The Second Line of the Leningrad/ Saint Petersburg Metro between Old and New Urban Structures

Abstract

This article examines the development of the Leningrad subway second line as a tool to make the diverse city space merge and shrink. While planning the Leningrad subway, architects and engineers had to consider recent and historical developments. Bringing together urban developments from the nineteenth century up to the reconstruction in the 1940s was crucial for the construction of this urban infrastructure and the city space. The blue line, which opened in 1961, cuts through the city on a straight line. During the planning and construction process, city planners considered various routes and developments to bring together rather different parts of Leningrad and make the city grow into one urban space. Whereas the perception of city spaces is mostly connected to its surface, the subterranean structures play a crucial role to understand not just the development of the city space itself but also its current perception.