Urban Recreational Areas Research Articles

Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens in Popular Recreational Areas in Tallinn, Estonia: The Underestimated Risk of Tick-Borne Diseases.

This study reveals a significant presence of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in urban recreational areas of Tallinn, Estonia. During the period of May-June 2018, 815 Ixodes ticks were collected from an area of 11,200 m2 using the flagging method. Tick density reached up to 18.8 ticks per 100 m2, indicating a high concentration of ticks in these urban green spaces. Pathogen analysis demonstrated that 34% of the collected ticks were infected with at least one pathogen. Specifically, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis, was detected in 17.4% of the ticks; Rickettsia spp. was detected in 13.5%; Neoehrlichia mikurensis was detected in 5.5%; Borrelia miyamotoi was detected in 2.6%; and Anaplasma phagocytophilum and tick-borne encephalitis virus were detected in 0.5% each. These findings indicate that the prevalence and abundance of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in these urban environments are comparable to or even exceed those observed in natural endemic areas. Given the increasing incidence of Lyme borreliosis in Central and Northern Europe, the risk of tick bites and subsequent infection in urban recreational sites should not be underestimated. Public health measures, including enhanced awareness and precautionary information, are essential to mitigate the risk of tick-borne diseases in these urban settings.

Preferences and Constraints: A Study on Urban Outdoor Sportive Recreation Areas

It is increasingly important to identify the determinants and barriers to the use of urban parks. To this aim; the sample group in the study, which was carried out to determine the participation preferences and constraints of individuals using open space urban recreation areas, consists of 629 people using 11 urban open recreation areas in Turkey’s Ankara province. In addition to the demographic questionnaire, “Preference Factors of Recreation Areas” (PFRA) and “Sportive Recreation Barriers Scale” (SRBS) scales were used to collect the data. Frequency, arithmetic mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the data. Independent sample t test and one-way analysis of variance ANOVA test were applied to determine the difference since homogeneity and normal distribution conditions were fulfilled. Correlation coefficients were given by Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and regression analysis was used. The findings obtained can be stated that individuals who use open space recreation areas in Ankara province have a high preference for recreation area participation and perceive sportive recreation barriers at average values. It was determined that the variables such as gender, education level, marital status and reasons for going to recreational areas significantly differentiated recreation area preference factors and sportive recreation barriers. It was found that there was a statistically significant relationship between PFRA and SRBS, and it was also found to be a factor in explaining the barriers to sportive recreation. Within the scope of the findings obtained, the findings were discussed with the support of the literature in terms of evaluating the preference factors of open space urban recreation area users for using parks and the barriers that they may encounter.

The positive effect of blue luminescent pathways on urban park visitor’s affective states: A virtual reality online study measuring facial expressions and self-reports

The colour blue often elicits feelings of calmness and contentment, for which evidence has largely been provided in daytime settings. It is unclear whether pathways illuminated in blue, for example, in urban recreational park areas at night confers the same positive impact on night time park visitors. To tackle this open empirical question, we investigated how adding blue self-luminous pavement to park lighting at night time affects park visitors’ emotions compared to conventional white street light illumination. Our goal is to inform design decisions aimed at enhancing the emotional well-being of people outdoors at night in urban environments. Participants’ emotional response was captured at four different time points while watching a video of a walk in a virtual urban park at night, which was lit with white street lights only or with the addition of blue luminescent pavement on the walked paths (between-subject design). To capture visitor’s emotions, we used a simplified version of the Geneva Emotion Wheel (GEW) instrument and online facial expression recognition technology as subjective (self-reports) and objective (physiological) measures of emotion, respectively. The results of the GEW self-reports showed that the addition of a blue self-luminous pavement in a park during night time yielded more positive affect than standard white lighting in park visitors for the first half of the walk. In the second half of the walk through the park, participants’ affective states seemed to equalize between the two lighting conditions. In contrast, sensory data on facial expressions indicated no difference between participants’ emotional states over the whole walk in the two experimental conditions. Consistent with the positive emotional state perceived in the second half of the walk, the state of relaxation experienced after the walk also did not differ between the two lighting conditions. Furthermore, participants’ relaxation judgements after the park walk were more negative overall for females than the more neutral ratings of males. Our results highlight the importance of lighting colour at night for the design of future affect-smart cities that may consider individual and group characteristics with the ultimate intent of promoting public well-being.

