Large Russian Cities Research Articles

Reproductive potential of the male (RPM): the computer database of phenotypic and molecular genetic data for Russian men with impaired and normal fertility

Currently, a trend of decline in male fertility is observed all over the world. The study of this trend has not only of scientific, but also of socio-economic importance. Many countries conduct studies of male reproductive potential and search environmental and genetic causes of the mentioned phenomenon. Previously published studies have not included data on the Russian male population. This work presents novel database “Reproductive Potential of the Male population of Russia” (RPM), which is almost the only source of such information about Russia. RPM was created using relational database management system MariaDB and is available at www.sysbio.ru/rpm. The database includes reproductive information of 1390 male volunteers from five large cities of Russia: Arkhangelsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Ulan-Ude and Yakutsk. The important feature of the developed database is the unique data of a multifactorial measurement of male fertility: spermatogenic, hormonal, metabolic and anthropological indices. The scientists can use published information in their studies of male reproductive potential as data of some Russian regions and compare it with data from other countries. Also the published data can be used to identify markers of infertility and subfertility, as well as to study ethnic and regional trends in fertility variability and demographic risks in Russia.

Coalitions in Exchange for Loyalty? Relationships between Government and Construction Business in Large Russian Cities (Cases of Perm and Yekaterinburg)

The article is devoted to studying political foundations of interaction between business and government in large cities. The authors study construction sector in two Russian cities with a population over one million — Yekaterinburg and Perm — and show that political considerations play an important role even in those areas where the government’s position towards business, as it would seem, should be determined solely by economic factors. Relationships between government and construction sector are usually viewed through the prism of coalitions, when cooperation with developers is a priority and a winning strategy for the government. Thus, in the logic of the theory of “growth machines”, the mutual interest of the construction sector and the government is based on the mutual need for the development of the urban economy. However, the observed public conflicts between the government and large developers indicate that this logic has flaws and the government is guided not only by the economic interests when selecting coalition partners. In the article the authors employ the method of qualitative comparative analysis using data from Yekaterinburg and Perm and try to explain why, contrary to the expectations, the relationships between business and government can be uncooperative and conflicting. According to their hypothesis, the authoritarian context and the formation of the management vertical change stimuli and incentivize government to prioritize political loyalty when dealing with business. Their research confirms that it is the demonstration of political loyalty, which signals consent to invest into maintaining political regime, that allows business to avoid conflicts with the government. If there is no loyalty, one cannot guarantee administration’s friendly attitude even if business participates in implementing social projects. Moreover, in such circumstances high business activity, especially in combination with the local registration, increases the likelihood of a conflict with the government.

Организация волонтерской деятельности в период пандемии COVID-19

In recent years, there has been a tendency for the active growth of volunteer (volunteer) activities not only in Russia, but also abroad. Volunteering is one of the most effective ways to solve socially significant tasks of the state. At present, it is already difficult to imagine any sphere of human activity without the participation of volunteers (volunteers). The author analyzed the organization of volunteer (volunteer) activities during the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia and abroad. Particular attention in the article is paid to specific examples of the activities of volunteer organizations in large cities of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod). The results of a questionnaire survey of participants of volunteer organizations are presented, the leading motives of their activities are revealed. Volunteer experience in other countries is characterized, similarities and differences are revealed.

Институциональные новации и математические модели Рубена Смида в свете современных российских транспортных реалий


 
 
 
 В статье проводятся сопоставления современных российских транспортных проблем (реалий, новаций) с результатами исследований классика английской и мировой транспортной науки Рубена Джейкоба Смида, получившими широкую академическую и публичную известность в 40–60-х годах прошлого века.
 Произведена оценка соответствия ретроспективных и актуальных российских данных о смертности в ДТП «закону Смида», определяющему статистическую связь между уровнем автомобилизации населения и социальными рисками. На этой основе, в рамках базовой гипотезы Смида о «транспортном самообучении нации», оценена степень успешности этого процесса в России в 1990–2018 гг.
 Проведена оценка баланса спроса/предложения на ресурсы пропускной способности улично-дорожной сети города с применением «модели Смида–1966»; при этом подтверждена валидность этой модели в планировочных и трафиковых условиях современной Москвы.
 Проанализированы основные инструменты активного управления спросом на автомобильные поездки в рамках понятия «Road Pricing», введенного в научный оборот в Отчете Смида-1964. Произведена оценка эффективности, целесообразности и особенностей их применения в крупных городах России.
 
