Tests

What is a must in the city. Neighborhood Beautification Initiatives

Modern cities are changing, transforming and adapting to the current needs of their inhabitants in order to provide them with high level access and the highest possible quality services. In the process of transformations, the city should be driven by creativity, because only in this way it is possible to preserve the intellectual potential and, at the same time, look attractive to visitors, investors and residents.

#one. Creative hubs

A hub is a shared workspace that brings together a community of independent professionals. In addition to a common space for creativity, professionals get the opportunity to collaborate in terms of ideas and projects. The hub is also a place where various interesting events are organized. So, this place becomes a key space where ideas useful for the city are born and implemented. An example of success at the European level is the Creative Poligon Center in Slovenia. The landfill is designed for both permanent and temporary users, and has 60 flexible working spaces, seven offices, a conference room, a photo studio, a bar, a shop, a bookshop and an assembly hall. Hubs are becoming more and more popular in Chisinau, and the most recent example is the iHUB, which is open indoors. Technical University Moldova, which, just a month after its opening, gained significant popularity.

# 2. A distinctive urban design that anyone can contribute

The city becomes something special not only because of its beauty, but also how this beauty can be combined with utility. "A city becomes beautiful not when everyone builds what they want in front of their entrance, but when everything that is created happens with the help of institutions that have their own school and aesthetic taste.» , believes the Moldovan designer Mihail Stamati, who has launched a number of projects for the arrangement of public places in Chisinau, includingbenches in the TUM park, in the Petru Rares square or the installation "spruce piercing the clouds" in front of the National Museum of Art. Here we come to the conclusion that in order for the city in which we live to look special, everyone can submit ideas for projects that, in the case of cooperation with the authorities, can be embodied in objects and spaces that are effectively used by the residents of the city.

# 3. Festivals

Festivals are very popular events that, depending on the topic, can attract the attention of a wide range of people, and the most important thing is that in addition to local residents, many tourists participate in the festivals. Here are some European examples:

# music festivals - UNTOLD (Romania), Sziget (Hungary)

#gastronomic festivals - Bostaniada, MAI dulce (Moldova)

# educational festivals - International Student Festival in Trondheim (Norway), International Student Week in Timisoara (Romania), International Student Week in Ilmenau (Germany), etc.

# marathons - actually, they are not festivals, however, they are very popular. People from all over the world take part in them.

There are a lot of examples, but the main idea is that the festival can be based on any topic that is attractive to the public, and the organizers expect it to participate. At the same time, such an event has a positive effect on the life of the city in which it is organized, since:

# creates jobs;

# stimulates participants to generate creative ideas;

# ensures the flow of money along with the influx of tourists;

# creates a positive image of the city nationally and internationally.

#4. "Uncommon" cafes

A cafe is not only a place where you can have a cup of coffee. Competition forces entrepreneurs in this field to spur their own imaginations and open original cafes, where, in addition to basic services, an atmosphere is created that wins the sympathy of the visitor. Let me give you a few examples of "outstanding" cafes that, in general, create the image of a "creative city".

Cafe "Scârtz" (Timisoara, Romania). This cafe is "uncommon" because:

# it is located in a residential building;

# furnished in an original style, with elements of antiquity, from pieces of furniture to wallpaper and decorations;

# in its basement there is a mini-museum, equipped in the style of a communist house, with items typical of that period.

Cafe "Lady Cat" (Cluj, Romania). Coffee? Tea? Or a kitty? This is what they might ask a visitor who crosses the threshold of this establishment, which is not only a cafe, but also ... a cat's shelter! Visitors can actually have a cup of coffee here, and then they also get the opportunity ... to get a cat!

Masoch cafe (Lviv, Ukraine)

People come to this popular Lviv institution for the thrill - after all, this is a cafe for sado-masochists. Hot wax is poured onto the skin, cocktails are served directly in bottles - this, and not only, the cafe is of interest to both locals and tourists.

Kommunalka (Chisinau, Republic of Moldova)

This cafe is a special place, the atmosphere of the Soviet era reigns here. One has only to open the menu and a lot becomes clear. The design is also in the style of the former USSR.