Biking-hiking conflicts and their mitigation in urban recreation areas: Results of a quasi-experimental long-term evaluation in the Zurich forest

Increased recreational use of green spaces in and around cities leads to conflicts between user groups such as bikers and hikers. This study evaluates a broad set of measures to reduce such conflicts in the Uetliberg urban forest in Zurich. Data about conflict perceptions of hikers, bikers and people involved in both activities from three surveys were compared: immediately before (2005), 1.5 years (2006) and 12 years (2017) after the implementation of the visitor management measures. The results show that not only on short term after the implementation (2006) but also in longer term (2017) there was a broad consensus on the acceptance of the visitor management measures and a high level of satisfaction with the recreation area and other users’ behaviour. Soft measures like the opening of forest paths for bikers and an official bike trail were better accepted than the hard measure of a transport ban for bicycles. Conflict-relevant factors such as a compliant behaviour and the tolerance of others as well as the danger posed by bikers were perceived differently by the user groups. The conflict between bikers and hikers was asymmetrical and experienced more strongly by hikers. Respondents reported mainly out-group conflicts, while in-group conflicts were rarely perceived. The number of reported disturbances by bikers decreased thanks to the measures implemented, in particular due to the separate bike trail as additional infrastructure for bikers. Hikers and bikers move at different speeds. Especially on routes that allow fast biking (e.g., downhill trails), this can cause anxiety among hikers. At least in heavily used recreational areas, such routes should be separated for the two user groups. A combination of different spatial, communicative, and legal measures can reduce conflicts; prohibitions are the least popular. As far as evaluation is concerned, it seems worthwhile to measure the actual effects of mitigation measures on attitudes and behaviour of the target groups and not only the acceptance of the measures.

Environmental assessment of soil contamination by trace metals

The main purpose. The purpose of this research is to develop a method for determining the level of heavy metal contamination in the soil. For this end, the following tasks are set: - to develop a method for the integrated assessment of heavy metal contamination in the soil at the regional and local levels; - to identify the most heavy metal contaminated regions of Ukraine; - to estimate the level of hazard of heavy metal contamination in the soil for territories with different types of land use; - to assess the pollution of soils with heavy metals as a result of hostilities in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Methodology. The method takes into account the soil morphology, genezises, trace metals background concentrations and based on the development of the self-purification index for various soils in different regions of Ukraine. According to the proposed method soils have been classified by trace metals contamination. Results. At the local level, trace metals in soils were assessed for urban recreational areas, highways and roads, landfills and industrial zones. The soils in recreational areas were classified as ‘good’, highways and roads are classified as ‘satisfactory’ and ‘poor’, industrial and landfill was classified as ‘very poor’ according to the trace metals contamination. At the regional level, the highest contamination Class was given to the soils of Donetsk and Luhansk regions due to the highest density of industrial areas and performed military activities. The environmental assessment of trace metals contamination in soils due to the military activity was performed for these regions. The results of trace metals determination in Kharkiv according to this method indicate that the most dangerous areas are domestic waste landfills and facilities of the industrial companies. Recreation zones are ranked in Class 2. and the territory near the highways are assessed in quality Class 2 and 3. Assessment of the hazard level of trace metal contamination in the soil by the proposed method will allow making a scientifically substantiated decision on the priority of implementation of environmental measures. Scientific novelty. The paper presents a new method of assessing soil contamination with heavy metals at the regional and local level. The advantage of this method is taking into account the hazard class of pollutants and the self-cleaning index. A new classification of the level of danger of soil contamination with heavy metals has been developed. Practical significance. The use of the proposed methodological approach will contribute to obtaining comparable data when assessing the level of soil contamination by heavy metals and determining the priority of implementing environmental protection measures and increasing the level of environmental safety, which is especially relevant for the post-war recovery of our country.

