From genplan to master plan: the changing urban planning paradigm in Russia

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the recent introduction of master plans in the Russian system of urban planning which signals the emergence of a new urban planning paradigm. An ongoing paradigm shift is traced through the evolution of three major planning instruments: the socialist genplan, the post-socialist genplan and the contemporary masterplan. The results show that the inefficiencies of post-socialist urban planning were due to the deliberate actions of elites, whose rent-seeking goals required the possibility of direct intervention, more centralised decision-making and direct translation of government priorities into the spatial development of cities. The post-socialist genplan fails to address changing policy goals, while the spectacular and non-binding master plan better suits the authoritarian model of governance in Russia.