#5. Popularization of the city symbol

A creative city needs to be recognizable through its own symbols, be it a famous statue or a special dish, a local sport or a certain specific activity. For example, several European cities are recognizable because they represent a “city within a city”. In Uzupis in Vilnius or in Liechtenstein, you can get hold of the stamp of this quarter in your passport. A similar city is Mdina in Malta, where the old historical center is a medieval-style walled city.

# 6. Defining the zone of the old center

Every city has history Center... There is a general consensus on what this area should look like: pedestrian streets, historic buildings and outdoor cafes. In addition, the historical part should have its own infrastructure, adapted to the requirements of the time, in the form of restored buildings. A similar project is being carried out in the city of Soroca in the north of Moldova, where the old part of the city has become the subject of transformations. These places are very important, because this is where tourists come first.

# 7. Popularization of bicycles

This includes several elements: parking spaces, lanes, infrastructure, cultural enhancement and education for road users. The popularization of this type of transport promises a number of benefits in terms of enhancing the creativity of the city:

# more bicycles - fewer cars and thus more free streets, more pedestrian zones;

# cycling can be used to organize special tourist routes in the city;

# bicycles are a great themed occasion for various events, festivals, fairs, etc.

# the city in which residents move by bike is a tourist-friendly settlement, as it allows them to get to know the city "in person";

# this circumstance can stimulate development different types activities in this area: bicycle rental, bicycle sale, bicycle repair.

#eight. Meeting places accessible to all

In addition to hubs that bring together professionals in a specific field, a creative city needs to have meeting places. People need to be motivated to spend more time outdoors so they don't miss out on anything that matters in their city. This also includes parks, the classic shape of which is not necessary to maintain. They can be modified according to the wishes of the community.

#9. The development of street art

At one of the events, designer Mihai Stamati said that art should be available to everyone, in connection with which it should take to the streets. Here we mean not only graffiti or other types of wall art, but also city exhibitions. For example, in Chisinau there is an exhibition of sculptures from scrap iron: it is currently located on the outskirts of the city. It can disappear due to the fact that no one develops it. The exhibition is a series of sculptures that represent an ironic vision of Soviet reality. The artistic value of these works is undeniable.

More information about culture and how you can establish yourself in this area can be found at under the auspices of EU-Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Program.In these courses, you will learn what the cultural and creative sectors are, what makes cities creative, what is the difference between mass and high culture, what is the role of culture in different areas of life, and how culture can contribute to conflict resolution.

You will be able to attend the following lectures:

#one. Definition of culture

# 2. Role of culture

# 3. Culture, conflict and dialogue

#4. Creative economy

#5. Cultural and creative sectors

# 6. Urban creativity

# 7. Mass and high art

The courses are free, and upon completion and passing the test, a graduate certificate is issued.

Text prepared with the assistance of the EU-Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Program

A city is a relatively large city which is predominantly employed in industry or services. Why relative? Because there is no single framework in the world (in terms of area or population), according to which a particular settlement could be attributed to a city. So, in Denmark a village can be considered a city, in which only 250 people live. But in Japan, such a status can be obtained by a settlement with a population of at least 50,000 inhabitants.

In a historical context, a city is a village that differs a specific list characteristic features... These include the presence of objects of trade and administration, stone buildings and fortifications, weapons and military equipment. In ancient times, cities were often surrounded by palisades, earthen or stone fortifications.

A special science - urban studies - deals with the study of various aspects of urban life. But the discipline called urban planning is more interested in the device, the structure of the city.

City structure

Perhaps the most important element of any city is the network of its streets and communication lines. Residential buildings, business districts and industrial facilities are strung on it.

Any city, as a rule, consists of several:

residential;
industrial;
recreational;
zone of administrative, commercial and financial institutions.

Each of these zones has its own characteristic type of development.

Any urban settlement has its own boundaries. This is the line that is drawn on the maps and legally fixed. The city usually grows from the center to the periphery, in the direction of its main radial roads. Over time, it can even swallow suburban villages, townships and even other small towns.

What are the cities called?