Microbial content of bioaerosols in outdoor urban recreation areas of an Atlantic coastal city (Fortaleza-CE, Brazil)

Introduction: Regular physical activity and outdoor leisure provide significant health benefits. In urban environments, issues related to the air microbiological quality have become a priority due to the pandemic situation we are experiencing. This study analyzed the aerial microbiota of outdoor public spaces, using a qualitative and quantitative approach in Brazilian coastal town.
 Materials and methods: Three intra-urban areas were analyzed and characterizing according the thermo-hydrometric characteristics and vegetal cover. Bioaerosols were collected during the wet and dry seasons using the passive sampling technique with selective growth media for fungi and bacteria. Microbial groups were quantified on agar plates; colonies were randomly selected, purified and classified. The antibiotic resistance was evaluated against 6 antibiotics belonging to 6 classes.
 Results: Bacteria were relatively more frequent than fungi in the three areas. Among isolates, bacteria represented from 76% (P1) to 90% (P3) of the suspended microbiota in the rainy season; in dry season, the percentages varied from 87% (P1) to 91% (P2 and P3). Genus Bacillus was the main representative of Gram positive and Enterobacter genus the most frequently identified among Gram-negative bacteria. Aspergillus and Penicillium genera were the dominant among fungi. Fifty per cent from bacterial strains analyzed were resistant to at least one of the tested antimicrobials.
 Conclusion: Bacteria proved more abundant than fungi and more susceptible to climate and environmental changes in the leisure areas of the city. The monitoring of biological agents in the air is important for environmental management and population health.

Improving Air Quality in Urban Recreational Areas through Smart Traffic Management

Green parks are the only natural places for recreation in many metropolitan areas, and the European Commission is seeking to improve their air quality and, consequently, citizens’ physical and mental health. One of the recently adopted approaches is to achieve pollution abatement in these green areas by reducing nearby traffic. In this paper, we analyze the impact of reducing the traffic in nearby streets to avoid pollution by proposing two different approaches. Our goal is to improve the pollution levels in Valencia’s most significant green areas by limiting vehicular traffic flow in nearby streets. To this end, we consider two alternative solutions—a more restrictive one and a less restrictive approach—in an attempt to achieve a tradeoff between emission control and congestion avoidance. Moreover, we show how our proposal can reroute traffic throughout the city without having traffic jam problems associated with the proposed approaches. In addition, we determine how the traffic flow data and the emissions in the city vary due to the traffic restrictions that we enforce. The experimental results show that it is possible to achieve improvements in terms of pollution with both of our restriction approaches; in particular, with the partial traffic isolation model, the pollution rates in the target area decreased by 17%, which we consider an excellent initial result for the applicability and effectiveness of these methods when an adequate traffic routing system is adopted.

Detection of Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia spp. in Dermacentor reticulatus ticks found within the city of Bia\u0142ystok, Poland\u2014first data

Pathogens carried by ticks pose a threat to both human and animal health across the world. Typically associated with rural landscapes, ticks appear to adapt well to life in urban recreational areas. Although Dermacentor reticulatus is commonly found across Europe, data on the prevalence of pathogens in this tick species, in an urban environment, are very limited. PCR was used to examine 368 D. reticulatus individuals collected in the Zwierzyniecki Forest Nature Reserve in Białystok, Poland. In total, 10.3% of ticks were infected, with Babesia spp. (9.2%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (0.8%) and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (0.3%). Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., and Coxiella burnetii were not detected. Sequence analysis for Babesia-positive samples identified 79.4% of them as Babesia canis, 8.8% as Babesia microti, 5.9% as Babesia spp., 2.9% as Babesia venatorum, and 2.9% as Babesia vogeli. Results obtained in this study indicate that D. reticulatus ticks found within the urban premises of the study area are infected with at least three pathogens and therefore are an important factor in public health risk for tick-borne diseases.