 
 

Study of the dependence of city development indicators from urban form

Urban form is an important object of the decision-making process in urban planning. Indicators of spatial characteristics appear in the regulatory acts of the Russian Federation. In today’s fast-paced world, the infrastructure that used to be acceptable becomes inappropriate over time, and adaptation by trial and error often leads to negative consequences. This study is part of a major effort to understand how the urban form affects the development of the city. The study of five significant spatial indicators and four important development indicators on the data of the fourteen largest cities in Russia did not reveal an essential correlation among the analyzed indicators. Nevertheless, the demostered direction in understanding the laws of the spatial development of the city can help in making decisions on the transformation of the urban environment and will give a new impetus to creating comfortable living conditions.

Biometeorological characteristics as energy consumption estimates in large Russian cities

We have conducted a comparative analysis of the climatic and biometeorological characteristics of the regions with the largest Russian cities and have laid the basis for constructing maps of the heating season climatic characteristics for the territory of Russia. For the effective ambient temperature range of 17.2 to 21.7°C (comfort zone), we have calculated changes in the comfort zone for Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, Novosibirsk, and Vladivostok according to data from 1959 to the present. Despite all climate differences between regions with selected cities, allowance for wind speed leads to a decrease in the number of days with temperature within the comfort zone.

КОМПЛЕКС МОДЕЛЕЙ ДЛЯ ОЦЕНКИ УРОВНЯ ПРИВЛЕКАТЕЛЬНОСТИ ГОРОДОВ РОССИИ

The article is devoted to the issues of determining the attractiveness of large Russian cities for residents, entrepreneurs and tourism, as well as the factors that determine it. In view of this, the parameters of the socio-economic development in the cities with population over 100 thousand people are considered. Assessment of the cities’ attractiveness for the population implied an analyzing: the number of the settlement’s inhabitants, the level of wages, the level of crime, the provision of housing and doctors, as well as the magnitude of migration growth. As part of assessing the attractiveness of the cities for entrepreneurs, the volume of shipments of goods of their own production and the provision of services on their own, retail trade turnover, the level of employment, the availability and degree of depreciation of fixed assets, the number of residents, and the volume of investments in fixed assets were taken into account. From the standpoint of the forming tourist flows, the number of persons accommodated in collective accommodation facilities, the number of places in collective accommodation facilities, and the average number of employees in collective accommodation facilities were considered. On the basis of the study, a number of regression equations were formed, and an analysis of variance was carried out. At the same time, the assessment of the attractiveness of the territory from the point of view of tourists was carried out, inter alia, on the basis of the number of relevant requests on the Internet. Five groups of cities were identified, which are characterized by a specific ratio between the number of persons accommodated in the CSW and the number of Internet requests. The corresponding mathematical formalization of these relations is carried out. The proposed models of the attractiveness of cities complement each other and make it possible to implement an integrated approach to solving this problem. It is shown that the improvement of the situation, both in individual regions and in the country as a whole, is possible only through integrated socio-economic development, that is, through the use of indirect measures and the creation of favorable conditions for the formation of positive changes.

Where is the consumer centre? A case of St. Petersburg

AbstractIn an urban economy, the distribution of people and real estate prices depends on the location of the central business district of a city. As distance from the city centre increases, both prices and population density diminish, for travel costs increase in terms of time and money. As manufacturing gradually leaves the cities, the importance of consumer amenities as attractors of population to the urban areas increases. The role of a business centre is being replaced by the consumer centre. In this paper, we identify the location of the consumer centre of St. Petersburg — the second largest city in Russia and its former capital. For this purpose using the data from open sources in the Internet regarding the location of many different types of urban amenities, the indices of their spatial density are computed. Using the weights based on coefficients of spatial variation and survey‐based weights, the individual indices are aggregated to two general centrality indices. Their unique maxima correspond to the city centre of St. Petersburg, which is located on Nevsky prospekt, between Fontanka river and Liteinyi prospekt.

Assessment of the Attractiveness of Large Russian Cities for Residents, Tourists, and Business

The article proposes an approach to assessing the attractiveness of large cities of the Russian Federation for residents, businesses, and tourists. As part of the development of this approach, particular parameters of the attractiveness of cities for individual economic agents were determined and an integral indicator was calculated. The hypothesis of the study is based on the fact that high positions of a city in a particular rating do not always guarantee its leadership in other areas; however, in general, the differentiation of places in case of a particular city is more inherent to ratings outsiders than to leading cities. Systemic analysis; factorial, statistical, structural, and dynamic analysis; classification, correlation, and regression analysis; and economic and mathematical modeling were used as research tools. The approach was tested on data for large Russian cities. Both sets of particular indicators characterizing certain areas of research and the approach to forming an integral indicator of the level of attractiveness of cities necessary for a generalized assessment have been determined. The presented results generally confirm the proffered hypothesis. In modern conditions, public authorities should pay special attention not only to the development of individual cities, but to the integrated development of the spatial framework of a territory where cities play a decisive role. The proposed approach to assessing the level of attractiveness of Russian cities makes it possible to obtain logical meaningful results that can be applied to solve problems in these areas.