Each city, like a person, has its own name. The science that studies the names of settlements is called toponymy.

The most popular ways to form city names are listed below. So, most often they come from:

any outstanding personalities (for example, Washington, Khmelnitsky, Kirov, San Francisco);
the names of nearby rivers, often with the addition of the prefix -na- (Moscow, Lensk, Volgograd, Frankfurt-on-Main, Rostov-on-Don);
geographical features of a particular territory (Pyatigorsk, Zelenograd, Krivoy Rog, Rovno);
names of professions or crafts (Rybinsk, Nefteyugansk);
from the old city names, by specifying them (New York, Novomoskovsk, Verkhnedneprovsk).

City in Russian space

What does a typical Russian city look like? And what features does it differ from others?

Concentrating about 73% of the total population of the country, they occupy only 2% of its territory. Most often they are scattered across the vast flat expanses of the state and are connected by highways or railways... The number of townspeople increased significantly during the era of industrialization, when former villagers were actively moving to cities in search of a prosperous and carefree life. And in some cases, the villages themselves turned into cities, without even changing their names. So, in modern Russia there are urban settlements with clearly rural names (Seltso, Alekseevka, Kozlovka).

Today within Russian Federation there are 1113 cities.

New cities in Russia

There are cities in Russia that are very ancient, with a long history (the oldest is Derbent in Dagestan). And there are also very young ones, those that were founded no more than a hundred years ago.

In the post-Soviet space, a "new city" is often understood as a settlement that appeared on maps in the second half of the 20th century (after World War II). As a rule, such cities were created as industrial and narrow-profile.

There are at least fifty so-called new cities in Russia. The most famous of these are - New Urengoy, Nefteyugansk, Novovoronezh, Nizhnekamsk, Zhigulevsk.

The concept of an urban area

Large cities can also be subdivided into smaller administrative divisions. This practice is common in the post-Soviet space.

City districts can usually be found in cities with a population of over 200 thousand people. At the time of the collapse of the USSR, there were 143 such settlements.

In modern Russia, there are more than 300 urban administrative districts... Examples of such cities: Moscow, Barnaul, Vladivostok, Samara, St. Petersburg and others. In some of them, city districts were renamed into districts (for example, in Arkhangelsk, Kursk, Belgorod, Kaluga).

Finally...

A city is a relatively large settlement (primarily in terms of population), with a developed industry, service sector, infrastructure and multi-storey buildings. Cities can vary greatly in size, population, configuration, and the function they are designed to perform.

There are 1113 cities in Russia. Among them there are both very ancient (for example, Bryansk, Onega, Suzdal) and even young cities that were founded in the twentieth century (these are Novovoronezh, Kaspiysk, Sayansk and others).

Technologies

New ideas appear every day. Some of them remain on paper, while others get the green light - they are tested and, with good results, they begin to develop them further and use them in different areas.

Specially equipped waste baskets so that people do not throw garbage anywhere.

Machines that allow you to put recycled waste (such as plastic bottles) in them and get free metro travel. Such devices are already in Beijing.

Original LED hourglass-shaped traffic lights.

Sunny trees

This LED setup uses sunlight, "assembled" during the day, for street lighting in the evening and at night. When the sun goes down, sensors on the rig turn on the light.

Sunflower Street

The author of the Sunflower Street project is designer Riis Ros. This installation collects solar energy using photovoltaic panels (top), which are shaped like flower petals, and uses this energy to illuminate the streets with lamps (bottom).

As it turned out in the course of the next children's survey, in the best city there are two troubles, both from the abundance - from the abundance of holes in the roads and garbage in the streets. But what, in the opinion of the schoolchildren, should actually be in the city ...

Natasha Morenova, 11 years old

Beautiful, rich nature. Attractions: monuments, museums, and the more the better. We also need minerals, parks, beautiful streets. And the zoo, like in Moscow. It is located there on two streets - a new zoo and an old one, there are many animals, the terrarium is large, the animals are not crowded there.
Houses should be multi-storey, new, so that there are no old two-storey buildings or five-storey houses. There should be schools where children receive certain knowledge, and so that the schoolyard is beautiful, with trees and flower beds, a playground with horizontal bars. And swings and merry-go-rounds are not needed at school. Let there be fountains.

