Urbanism with a Human Face: Yuliya Vedenina Explained How to Measure the Comfort of the Urban Environment
Yuliya Vedenina, Lead Analyst at the Agency for strategic development "CENTER", took part in the scientific conference of young Russian and Chinese scholars titled Dynamic Urbanism: In Search of a New Research Agenda. The expert shared the results of her study devoted to the use of urban planning regulation tools to enhance the socio-psychological comfort of residents. The presentation was delivered within a joint project of the Higher School of Urban Studies, HSE University, the Center for Social Research and Technological Innovation, HSE University, and Tianjin University. One of the project’s goals is to compile a library of methods for addressing challenges faced by rapidly changing cities in both countries.
The topic of the panel session in which Yuliya Vedenina participated was formulated as Cities in Complex Situations: Problems and Solutions.
Yuliya VedeninaLead Analyst at the Agency for Strategic Development “CENTER”
The housing stock of Russian cities is growing rapidly, while development is often focused on construction speed and the needs of an abstract ‘average resident,’ to the detriment of genuine urban comfort. The widespread use of high-rise development disproportionate to human scale, employing uniform planning approaches without regard to a site’s location within the city, as well as the loss of historical and cultural identity of territories, results from the absence of appropriate requirements for urban development activities.
At the same time, the study demonstrated that urban planning regulation tools have proven their effectiveness in managing territorial development and should be used to ensure a comfortable living environment.
In total, the expert analysed around two dozen different factors. Among the applied recommendations are optimal linear dimensions of a courtyard (up to 100 metres), its optimal area (up to 1,000 square metres), the degree of enclosure (from 50%), and population size (up to 500 residents). Promising directions for further research, according to Yuliya Vedenina, include differentiating comfort factors across various socio-age and professional-educational groups, as well as developing mechanisms for introducing amendments to relevant regulatory frameworks.
Other topics discussed during the session included transport flows in fast-growing cities, tackling overcrowding in public transport, and identifying vacant housing and its impact on urban development.