of the banking supervision, and identify the main problems and prospects for its development. Methods. To provide valid, reliable and reasoned recommendations, we apply normative and integrated approaches to the study of the banking supervision effectiveness in the current circumstances. Results. The paper investigates main problems and development prospects for the Russian banking supervision. The essential importance of supervision comes from the main role of the banking system in maintaining accounts of economic entities and making settlements. Even minor failures or delays in operations can lead to negative outcomes and disastrous consequences for the entire monetary system and the national economy. Therefore, we highlight issues that require attention, and make proposals for further development of the banking supervision. Conclusions. In the context of dynamically developing economy, the banking practice is becoming more complex. As a result, there is a need for new financial instruments that can reduce risks, increase the speed and efficiency of operations and document flow, and help achieve the world levels of introduced standards.


Author(s):  
Dachev Veliko Z ◽  
Dachev Veliko Z

The article represents a retrospective review of long time research of genesis and development of the Central beach in the City of Varna which makes possible a forecast of its further development. Both natural and anthropogenic impact on the beach evolution is taken into consideration. It is ascertained that construction of coastal protection structures at the northern part of the beach in 80’s resulted in cessation of natural beach area growth. The strengthen of a breakwater in the main port and illegal building also contributed to considerable coast recession and beach volume reducing. Because of this a recreational potential of the Central beach is gradually decreasing. New method named “cross-shore sediment bypassing” is suggested to reduce the negative trend.


Author(s):  
Vasyl Papp ◽  
Nelya Boshota

The main task that determines the effective functioning of the country is the formation of a strategy for its socio-economic development based on a long-term innovation strategy. An innovative development strategy of the country is defined as a fundamental, basic element of the overall strategy of socio-economic development. The purpose of the article is to develop the conceptual foundations for shaping the country's socio-economic development strategy in modern conditions, adjusting the priority directions of the strategy and the peculiarities in using the means of achieving the goals, taking into account European experience. The article examines the European practice of developing and implementing the strategy of socio-economic development of the country as the most important instrument of the state's influence on social and economic development. Recommendations on the use of advanced strategic planning tools are developed. It is proved that without the scientific and methodological support of the plan of socio-economic development of the country it is impossible to count on the successful solution of important tasks and the democratization of public relations. The concept of strategy formation is designed to take into account the interests of economic entities and territory and to cover not only the traditionally used sectoral aspect of development, but also the territorial, which includes the creation and development of clusters and special economic zones. European experience shows that transition of a country to an innovative socially oriented type of development requires an increase in the efficiency of the state strategic planning process, the achievement of which is possible only with the co-ordinated activity of state authorities, business structures, science and society. It should be emphasized that in the prevailing conditions there is a need to form a single integrated system of social and economic development planning that optimally combines both the use of strategic planning and the program-target method for solving urgent problems.


Author(s):  
Dachev Veliko Z ◽  
Dachev Veliko Z

The article represents a retrospective review of long time research of genesis and development of the Central beach in the City of Varna which makes possible a forecast of its further development. Both natural and anthropogenic impact on the beach evolution is taken into consideration. It is ascertained that construction of coastal protection structures at the northern part of the beach in 80’s resulted in cessation of natural beach area growth. The strengthen of a breakwater in the main port and illegal building also contributed to considerable coast recession and beach volume reducing. Because of this a recreational potential of the Central beach is gradually decreasing. New method named “cross-shore sediment bypassing” is suggested to reduce the negative trend.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 273-287