What kind of people should be in the city?
They shouldn't litter. Do not throw cans, do not spoil nature. For example, I never spoil any swing, I do not throw garbage. People should also help the authorities to make the city better. To plant flowerbeds in yards under windows, to make playgrounds.

Which city can be called the best?
There are many such cities in Russia. There is no one about which we can say - bad, all are good enough. All are beautiful in their own way, rich in their own way.

Masha Bunina, 10 years old
What must be in the city?
Stores with a lot of things, a lot of good products. So that it is not so that you go to the store - and there the products are spoiled. Quality must be monitored. We have a stall next to our house, there the light shines directly on the products, and they gradually fade. It is necessary to put this kiosk in the shade.
There should be an opera and ballet theater, it is very good. For children - a puppet show is a must. And we need more good interesting plays for young children, for first graders. Romeo and Juliet, for example, is not a play for children at all.

What should be the inhabitants of the city?
We have a lot of spoiled children who write inscriptions on the walls. It is necessary to paint the fences so that there are no inscriptions. Residents must keep order. Don't pick flowers. Do not litter. And then our tire factory throws all the garbage into the river, and it gets polluted from this.

How should a city be governed?
The authorities should allocate more funds to whitewash all trees. And first they make money, then they put it in the bank, then they get to the people. And in order for people to get them, you have to work.

Igor Babin, 10 years old
What must be in the city?
We need more monuments and fountains, as in St. Petersburg. And it should be clean. And so that there are no inscriptions. There should be more schools and shops. There should be playgrounds in the courtyards.

How should people behave?
Plant more flowers and trees to make it beautiful. Let everyone who has free time planting flowers. The best city is beautiful city and sights.

Everything must be done on time.

Vadik Borovensky, 11 years old
What must be in the city?
There are many trees and beautiful houses - old, just restored. Playgrounds in the courtyards with some kind of swing. Cars must be free of exhaust gases, powered by electricity. They are not released yet, really ... The roads should be wide, because on the narrow ones you can't turn, nothing ... In the parks there should be many trees and flowers - different. Only baobabs will not grow here, the climate is not suitable. There should be more museums - large, with ancient statues, departments of both this, and this, and about military equipment... Only do not touch with your hands. And then, for example, there is a statuette, I touched it and is no longer interested. And then you look and you want to touch, but you can't, and this makes you want to look and watch ... And then it's interesting.

They should not paint on the walls, litter, cut trees, break fences and benches. And you can't steal! People also have to earn money, go to work, develop business - then the city will get rich.

Sasha Borodin, 11 years old
What must be in the city?
Many flower alleys and high-rise buildings. There must be a river - so that there is a supply of water, it is convenient, and residents of the city can come to the shore to look and be surprised at the beauty.
The cafes should be good - with comfortable surroundings and slow music. I also like the idea of the city radio ...

What should be the inhabitants of the city?
They have to look after their city. Here you throw the wrapper on the road, and this makes the city not the best, but the opposite - the worst ... Such people must somehow ... well, not punish, but warn. Put special people to warn. People should know specialties: engineering - to draw a house plan; construction - to build these houses; ecology - to monitor the purity of nature; geology - to find minerals for the city.

How to properly govern a city?
Invest in road construction and treatment facilities. Then the city will be cozy and flourishing. And take the money in taxes and profits from minerals!

Arthur Lvinsky, 10 years old
What must be in the city?
Purity. And people should take care of the improvement: they saw - a bank is lying around, and next to it is an urn, can you raise the bank and put it in the trash can ?!
Safety must be for residents. For this, policemen with dogs must go on patrols. If, for example, people break the rules, you can somehow warn them, and not immediately put them in jail ...
Must be good roads, transport, normal houses - and that is, those where there is no heating in winter. We must fix it!
Factories must be built, only necessarily with treatment facilities, so that the dirt does not come out. And factories are needed - otherwise there will be no light, no gas ...
Youth groups should perform in the parks. Just not too often, otherwise the residents will constantly demand concerts. And put microphones on the poles. So that everyone can hear.

