City Renovations
Significant statistics
Educational program
People representing urban communities have been given an opportunity to participate in an extensive educational program that includes a contest of art projects, a workshop on how to promote good neighboring and forge local communities, a program on fostering creativity in children and youths, and a program for developing projects seeking to improve the urban environment.
The list of the educational program’s participants included young architects, designers, urban planners, sociologists, and urban activists.
2018: Dzerzhinsk and Kstovo
Among the project’s highlights was the City at the Starting Line forum, where experts in shaping and improving urban environments discussed with the residents of Dzerzhinsk and Kstovo how to effectively promote land improvement, develop their own spaces, develop and strengthen good neighborly relations. As one of the results of the forum, each city saw their own local communities form where members took part in developing projects to improve urban public areas and spaces.
2019: Blagoveshchensk and Pyt-Yakh
The 2019 program was hosted by smaller towns, such as Blagoveshchensk (Republic of Bashkortostan) and Pyt-Yakh (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug). It focused on strongly encouraging local residents’ participation in creative and volunteering campaigns.
Blagoveshchensk and Pyt-Yakh hosted the following events: the City at the Starting Line forum, a series of environmental campaigns titled A City’s Geometry, and a contest of artistic projects. In addition, a functional co-working space was commissioned. The project to improve the area around the city pond in Blagoveshchensk was entered in a contest announced by the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation.
2020-2021: Dzerzhinsk, Nyagan and Gubkinsky
Each of the cities hosted a forum dedicated to the topic of urban development. As part of the forums, the residents of Dzerzhinsk, Nyagan and Gubkinsky took part in transforming urban environments of their home cities. 2021 saw nearly 2,000 local residents take part in the project’s implementation. The project helped develop three design layouts for improving public spaces in these cities, one for each city. The projects developed in Dzerzhinsk and Gubkinsky emerged as winners of the RF Ministry of Construction’s Nationwide Contest of the best projects for creating a comfortable urban environment in small towns and heritage settlements of Russia. Federal investments totaling RUB126,250,000 have been mobilized for developing the urban environment in these cities. The project in Nyagan was implemented in the framework of the local Program for the development of comfortable urban environment.
The project made it possible to create creativity-infused areas (co-working spaces) and build functional art objects in the cities. As a result of this joint effort, vibrant communities of caring citizens have emerged there.
2021-2022: Nyagan and Blagoveshchensk
2023: Nyagan, Gubkinsky
In 2023, the project was continued in Gubkinsky and Nyagan. In Gubkinsky, participants of a workshop developed projects aiming at selective transformation of urban areas. On July 15, Gubkinsky held a city cleanup campaign dubbed The City Workshop with residents taking part in putting in place a local parklet designed by the participants of the workshop. Guided by professionals, the city’s residents put together and painted the parklet’s various elements, installed street furniture, and planted flowers while local artists painted a family-themed mural. The cleanup campaign concluded with a sports festival for families, a grand opening of the new recreational area and a ceremony for rewarding the project’s co-authors.
Gubkinsky also hosted the Youth Park forum dedicated to developing a project to renovate and beautify a Purpe neighborhood’s park. The forum was attended by more than 130 of the city’s residents with another 180 caring attendees taking part in open public discussions held concurrently. The project to transform the park ended up winning the Ministry of Construction’s 8th All-Russian Contest of Projects to Create a Comfortable Urban Environment.
Further details about these activities are available in the project's VK group.
Nyagan hosted a Leaders of Change workshop and a round table Northmen's Parkette dedicated to improvement of urban neighborhoods. As a part of the workshop, 47 residents of the city put their heads together to develop projects aiming to transform 9 urban sites. The round table brought together representatives of the city’s administration, municipal agencies and the welfare sector to discuss Nyagan's improvement. Following the roundtable, an experts' working group was set up to facilitate efficient discussion of issues related to the improvement of the Parkette and engagement of the city’s residents in its transformation.
Further details about these activities are available in the project's VK group.