Noise Pollution Analysis of Reserved Areas: Case Study of the Isparta Ayazmana Promenade Area

The sustainable landscpe design is a strategic framework in city planning and urban recreational areas, important for the quality of life of an increasingly urbanized society. This study deals with a better understanding of visitors demand and noise properties of Ayazmana promenade area, located in Isparta city center, Turkiye. The approach in the study is an exploration one with a base in site observations, interviews and survey. However, the average noise levels of the area was measured between 43.1 to 58.1 dB(A) in Autumn and 50.2 to 62.0 dB(A) in Spring, respectively. The recreational characteristics of Ayazmana promenade area were further evaluated with survey methodology on total of 100 respondents. Moreover, majority of participants (79) reported to be visiting of that promenade area for cheating with friends, followed by 78 for traveling, 70 for walking, 65 for sitting in green open spaces and for picnic, 57 for listening music and 53 for sporting activities, respectively. It is noticeable that most of the respondents (92%) were described the Ayazmana promenade area is somewhat noisy. At the end of survey study, it was requested to assessed the Ayazmana promenade area with some suggestions by respondents.

Prevalence of Babesia canis DNA in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected in forest and urban ecosystems in west-central Poland

Babesia canis, a widely distributed European tick-borne protozoan haemoparasite, causes canine babesiosis, the most important tick-borne disease afflicting dogs worldwide. The meadow tick, Dermacentor reticulatus, is considered to be the primary vector of this parasite in central Europe. Females of the more broadly distributed and medically important castor bean tick, Ixodes ricinus, also commonly feed upon dogs, but their role in the enzootic transmission cycle of B. canis is unclear. Here, we screened 1,598 host-seeking I. ricinus ticks collected from two different ecosystems, forest stands vs. urban recreational forests, for the presence of B. canis DNA. Ticks were sampled during their two seasonal peaks of activity, spring (May/June) and late summer (September). Babesia species were identified by amplification and sequencing of a hypervariable 18S rRNA gene fragment. Babesia canis was the only piroplasm detected in 13% of 200 larvae and 8.2% of 324 nymphs in the forest ecosystems. In urban recreational areas, B. canis DNA was found in 1.5% of 460 nymphs, 3.5% of 289 females and 3.2% of 280 males. Additionally, three samples, including one female, one male, and one nymph, were co-infected with B. venatorum and one nymph with B. divergens or B. capreoli. Our findings implicate that B. canis can be transmitted transovarially and maintained transstadially within populations of I. ricinus, but the vector competence of I. ricinus for transmitting B. canis remains to be investigated.

On the use of green plantations, winter gardens and greenhouses on the roofs of buildings and structures

The constant growth of the urban population has led to a number of serious social, economic and environmental problems. Due to the density of urban development, there is almost no space left for greenery, parks, squares. Not only urban recreational areas are being reduced, but also suburban green areas, which act as green urban belts. Such green belts are a source of oxygen, a zone of conservation of biodiversity of phyto- and zoocenoses, migration routes for biota from the urban environment to the natural and vice versa. In addition, they maintain the climate balance of the urban system, protecting it from wind, temperature changes, flooding, landslides and floods.
 Currently, the urban system spreads horizontally and vertically, which dramatically reduces the attractiveness of the landscape. The situation is complicated by economic reasons: the cost of land in the city center is very high. Therefore, it is more profitable to give it for construction, rather than creating recreation areas. Due to the lack of green areas in the central areas, there is an effect of "heat island" of urban centers, when the temperature difference between the central urban and suburban areas is about 4… 7 ° C.
 Factors that change the microclimate of urban coenoses also include: air pollution (change in its composition, which is expressed in an increase in the content of solid suspended particles and gaseous impurities); change in heat transfer due to the closed horizon, thermophysical properties of urban surfaces (heat capacity, reflectivity of impurities); artificial formation of heat flows during heating, operation of vehicles, at industrial enterprises. Economic and environmental problems of cities lead to social ones, when the level of chronic diseases increases, the psycho-emotional state of a person deteriorates, and the birth rate decreases. Therefore, modern cities need to use modern energy-efficient technologies on roofs - "green structures", conservatories and greenhouses, which are able to solve environmental, economic and social problems.