Sustainability of Transport System of Large Russian City in the Period of COVID-19: Methods and Results of Assessment

In spring 2020 the whole world went through the “black swan”—COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare systems of all countries and the world economy, in general, became very stressed. The extraordinary decline of activity in all spheres, except healthcare, led to a drop in the demand for transport services, including city public transport. It was important for city management to support the sustainability of the local transport system. The article presents fundamental approaches to assessing the sustainability of a transport service, particularly city passenger public transport (CPPT), for the example of the large Russian city Tyumen (size of population—nearly 807 thousand people). Methods of analysis of the sustainability of the transport process in conditions of negative environmental impact (COVID-19 pandemic) are considered. During the period from 30.03.2020 to 31.05.2020 (nine weeks—the acute phase of COVID-19 pandemic) structural sustainability of the CPPT system in Tyumen kept a high level. By changing the parameters of the planned characteristics of the CPPT system state, an attempt to adapt the transport service supply to a sharp decrease in transport demand was made. In the period of “self-isolation”, the demand for the CPPT transport service reduced more than the transport service supply. Sustainability of CPPT functioning was evaluated by calculating the elasticity of the transport supply (number of trips) in relation to the actual demand (actual volume of transportations). Calculation of the elasticity index of the CPPT system of Tyumen during nine weeks of April–May 2020 (duration of “self-isolation“) is provided. A conclusion was made from the results of the research. In particular, it was found that the foreground target function of city management was the maintenance of a high level of transportation processes to the detriment of the transportations’ effectiveness. Such a policy led to contradictory results—the additional financial expenses at the rate of 135–150 million rubles and quite a high level of contentment of the Tyumen population with the quality of the CPPT work (sociological research established that 80–85% of respondents were satisfied with the quality of the transport service in April–May 2020).

Novosibirsk and the Budgetary Problems of a Large City

ABSTRACT The article discusses the factors and conditions determining the population concentration and economic activity of the largest cities and agglomerations in the Russian Federation. It is shown that in addition to market volumes, labor quality, scaling effects, and higher innovative activity resulting from competition, budgetary structure and budgetary policy play an important role in the advanced development of large Russian cities. Using Novosibirsk as an example, the article analyzes the expenditures of the Russian budgetary system in a Russian city and shows that the expenditures of the city budget are less than one-third of the total expenditures of the budgetary system inside the city’s territory. The Novosibirsk budget reveals the main trends in the dynamics of its budget indicators. The structure of the city’s budget is evaluated in terms of both the revenue gathered directly on its territory and its dependence on funds transferred from the regional budget. By analyzing budgetary resources, the article identifies the main areas of spending inside the territory of Novosibirsk.

Urban transformation of a post-soviet coastal city: the case of Saint Petersburg

At the turn of the XX-XXI centuries, post-socialist cities of Europe experienced an active transformation of their socio-demographic and economic structure. A striking feature of post-Soviet cities was the preservation of the disproportionate weight of industry in the economy against the background of a long absence of the real estate market. This phenomenon highlighted the need to solve the problems of socio-economic inequality within the city and restructuring its economy. This is especially true for Russian cities experiencing the shifts in the territorial structure of the population under the influence of transition to market economy, the third industrial revolution and the change of economic- geographical location. This study focuses on identifying trends in the social segmentation of the urban space of St. Petersburg as the second largest city in Russia and a socio-economic center of national importance. The social stratification of the city was studied at the grassroots administrative and territorial level based on the assessment of spatial distribution and the formation of territorial groups of the population with certain qualitative characteristics. The object of the study was 111 municipalities of St. Petersburg. The dynamics of their five most important indicators of demographic, social and economic development in 1989–2018 was analyzed: real estate tax on individuals per capita; the proportion of entrepreneurs; own incomes of municipalities per inhabitant; the proportion of people with an academic degree; cost of housing. Using the rank method, a social welfare rating was compiled. Information for the study was taken from the materials of the general urban planes of St. Petersburg in 1966, 1987 and 2005, the All-Russian population censuses of 2002 and 2010, the databases of the Federal State Statistics Service and the Federal Tax Service, and from the real estate «CIAN» company. The increasing social segregation by income was revealed. The existing differentiation of municipalities in terms of welfare is shown. The poorest are the municipalities of the southern part of the city (Kolpinsky, Nevsky, Krasnoselsky districts and Kronshtadt), while the most prosperous are the municipalities of Petrograd and Central districts, as well as certain territories of the municipal district of Moskovskaya Zastava, the villages of Komarovo, Repino and Solnechnoe.

