Planning the development of the socialist city: the case of Dubna New Town

Abstract

For almost 70 years. Soviet urban planners have enacted policies to create an urban environment designed to further the development of socialism. This paper analyzes the planning and development of one Soviet new town, Dubna, in order to provide insight into Soviet urban planning in general, as well as to identify the problems and prospects for city planners as they attempt to translate general socialist planning goals into reality. The study indentifies specific characteristics of the ideal Soviet socialist city and examines the extent to which these have been realized in Dubna. This allows a comparison between the actual accomplishments of local officials in Dubna and the ideal planning goals expressed throughout the Soviet urban literature. It also helps identify barriers to effective implementation of urban policies, barriers that help explain the disparity between the real and the ideal. Given the strong parallels between Soviet and British new towns, the examination is further enhanced by comparing Dubna with British new towns. Using the British case as a yardstick provides a crosscultural comparison that extends our understanding of the Soviet case, where data and analyses are lacking.