THE INFLUENCE OF THE PECULIARITIES OF THE ORGANIZATION OF RECREATIONAL AREAS ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LANDSCAPE AND ECOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK OF THE CITY (ON THE EXAMPLE OF KHARKIV CITY)

The article examines the process of degradation of the landscape-ecological framework of the city due to the dominance of the human-centered approach to the urban recreational areas’ organization. Using the methods of cartographic analysis, full-scale photographic recording, synthesis and abstraction, a study of the recreational territories of Kharkov city was carried out and three main types of recreational objects development were identified: small recreational objects (up to 10 hectares), which completely lost the opportunity for sustainable development, self-creation and are completely dependent from human withdrawal; medium-sized district and city parks, which are being reorganized into urban parks and amusement parks with a high level of recreational load; large elements of the landscape-ecological framework, which are degrading due to the complete absence of the recreational organization of the territory. It was also determined that the main reasons for the loss of sustainable development by recreational facilities are: lack of a comprehensive strategy of the system of landscape and recreational areas development for the city; making situational decisions about the reconstruction of recreational facilities in the city; inconsistency of the park’s type within its place in the structure of the landscape-ecological framework of the city; preference for the organization of park areas with high recreational loads; irregular organization of recreational areas in the city. The main steps of the strategy for the integrated development of the city landscape-recreational system are proposed, which are as follows: determining the level of value of a recreational facility in the structure of the city landscape-ecological framework, assessing the sustainability of a recreational facility development at the present stage, predicting the types of recreational organization of territories, the prospective level of recreational load, and the level of domestication of the object in order to preserve its sustainable development in the future.

Algorithm for selecting the structures of coastal protection construction to ensure environmentally safe condition of the coastal urbanized recreational areas

The existing concepts and modern methods of ensuring the ecological safety of the coastal zone of the sea were analyzed. The article considers modern theoretical developments and methods of choosing design solutions for special structures – various coastal protection structures (permeable, impermeable, made of various building materials, various shapes). This paper suggests a new algorithm for the choice of Bank protection structures intending to ensure environmentally friendly seaside state urban recreation area from the position of the preservation or restoration of the beach zone, which affects the environmental parameters of the site, which consists of a data collection phase of the study object, the selection of natural and technical factors that affect the ecological security of seaside urban recreational areas, the definition of specialization of the coastal zone in terms of recreation attractiveness of the coast, the evaluation phase of the current dynamics of ecological safety of the beach zone of the shore as an important element of seaside recreation of the urbanized area, which affects the level of environmental security in general, stage select bank protection structures and the definition of the projected factors of ecological safety of the beach zone. To check the application of the algorithm of selection structures bridges to ensure environmentally safe condition seaside urban recreational areas allows further justify the selection of the optimal environmental engineering solutions for the protection of the Western coast of Crimea.

РЕНОВАЦИЯ ПРИБРЕЖНЫХ ТЕРРИТОРИЙ НА ПРИМЕРЕ ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ НАБЕРЕЖНОЙ ГОРОДА ВОЛГОГРАДА

The objectives of the study were the questions of the prerequisites for the renovation of the coastal territory of Volgograd for the formation of sustainable development of the territories of the Volgograd agglomeration. The article presents the results of an urban planning analysis: functional zoning of the embankment territory; a scheme for the reorganization of the territory within the boundaries of the concept development; a scheme for the classification of green areas and retrospective material. The article substantiates the relevance of the development of urban recreational spaces, coastal areas, transformation and modernization of existing buildings in the context of solving the problems of urban development. The requirements for evaluation for each characteristic indicator that affects the transformation of the existing image of Volgograd to increase the tourist potential are given. It is established that the planning and architectural and spatial solutions of the Volgograd embankment are pedestrian-transport – two-tiered: the upper and lower tiers have different functional purposes.