What kind of residents should they be?
They have to help the city.

How to properly govern a city?
We must constantly check whether everything is in order. Create patrols and open schools. And schools, by the way, can be paid! From here and money can be obtained. And not only from taxes and from the budget ...

Alexander Nebolsin, 11 years old
What must be in the city?
Many monuments famous people... Otherwise, there will be a city, and there people do not know anyone famous, for example, Peter the Great, Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich, Catherine II. And it turns out that people will not know the presidents and kings of the past, which is wrong. There must be a forest and trees in the streets. Paper will not be made without wood, benches - they are also made of wood - in general, without wood it will be very difficult.
There should be a lot of bicycles - there is no exhaust from them. And the cars on solar powered- inconvenient. When the sun goes down behind the clouds and the cars stop, there is nowhere to take energy. But there are still people who drive at night, but at night where to get such a source of energy - light?
More houses need to be built. And then people are born. It is necessary to put high-rise buildings in place of the private sector, where more people fits ... Although I noticed that the air is cleaner in the private sector ...
It is also necessary to build cinemas, circuses, parks where there will be entertainment for all ages. Some people like the fear room, for example, to "tickle the nerves" - let it be, and the room of laughter.

Where to get money for all this?
It is necessary to build factories - to live without them. After all, factories do everything: bicycles, bricks, asphalt, clothes, and thread for clothes. For example, in our city there is a bicycle factory, but there is no factory for the manufacture of attractions ... We sell bicycles, they are attractions, that's the profit. And if you don't have enough money, you can ask the residents a little bit.

How do you govern a city?
I would do air purification, water purification and forest planting. And also the roads, otherwise there are pits on them, and when you go on the bus, everything shakes and it makes you sick ...

Inna Vtoroshina, 10 years old
What must be in the city?
Colorful streets. Houses on each street are painted in a different color: one street is pink, for example, the other is green ... There should be lanterns and alleys, front gardens. There should be churches, monuments to celebrities, so that small children, growing up, know what people used to be like. Schools should have smart teachers and good textbooks to keep the kids interested. People should be different specialties... The city has to do everything - paper, equipment, clothes, and hairpins for girls with long hair.
Stores should not have very expensive prices and advertising, and sellers should do their job with a smile and sell with pleasure. And they need to know what they are selling ...

What should the inhabitants be like?
Kind, not lazy, neat. And children who have been poorly brought up by their parents need to be re-educated. For example, you need to do a psychology lesson at school. Embittered children would come to him, but kind ones, taught to good manners, would leave ...

How do you govern a city?
It is necessary to take one part of the money that they receive from the state to schools so that the children receive a good education... Then you need to allocate money for the construction of shops, roads and houses.

Where can I get the money?
In the city, the President meets with various ministers and negotiates the import of some products from their country. Then these products are sold in the shops of the city, they are bought, and the money is sent to the state. And some part is given to planting flowers, trees and maintaining the city.

Alexander Gavrilovich Buzov, Honored Architect of the Russian Federation, WWII veteran:
Children are extremely observant ... A 10-year-old boy says that more monuments and fountains are needed. And to the question: "How to manage correctly?" - he surprisingly accurately and succinctly answers: "We must do everything on time." No area of architecture influenced modern conditions life, i.e. shaping the development of the urban environment does not play such a fundamental role as in urban planning. The existing city, like a living organism, requires constant attention and the strictest adherence to the most important conceptual document - master plan cities. It is no coincidence that since the times Ancient Rus there was a definition - "whatever the city, the temper." The architects determined the individual figurative essence of the cities they created.
In the improvement of the urban environment, it is necessary to expand the palette of highly artistic small architectural forms, complex landscaping, beautiful advertising elements and many other elements of comfortable everyday service to the population and guests. To turn Chelyabinsk into a highly comfortable one that stands out from other cities, it is necessary to adopt an effective and consistently implemented program.

