Housing policy of a modern metropolis and local initiatives in new residential complexes

Abstract

Housing construction is considered to be one of the main top-priority and investment profitable sectors of the countrys economy. It has become a stable integral part of the market-oriented economy, but has not fully provided a comfortable living environment for the new housing complexes belonging to the residents of the megapolis. The policy, oriented on the ramp-up of the housing stock without improving its quality and the environmental improvement level, becomes a deterioration of the competitivity factor regarding municipal entities, regions and the country. The state is actively involved into the housing policy, developing an integrated urban development strategy of the massive housing areas referring to suburban zones. But its implementation is accompanied by serious failures and conflicts between the residents of the complexes and representatives of city authorities as well as business. The above-mentioned conflict situation leads to the necessity of the citizens initiative groups creation of so as to defend their rights in order to increase the average quality environment level. The process of the residents self-organization oriented on the activists groups formation, whose actions resulted in the corporate initiatives, has been studied as exemplified by the materials of express-interviewing regarding the urban space quality perception by the inhabitants of the Baltic Pearl residential complex of Saint Petersburg. The disconnection between the levels of urban land improvement, tertiary sector provided by developers and the expectations of residents, as well as the unsatisfactory participation of business representatives and the city administration in resolving emerging conflict situations, has led to the creation of activists grassroots organization of the complex. The performance results have led to a collective petition by V.V. Putin. The tool that made it possible to implement this initiative has been the current level of digital technologies and social networks development of the residents of the neighborhood unit.