Local Perceptions of Ecosystem Services Across Multiple Ecosystem Types in Spain

Combining socio-cultural valuations of ecosystem services with ecological and monetary assessments is critical to informing decision making with an integrative and multi-pronged approach. This study examined differences in the perceptions of ecosystem service supply and diversity across eight major ecosystem types in Spain and scrutinized the social and ecological factors shaping these perceptions. First, we implemented 1932 face-to-face questionnaires among local inhabitants to assess perceptions of ecosystem service supply. Second, we created an ecosystem service diversity index to measure the perceived diversity of services considering agroecosystems, Mediterranean mountains, arid systems, two aquatic continental systems, coastal ecosystems and two urban ecosystems. Finally, we examined the influence of biophysical, socio-demographic and institutional factors in shaping ecosystem service perceptions. Overall, cultural services were the most widely perceived, followed by provisioning and regulating services. Provisioning services were most strongly associated with agroecosystems, mountains and coastal systems, whereas cultural services were associated with urban ecosystems and regulating services were specifically linked with agroecosystems, mountains and urban recreational areas. The highest service diversity index values corresponded to agroecosystems, mountains and wetlands. Our results also showed that socio-demographic factors, such as place of origin (urban vs. rural) and educational level, as well as institutional factors, such as management and access regimes, shaped the perception of ecosystem services.

Effects of contexts in urban residential areas on the pleasantness and appropriateness of natural sounds

Before introducing natural sounds to potentially improve the soundscape quality, it is important to understand how key contextual factors (i.e. expected activities and audio-visual congruency) affect the soundscape in a given location. In this study, the perception of eight natural sounds (i.e. 4 birdsongs, 4 water sounds) at five urban recreational areas under the constant influence of road traffic was explored subjectively under three laboratory settings: visual-only, audio-only, and audio-visual. Firstly, expected socio-recreational activities of each location were determined in the visual-only setting. Subsequently, participants assessed the pleasantness and appropriateness of the soundscape at each site, for each of the eight natural sounds augmented to the same road traffic noise, in both audio-only and audio-visual settings. Interestingly, it was found that the expected activities in each location did not significantly affect natural sound perception, whereas audio-visual congruency of the locations significantly affected the pleasantness and appropriateness of the natural sounds. Particularly, the pleasantness and appropriateness decreased for water sounds when water features were not visually present. In contrast, perception with birdsongs was unaffected by their visibility likely due to the presence of vegetation. Hence, audio-visual coherence is central to the perception of natural sounds in outdoor spaces.

KENTSEL REKREATİF PARK KATILIM ENGELLERİNİN DEMOGRAFİK DEĞİŞKENLERE GÖRE İNCELENMESİ: ANTALYA İLİ ÖRNEĞİ

Determining the participation barriers to parks from urban recreation areas where individuals spend their leisure time is important in terms of realizing the planning for facilitating their participation. The aim of the study is to determine the differences of individuals' barriers to participation in urban recreational parks according to demographic variables. For this purpose, 396 participants were reached in Antalya Konyaalti and Muratpasa districts. The Urban Recreative Parking Areas Participation Barriers Scale was used to collect data. In addition to descriptive statistics, parametric tests, t test and ANOVA were used in data analysis. As a result of the data analysis, it was determined that there was no difference in the participation barriers of the research participants in the urban recreational park areas according to gender, the recreational activities they participated in and the frequency of their participation in the recreational activities, and there was a differentiation according to age, educational status, marital status, monthly income and the reasons for visiting recreational parks.

