Russia (bbabo.net), - Development plans and master plans for Far Eastern cities, primarily those with a population of more than 50 thousand people, are being developed today on behalf of President Vladimir Putin. An open competition will be held in the summer, and the projects of the winners will be presented at the WEF-2022 in September.

Deputy Prime Minister - Plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev believes that among the first it is necessary to present a master plan for the capital of the district - Vladivostok.

- The plans are quite ambitious: these are new road junctions, which will essentially make it possible to loop traffic to Russky Island, and the construction of additional urban centers, which also create an agglomeration. But projects should be discussed from the standpoint of readiness and economic feasibility. And most importantly - all this should meet the interests of people living in Vladivostok, - said the plenipotentiary, summarizing the wishes: a more beautiful and comfortable city for life, more affordable housing, less traffic jams.

To consolidate the proposals, a working group has been created from urban planners, representatives of the city administration and the government of the region, the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, the Union of Architects of Russia and the public.

“It will have to determine the directions of economic development, the image of the future of Vladivostok as a whole and flagship projects that will determine the growth points of the territories,” said Alexander Kotlyarov, chief architect of the Primorsky Territory.

According to him, the new master plan will be calculated until 2050, with a clear structuring for every ten years. The team uses the experience of existing documents, including, for example, volumetric regulations, master plans for Novik Bay and the central areas of the city, created with the participation of the Japanese architectural and engineering company Nikken Sekkei. By the way, the city development concept from specialists from the Land of the Rising Sun was already presented at the WEF in 2017, and then finalized taking into account the proposals received.

At that time, the prerequisites for the development of the seaside capital included its geopolitical position, high concentration of universities, rich natural and cultural resources, the multinational character of the city, and large reserve areas for development. Among the minuses are an uncomfortable and inexpressive living environment, the stagnation of industry, and a poorly developed transport network. The Japanese blamed the transport problems of Vladivostok on the location of functional zones, because of which the central part of the city is overloaded with administrative and industrial complexes, and a large port is also located there.

In the Japanese master plan, it was supposed to lay the construction of a new ring road - VKAD, which would make it possible to carry freight traffic from the center and solve the problem of traffic jams. This idea has taken concrete shape, and several potential investors have already appeared for the first stage of construction. Now the government of the region is considering the proposal of one of them - a large Chinese corporation, which intends to work on the terms of a concession agreement.

However, the residents of Vladivostok, who should be happy about the coming changes, are not happy with the project. Questions are raised by plans to build a bridge to the little-developed island of Helena, as well as, in fact, the development of the island itself: they are going to build about 400 thousand "squares" of housing for nine thousand people there. Vladivostok residents are already talking sarcastically about a "bridge to nowhere" and a "business class island."

In addition, they do not like the idea of ​​the second stage of the VKAD. According to the plan, the road from the center to the suburbs will run along the coastline, and the townspeople believe that this will worsen the environmental situation and cut off approaches and entrances to the sea.

You need to remember who the master plans are for. They are not for officials, they are for residents, tourists and investors

However, as it turned out, the developers of the master plan for Khabarovsk have their own views on Vladivostok. It is being created with the participation of VEB.RF and KB Strelka. At a meeting on the development of the former Far Eastern capital, Strelka Design Bureau partner Alexei Muratov suggested considering Khabarovsk in conjunction with Vladivostok.

- Experts call this format a mega-urban agglomeration, meaning by this an integral region, united by connections, developing in a balanced way due to them, - Muratov explained.

He was supported by the head of the Ministry for the Development of the Far East, Alexei Chekunkov.

- I agree with the idea of ​​"Khabarovsk - Vladivostok". For Russia, the Far East is a priority area. We want to create the strongest possible agglomeration here. Khabarovsk and Vladivostok could become such in the presence of a fast land transport connection. In addition, Khabarovsk is one of Russia's showcases for the Asia-Pacific region. It is absolutely necessary to use proximity to Asia and the idea of ​​interconnection between Europe and Asia, - the minister commented on the proposals of experts.One of the most interesting master plans will be created for the city of Tsiolkovsky in the Amur Region. Initially, the settlement arose in the 60s of the last century as a military town of a missile division. For reasons of secrecy, it was called Uglegorsk, although coal has never been mined in these parts. Then for many years the settlement was called Svobodny-18, and in 1994 it again became Uglegorsk. After the missile division was disbanded, the Svobodny cosmodrome was created at its base. And after he became the property of history, Uglegorsk began to quickly decline and lose population. A new page in history is connected with the Vostochny cosmodrome, which was decided to be built here. In 2015, the settlement was given the status of a city and a new name - Tsiolkovsky. Now it is being actively built up and developed.

- In fact, the Amur space city consists of two cities: the old one, founded back in the days when a military unit was stationed there, and the new one, which embodied the best engineering solutions and is very different from the old one, - said the Governor of the Amur Region Vasily Orlov. - It is necessary to create a master plan that would integrate these two parts and calculate the development prospects, at least until 2035.

According to the head of the region, Tsiolkovsky is becoming Russia's main spaceport. The master plan will be developed jointly with Roskosmos and presented at the WEF along with development projects for four more Amur cities - Blagoveshchensk, Svobodny, Belogorsk and Tynda.

- It is necessary to remember for whom these master plans are created. They are not for officials, they are for residents, tourists and investors. Compiling them, we focus on the opinions of those people who live in cities, trying to find answers to the simplest questions "What is this city about?", "Why do you want to live in it?", "Why work or do business there?". I hope that together we will be able to find new meanings and new solutions, - Alexey Chekunkov shared his opinion during his visit to the Amur Region.

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