Отношение к чаепитию как маркер профессионализации сообщества третьего сектора в Санкт-Петербурге

На основе исследования «профессионализации» НКО – процесса бюрократизации, возникновения «экспертного знания» и сообщества третьего сектора – статья рассматривает распространение культуры чаепитий в России с точки зрения ее значения для деятельности НКО. Ставится вопрос о том, как культура потребления чая рассматривается в дискуссиях об активном долголетии (active ageing) и построении идентичности сообщества третьего сектора. Данные об отношении к чаепитиям получены в результате качественного социологического исследования 16 НКО, занимающихся оказанием негосударственной заботы и социальных услуг людям старшего возраста в Санкт-Петербурге. На основе полуструктурированных интервью, включенных наблюдений и анализа документов приводятся аргументы, свидетельствующие, что профессионализированные НКО – небольшое и относительно закрытое сообщество, связанное общими проектами, идеологией («активного старения») и представлениями об организационной деятельности, рассматривают чаепития через призму «бесполезности» для развития третьего сектора и «гражданской культуры» в России. Чаепития воспринимаются своеобразной оппозицией такой культуре, выступая в роли примера крайней степени «неэффективности», «неустойчивости», т. е. всего того, против чего выступают профессионализированные НКО. Основной темой статьи является место чаепития как социальной услуги в дискурсе о «хорошей заботе» среди НКО, оказывающих социальные услуги пожилым людям (на примере Санкт-Петербурга). Чаепитие в данном случае выступает характерной и распространенной формой социальных услуг, отношение к которой существенно отличается среди представителей НКО в зависимости от степени их вовлеченности в профессиональное сообщество. Cделан вывод о том, что использование чаепитий (как социальных услуг для людей старшего возраста) в деятельности НКО является своеобразным водоразделом, по которому профессиональное сообщество третьего сектора судит о принадлежности или непринадлежности организаций третьего сектора к «профессиональному» сообществу. В заключении предлагаются несколько направлений для потенциальных исследований практик чаепития с точки зрения изучения гражданского общества и трансформации политической культуры.

The Samarsky yard: context

Samara is the sixth largest city in Russia, as well as an important social, political, economic, and cultural centre. Unfortunately, it is also one of the best examples of the process of systematic decline of the historic environments in Russian cities. A city’s built heritage is an important part of its identity and that of its inhabitants. It reflects not only the history of the city, but also its unique set of social values and cultural richness. It can help create a sense of belonging and mutual understanding that strengthens local communities, at the same time that it attracts the interest of visitors and new residents. A methodological model has been developed that links the morphological features of the historical environment of Samara with the parameters of reconstructive intervention in the urban development of the central part of the city. The model is considered as an evaluation of the existing approach in the historical centre of Samara on the basis of the existing Rules for development and land use. The neutral approach should enhance a balanced and equal discussion between all different stakeholders.

Visualization of analytical data to assess the quality of life of the population in large Russian cities

The article describes the technology of using the Foursquare service, the folium library, as well as clustering techniques based on the k-means method for analyzing and assessing the quality of life of the population in large cities, where more than 100 thousand people live. The main indicators of the quality of life of the population of a particular city were selected data on migration flows, housing price, as well as the environmental situation. During the study, a hypothesis was determined about the direct dependence of the outflow of the urban population on the level of high cost of housing, as well as on the level of the ecological situation of a particular city. As a result of the analysis, a figurative relationship between the cost of housing and the outflow of the urban population was revealed – in cities with a high cost of housing the highest level of population growth. In addition, in cities where there is an outflow of urban population, along with a very low cost of housing, the highest level of environmental pollution was found. Also, clustering of cities using the k-means method showed that in cities with a high cost of housing and a high rate of population growth due to migration flows, a low level of environmental pollution was revealed. The capabilities of the folium library of the Python programming language made it possible to visually present an interactive map of the country with the level of the ecological situation of cities. According to the author, the results of such studies affect not only the formation of managerial decisions at the federal and regional levels, but also on the assessment of the attractiveness of the city for the life of the local population, as well as people planning to change their place of residence.