ПРИНЦИПЫ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ ГОРОДСКИХ НАБЕРЕЖНЫХ КАК КОМФОРТНОЙ ОБЩЕСТВЕННОЙ РЕКРЕАЦИОННОЙ СРЕДЫ

The authors address the problem of development of urban waterfront territories. Therefore the focus is on the basic principles of the organization of public recreational areas. The relevance of the interest is generally stipulated by the following reasons. Firstly, due to the analysis of the domestic and overseas waterfront design experience it seems reasonable to point out that the quality of urban living depends directly on the viability of open public spaces. The waterfront area proves to be a major element of urban tissue that can be related as the city image. Secondly, it can be reasonable to outline a range of issues that are extremely important for many cities in Russia such as the lack of land improvement, comfortable living environment and architectural-aesthetic identity in terms of the image of waterfront areas. The article aims to reveal basic principles of spatial organization of urban waterfront areas. The study is carried out on the material of the domestic and overseas experience in design solu-tions and existing public recreational areas. This implies the analysis and comparison of the following cases: waterfront revival in great cities and suburban towns within Russia as well as overseas experi-ence on regeneration of abandoned waterfront areas. Furthermore, there is the description of the main methods, principles, prospective directions in design management and architectural-aesthetic features of each considering design solution. The methodological basis of the research incorporates architectur-al, art, historical and cultural approaches. In terms of key results of the research we consider highlighting such principles of the organiza-tion of urban waterfronts as multilayer communication structure which are the priority for pedestrian circulation and multilevel waterfront environment; the ability to access water bodies, the addition of focal points, viable and barrier-free environment. Moreover, one of the most important factors is the concentration of urban recreational areas with diverse multifunctional zones that can be used both in summer and winter seasons. The preservation of ecological framework and maintenance of biodiversi-ty, the reliance on water protection zones as well as the appliance of eco-materials are also considered to be a range of inalienable measures in urban waterfront design. Waterfronts cannot be designed sepa-rately from adjacent urban bodies that, for example, can represent historical value. Architectural-aesthetic image of urban waterfronts should meet the modern tendencies in architecture, urban plan-ning and design or emphasize historical identity of urban development. The overall statements are supported by the analysis of the following design solutions: the embankment of Zaryadye Park in Moscow; the design of the waterfront regeneration in Divnogorsk in Krasnoyarsk region; the design of Riga waterfront in Latvia, the design of Seine quayside reinvention in Paris; the East River waterfront in New York; the waterfront arear HafenCity in Hamburg. Overall, due to the results of our research the organization of urban waterfronts incorporates a variety of crucial factors (in terms of architecture, urban planning and design, imageability, ecology, economy etc) which add the complexity to the designing process. Nevertheless, the implementation of the basic principles of design provides waterfronts with the high level of diversity and comfort for cities’ inhabitants.

Реновационное проектирование общественных парков в городах крайнего севера (Западная Сибирь)

The article is devoted to the issue of the specifics of the renovation design of urban public parks and recreation areas in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug – Yugra to create a comfortable living environment.

Investment priorities and investment potential of various infrastructure facilities of the city

The article discusses the investment strategies of university students in relation to the infrastructure of the city, the characteristics of which were evaluated from the point of view of respondents as suitable / not suitable in order to plan their own life in this city. It was proposed to evaluate the investment priorities and investment potential of various infrastructure facilities of the city and aspects of its life. Quantitative and qualitative research was carried out in relation to the investment priorities of the objects: transport infrastructure, urban amenities, urban recreation areas, cultural, art and patriotism development objects, sports facilities and leisure facilities on the example of St. Petersburg. As part of the study, students were also asked to assess the potential willingness to invest in the future as owners or managers of enterprises. The article analyses the significance of a number of urban projects for environmental planning for the development of the territory, including the elements of the Lakhta Center public space in St. Petersburg.