Valeria Gabrava, architect, member of the Union of Designers of Russia:
When you identified the topic of conversation, I was ready to talk about modern architecture and its problems. I wanted to outline the tendencies of the current urbanism, to quarrel with the "environmental approach", that the building blocks go along the perimeter, without affecting the dilapidated housing inside.
But after reading the children's sayings, I want to say something completely different. Children reason very correctly and reasonably. They are small - they probably know better from their height. And their priorities are correct: first, nature, air, sun, museums and beauty. And only then - roads, holes, heating. On this basis, I would even suggest a theory of "reasonable height": the taller people are, the higher their ambitions and complexes, and "reasonable height" is children's height, somewhere around 90-100 cm. Here we are, adults and tall , you need to "go down" a little - to learn to enjoy the sun, nature, from a simple walk around the city.

Editorial comment: It looks like an ecological generation of thoughtful, neat and responsible people is coming, hurray! They will not write on fences, paint the streets in cheerful colors and build many eco-friendly factories ... They will do everything on time and make sure that their children know about the presidents and kings of the past ... reeducate - skillfully and with love ... From us, adults, it is required very little - not to prevent them from continuing to think as they think now. And it would be better for ourselves - all together - right now to start acting in accordance with children's ideas about life.

How to make the area more livable? The principles of the improvement of residential areas have long been formulated by urban science, however, unfortunately, the Moscow mayor's office often does not pay attention to them. I want to propose to the Municipal Assembly to adopt 32 principles and demand their implementation in all improvement projects carried out in the area.

To the head of the intracity municipality Shchukino in Moscow T.A. Knyazeva

Dear Tatyana Alexandrovna!

Having studied the best world practices, having carried out several studies on the territory of the Shchukino region, including studying existing problems improvement, functional content of the territory and identifying the preferences of residents, recommendations were developed for the improvement of public spaces of the district.
I ask you to consider the possibility of obliging the executive authorities to follow these recommendations when designing public spaces and applying improvement measures.

Sidewalks, walkways and crosswalks

Everyone walks on foot. Regardless of where and why you go, in good city it should be easy and enjoyable for you. What can prevent this?

It is clear that the narrow sidewalks that are so common in Moscow must become a thing of the past. It is difficult to feel at ease moving along the narrow strip of asphalt between buildings and traffic. But it is not very comfortable to be on the edge of a wide sidewalk either: cars are still too close, and some intruder can park right in front of you. An elegant solution to this problem is anti-parking bollards along the sidewalk edge, which gracefully separate the traffic of cars and people. This separation is especially true in courtyards, where cars and people are often forced to move through a common space.

Of course, this is just the beginning. It is very important to take care of the pavement and sidewalk coverage: it must be of high quality, without cracks, comfortable for walking and pleasant to look at. Do not forget about lighting, as well as places to rest. As for the crossings, they should be a natural continuation of the walking routes.

What should be done:

Separate sidewalks anti-parking bollards... They are graceful, do not interfere with pedestrians and prevent offenders from parking on the sidewalk.

Put people on benches... Elderly people really need rest, but everyone else will only be pleased. Benches should be placed every 100 meters.

Direct lanterns on pedestrians. In Moscow, the lights are often directed only at the roadway, and the sidewalks are not lit at all. To prevent pedestrians from walking in the dark, it is customary all over the world to install special lights that illuminate sidewalks and footpaths.

Tame traffic lights... They need to be reconfigured so that you don't have to wait for a green light for more than one minute. Liberty!

Lift transitions... The passage on the same level with the sidewalk is convenient, there is no need to go down and up anywhere. And cars have an additional incentive to slow down in time.

Separate cars and people in the yards... Often you have to wait until the car has passed and only then go. This will not happen if the pedestrian zones are clearly separated from the automobile ones. This can be done using all the same posts, fences or borders.

To lay natural paths... That is, at the shortest. If this is not done, then pedestrians will still make paths and walk through holes in fences.

Put tiles in squares and pedestrian streets... Tile is a durable and environmentally friendly material. There are no puddles on it, it does not crack, and if necessary, you can repair individual parts of the surface. This will not work with asphalt; it must either be changed entirely, or ugly patches must be applied. It is also harmful to health and the environment: it releases hazardous resins at high temperatures.