The article examines the impact of the discourses concerning idleness and food on the formation of “production art” in the socio-political context of revolutionary Petrograd. The author argues that the development of the theory and practice of this early productionism was closely related to the larger political, social and ideological processes in the city. The Futurists, who were in the epicenter of Petrograd politics during the Civil War (1918–1921), were well acquainted with both of the discourses mentioned, and they contrasted the idleness of the old art with the dedicated labor of the “artist-proletarians” whom they valued as highly as people in the “traditional” working professions. And the search for the “right to exist” became the most important goal in a starving city dominated by the ideology of radical communism. The author departs from the prevailing approach in the literature, which links the artistic thought of the Futurists to Soviet ideology in its abstract, generalized form, and instead elucidates ideological influences in order to consider the early production texts in their immediate social and political contexts. The article shows that the basic concepts of production art (“artist-proletarian,” “creative labor,” etc.) were part of the mainstream trends in the politics of “red Petrograd.” The Futurists borrowed the popular notion of the “commune” for the title of their main newspaper but also worked with the Committees of the Rural Poor and with the state institutions for procurement and distribution. They took an active part in the Fine Art Department of Narkompros (People’s Commissariat of Education). The theory of production art was created under these conditions. The individualistic protest and “aesthetic terror” of pre-revolutionary Futurism had to be reconsidered, and new state policy measures were based on them. The harsh socio-economic context of war communism prompted artists to rethink their own role in the “impending commune.” Further development of these ideas led to the Constructivist movement and strongly influenced the extremely diverse trends within the “left art” of the 1920s.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7863
Author(s):  
Antonios Kolimenakis ◽  
Alexandra D. Solomou ◽  
Nikolaos Proutsos ◽  
Evangelia V. Avramidou ◽  
Evangelia Korakaki ◽  
...  

Urban green areas present a lucid example for the harmonious co-existence of the artificial and natural environments best illustrated by their interdependence and interconnection in urban spaces. Urban green areas are essential for the health and wellbeing of citizens. The present study aimed to investigate those multiple benefits for citizens that arise through the existence of urban green areas, as well as important policy dimensions that should be considered when designing the expansion of urban green spaces in urban development. The study was based on a literature review to examine for available evidence on the benefit levels derived by the existence of urban green areas. An extended literature review was followed by a structured review, based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, which partly followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The search was conducted in two databases, and a total of 1674 articles and abstracts were identified through the database searches. After removing 114 duplicates, 1560 records were initially screened based on title and abstract. Following inclusion and exclusion criteria, 14 articles were incorporated in the structured review and a total of 47 in the extended review. The extended literature review identified 33 additional articles examining aspects of benefits that did not fall under the pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria used in the structured review, such as health benefits and other social parameters associated with urban green spaces. The selected studies were allocated in five principal groups according to study types: three of the them consisted of studies employing “willingness to pay” (WTP) methods, five were based on property values, two studies assigned monetary values, while another two assigned CO2 values, and, finally, two studies were based on qualitative criteria. The results indicated benefits to citizens and increased welfare levels gained by the existence of urban green areas. The conducted review revealed a number of findings and recommendations that could direct future research and urban policy. Those hints could assist local authorities as well as stakeholders in order to measure and assess the benefits of green spaces and urban parks and promote measures and programs to assist their further deployment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 239965442110021
Author(s):  
Ratka Čolić ◽  
Đorđe Milić ◽  
Jasna Petrić ◽  
Nataša Čolić

In 2019, Serbia adopted its first national urban policy. This document was established through a communicative process during 2018–2019, formally encouraging urban governance as a practical innovation in Serbia’s planning doctrine. The main aim of this research is to explore institutional capacity development within a live setting of the policy formation process. The participants of this process are the primary subjects of the research. Data was collected through participatory events in four instances during the process. The concept of institutional capacity development is used in this paper as a basic framework to assess knowledge, relational and mobilisation capacity for urban governance. The main contribution of this paper is providing an understanding of the challenges and potentials for establishing urban governance practices in a post-socialist country planning context. Findings indicate an increase in the participants’ knowledge and understanding of governance instruments such that coordination and cooperation are continually unfolding. The identified challenges relate to the mobilisation capacity and fragility of institutions and resistance to change, while a need to deal with complexity and uncertainty remains present.


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