Multifunctional urban environment and building typologies. Mix of functions at the ensemble and object level in Russia - challenges and limitations

A critical part of the livable city approach, mixing of functions has become an essential instrument of contemporary urban planning. What are the ways then, mixed-use is implemented in present-day Russia? What western projects can we reference as precedents? Many circumstances must come together to enable implementation of mixed-use in a city: conducive overarching planning ideology and relevant policies; favorable conditions of the real estate market; appropriate governing principles of the development plan; as well as creativity of an architect. This study examines the situation at different scales from citywide and district level plans, to individual buildings, and proposes a methodology for comparing the regulatory conditions for the implementation of mixed-use in the Land Use Rules of several large Russian cities. It is possible to conclude, that mixed-use has been established as a planning objective. What remains to be done is the change in the conditions under which these goals can be achieved.

Urban information spaces as the basis of the system “Smart City”

The articletouches upon the issues of information spaces formation in the environment of large Russian cities exemplified by Samara. The taxonomy of city information spaces with the consequent placement of the integrated sites of information distribution characteristic for Smart City, i.e. infoboxes, is determined. The main criteria of an urban environment informative value are formulated. The results of architectural and urban planning research of the urban environment fragments with the consequent experimental projecting are given.

Urban geochemical changes and pollution with potentially harmful elements in seven Russian cities

This paper presents results of an analysis of potentially harmful elements (PHEs, Pb, Zn and Cu) and conservative element (CE, Fe) concentrations in urban surface deposited sediment (USDS). The study was conducted in seven large Russian cities located in different geographic and climatic zones, and in territories with different geology and anthropogenic pressures: Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Nizhniy Tagil, Rostov-on-Don, Tyumen, and Ufa. The initial geochemical baseline relationships between PHEs and CE concentrations in the USDS were reconstructed for each city applying an approach based on linear weighted fitting of PHE as a function of CE with lower weights assigned to more polluted samples. The reconstructed average initial baseline Pb, Cu, and Zn concentrations varied between 17–52, 25–196, and 91–413 mg kg−1, respectively. Several new criteria for assessing the degree of geochemical transformation and pollution of the urban environment, such as the percentage of polluted samples, average pollutant concentration in polluted samples, and weighting degree index δ, were suggested and compared with common criteria, such as the PHE concentration and the geo-accumulation index. The environmental rank of a city significantly differed depending on whether the criterion for ranking was total PHE pollution or changes in comparison with the initial geochemical baseline.

Развитие жилищного строительства в крупнейшем региональном центре в постсоветский период (на примере Новосибирска)

The process of housing construction development in the largest Russian city in the post-Soviet period is analyzed. On the example of Novosibirsk, the authors consider the tendencies of densification of the central and middle parts of the city, as well as territorial expansion of peripheral and suburban residential formations. The similarity of the process of evolution of the housing sector of the largest Russian regional center and cities of the former socialist bloc in the conditions of transition to market relations is shown.

Cluster policies of large cities in Russia and Kazakhstan

Relevance. Faced with globalization challenges, large modern cities need to develop their competitive advantages. One source of such advantages is clustering of urban economy. Questions dealing with cluster-based policies and classification of clusters operating on the regional and national levels have attracted much scholarly attention while there is still a research gap regarding urban cluster policies and comparison of city-based clusters. Research objective. The purpose of this study is to analyze the legal framework of cluster policies in Russia and Kazakhstan and to describe the criteria for classification and comparison of city-based clusters. Data and methods. The study used methods of systemic and comparative analysis, formalized methods of analysis of regulatory acts. The selected criteria are universal and can be used for cluster analysis in different countries. We considered strategies for socio-economic development of large cities in Russia and Kazakhstan from the official websites of city administrations as well as the regulatory acts of specific cities. Results. In both countries, clusters play a significant role in the development strategies of territories. The Russian and Kazakh governments take similar measures to support cluster initiatives. The regulatory legal acts of both countries emphasize the allocation of subsidies and co-financing of regional programs and R&D in clusters. The process of cluster creation in Russia started later than in Kazakhstan but was also more intensive. A popular specialization for clusters in both countries is information technologies and communications, which corresponds to the goals set by the national governments. Conclusions. In both countries, the number of clusters in large cities is increasing annually. Typically, clusters have 11-50 participants. In both countries, there are clusters of different specialization. Strategies for socio-economic development serve as the main documents for devising cluster policies of cities. The practical significance of the study is that it proposes an approach to classification and comparison of clusters that can be used in further analysis and for identification of cluster policy priorities.