Expand sidewalks. Narrow sidewalks- it's terribly inconvenient. It is necessary to make 2.5 meters of the minimum allowable width of sidewalks.

Put away obstacles off the sidewalks. Billboards blocking the road. Advertising is important, but there are other places for it. The same applies to telephone booths, lampposts. They should be positioned so as not to cause trouble for pedestrians.

Install ashtrays and rubbish bins... Responsibility for garbage on the streets most often lies not with people, but with housing and communal services. Litter-bins and street ashtrays should be placed every 100 meters, then there is simply no point in throwing garbage somewhere else, and the city will become cleaner.

Recreation areas and courtyards

In a good city, it is important that people go out and spend time there as often as possible. Public gardens, parks, courtyards, squares and other open spaces are primarily intended for recreation. Someone wants to sit under a tree with a book, someone loves sports, someone else just wants to take a walk and look at something beautiful. The requests of all these and other people need to be considered. In any public space, there must be something attractive for everyone.

What should be done:

Provide seat place... Whatever a person prefers, he is unlikely to refuse the opportunity to sit down somewhere after a long walk. Therefore, in squares, parks, courtyards and other similar places there should be a lot of benches, benches, movable chairs.

Remove through passages through courtyards... If between two large streets there is a courtyard with exits to them, then there will surely be drivers who will decide to take a shortcut through this courtyard. This is prohibited by traffic regulations, interferes with people and negatively affects safety: Speeding in a residential area can easily lead to an accident.

Arrange special dog walking areas... A dog is a friend of man, but not always. The sites should be small, but within walking distance. One playground for every four houses will make the courtyards cleaner and quieter.

To think about protection from rain, wind and cold... I want to walk even in bad weather. Awnings, wind barriers and infrared heaters can help. Naturally, they do not need to be installed everywhere, but in the most popular and attractive places.

Spend reconstruction of parks and squares... And you also need to discover new ones, the more places in the area where you can go, the better. This should be done by professional designers and architects, not construction firms without such experience. In the latter case, it turns out badly.

Find occupation for everyone... Public areas should not only have playgrounds (as is often the case in Moscow), adults should not be bored either. To do this, you can install table tennis tables or board games, other sports equipment, equip fountains, create wireless Internet zones.

Public transport

Stops play no less a role in movement on public transport than the means of transportation themselves. At bus stops you always have to wait for some time, nothing can be done about it. Therefore, you need to think about how to make them more convenient.

The tram plays a special role in road traffic. It is an important form of public transport and one of the key ones for a modern city. Tram rails are often located in the middle of a wide road, so the arrangement of tram stops has a number of features.

What should be done:

Protect tram passengers from splashing... Tram stops are close to the carriageway, causing inconvenience to passengers. This can be easily avoided by installing pavilions or special fences, which are not yet done in Moscow.

Give away priority for trams at intersections... This will increase traffic safety and reduce travel time. If trams are equipped with special equipment, tram drivers will be able to control traffic lights at the entrance to the intersection.

Make stops comfortable... Pavilions should be warm, lighted, and have no cracks. It is reasonable to make the seats made of wood, they can sit on them in almost any weather. You can hang an electronic board that will show the time before the arrival of the bus, tram or trolleybus.

Sowing tram tracks with a lawn... By themselves, tram rails are not the most attractive sight. It will be much better if they are sown with a lawn. This will not only improve the aesthetics of the street, but also make the tram quieter.

Roads and parking

There are a lot of cars in the city. They are constantly driving somewhere, turning, stopping, they must be parked somewhere. With the wrong organization of traffic and parking, all this can create many problems.

What should be done:

Reduce the average speed... In the residential area and on narrow streets high speed of cars is useless: it has almost no effect on travel time, but significantly increases the accident rate. In international practice, effective measures are known: narrowing the road at crossings, installing cameras, artificial sharp turns, in front of which it is simply necessary to brake, in extreme cases - artificial obstacles, i.e. Speed bumps.

