Is There a Need for Master Plans for Large Cities

Abstract

The article is written on the topic of discussion that arose as a result of the instructions of V.V. Putin to government to replace the general plans of large cities with strategic plans to accelerate urban planning construction. Opinions of experts on this issue are divided. In order to assess the feasibility of such a decision, the experience of designing large Russian cities in a planned economy is analyzed. The article also analyzes the current experience of England, including the legislative framework in the field of strategic urban planning, the experience of developing a strategic plan for Greater London and a local plan for the city of London. The analysis performed allows us to conclude that a large city should have a strategic development plan. It includes the Vision, or the mission of the city, a set of regulated approaches in different areas of the city's life (housing, industry, infrastructure, environment, etc.), the definition of a coordinated policy of their spatial implementation, the general concept of the spatial development of the city, aimed at achieving the city's mission. The strategic plan of a large city should be developed on the territory of the city and adjacent territories with which active daily communication is carried out. It should have a social and resource rationale, implementation mechanisms, contain indicators for which this implementation is monitored. The main goal of this plan is not to speed up the urbanplanning provision of construction, but to contribute to the formation of a successful city: comfortable, attractive for investments, residents and visitors. The presence of a strategic plan does not exclude the need to develop master plans for large administrativeterritorial entities within the framework of the designed facility with a view to detailing the strategy defined in the strategic plan for the development of these territories. The effectiveness of plans depends on the use of modern technologies for developing solutions and managing their implementation, as well as on how socially and economically justified the vision of the city.