Remove fences... There are a lot of yellow-green fences in Moscow that nobody needs. They only interfere with pedestrians, while huge money is spent on their installation. They often enclose lawns, which should not be done at all, with the exception of those places where the likelihood of illegal parking on the lawn is very high. In such cases, it is recommended to install low black cast iron fences.

Use space in courtyards wisely... There is a lot of space in the yards, but it tends to be poorly used. Even a few cars can be very inconvenient if they stand in the wrong places. It is important to separate public space and parking; a separate area should be designed for it, but it can hardly occupy more than 30% of the yard. It is reasonable to occupy the rest of the space with greenery, benches, playgrounds, and other places for recreation. The territory of the courtyards should be used wisely and given as much space as possible to people.

Quality of work and materials

Whatever we do, two things are always important: a good idea and quality execution. Of course, this also applies to urban environments. All projects should be developed by professional designers and architects, and only high-quality materials should be used in their implementation. Unfortunately, in Moscow it often happens the other way around: in the competition for projects, the project of the contractor who offers the lowest price most often wins.

What should be done:

Use quality materials... The cheaper the materials, the less they will last. In addition, cheap materials tend to look worse, making the city less attractive. This also applies to outdoor furniture.

To do everything wisely... Every decision to build a new facility must be justified by something. Unfortunately, in our city it often happens the other way around: some work is carried out in almost random places, simply because it is necessary to spend the entire allocated budget as soon as possible. A more correct approach would be detailed preliminary research for each project, followed by the involvement of professionals to create it.

Ecology and environment

In the industrial age, man polluted environment without realizing it. Now, many years later, we are forced to face the consequences. The post-industrial world is distinguished primarily by people's awareness of the fragility of the world around us, because an irresponsible attitude to nature not only affects the planet as a whole, but also spoils our immediate health. It should be added that not only physical space can be polluted, but also information space. We are talking about excessive advertising, inscriptions, noise.

What should be done:

Support purity... Street cleaners must constantly clean the streets from dirt, snow and ice. The chemicals in Lately began to soften the ice, cannot be used: they harm the health of city residents and the environment.

Clear informational space... There are too many advertisements and other informational rubbish around: on the walls of buildings, on the asphalt under our feet, on paper advertisements pasted here and there. Almost all of this is illegal, and you can fight against it: remove posters, paint over inscriptions and advertisements, use a special composition that does not allow gluing advertisements.

Take care of greenery... Trees are pleasant to look at, they generate oxygen and protect from the wind. I would like to see green streets, not an urban desert, so you need to plant new trees and take care of the existing ones.

Guard architectural appearance district. Often, advertisements and signs of establishments are placed in an extremely unsuccessful way, sometimes changing buildings beyond recognition. To avoid this, it is necessary to create certain rules for the placement of signs and advertisements.

Cycling

Bicycle is beautiful vehicle... It is compact, does not harm the environment, helps to keep in shape. Nevertheless, he needs good infrastructure: separate paths, parking lots, rental points, fastenings for transportation on public transport. Studies have shown that in Shchukino, the metro can be reached by bicycle twice as fast as by the trolleybus. Therefore, it makes sense to give this opportunity to everyone and make it convenient.

What should be done:

Build and develop cycling infrastructure... Under suitable conditions, the bike can be used in winter as well. In a number of world capitals, there are branched bike rental networks, where you can rent a bike both for a short time (for example, take a bike at a rental point near your home, get to the metro and leave it at a point near the station), and for a long time. For those who have their own bicycles, it is important to set up a guarded parking lot.

Budget

In Moscow, most of the budget is now spent on renovating courtyards. However, sidewalks, stops adjacent to the metro area are equal public spaces that are no less in need of modernization. In some cases, they need it even more: situations arise when more money is spent on the yard, which is used by 500 people every day, than on the site near the metro, through which thousands pass every day.

What should be done:

Distribute money equally... Simple and obvious solution. People spend a lot of time outside their yards, so they have the right to feel no less comfortable there.

Appendix # 2

We, the undersigned, have familiarized themselves with the proposal of the deputy of the municipal Assembly of the Shchukino district M. E. Katz and ask you to accept the recommendations on the improvement of the district as mandatory in the design of public spaces.