[Originally posted to polis] After growing up with an image of Moscow as bleak and inhospitable, I was surprised to find so many attractive parks on my first visit to the city. According to the Moscow Wikipedia entry, here are 96 parks, 18 public gardens, and 100 square kilometers of forest. These figures come from a Russian government site that is currently not accessible, but they seem fairly accurate (please let me know if you’ve seen any good studies on this). The entry provides an estimate of 27 square meters of parkland per citizen, compared with 8.6 in New York, 7.5 in London, and 6 in Paris. Besides official parks, there are countless tree-lined paths, landscaped squares, and other plantings throughout the city.

It seems that crews of workers are always performing maintenance, although I’ve heard that parks are neglected in some parts of the city. Many have simple dirt paths that weave through dense foliage. It can seem like you’re in the middle of the wilderness, even though busy streets are never far away. Many parks have flowerbeds, ponds, benches, fountains, statues, and playgrounds. These additions are beautiful in the way of functional, durable, understated things. Of course, there are also grandiose structures from the past, but these are counterbalanced by views of birch trees that sparkle against deep forest backgrounds.

Moscow’s parks are highly accessible. They can be found within walking distance of any residential area, and on the metro, bus, and tram lines. My favorite is Neskuchny (Not Boring) Garden, which lines the Moscow River just southwest of Gorky Park. It has restful paths, a public amphitheater, and this statue of a swimmer facing the river. Neskuchny Garden leads to Vorobyovy Hills, where a majestic ski jump (complete with working chairlift) watches over the city. Izmaylovsky Park covers over 15 square kilometers. To give a sense of scale, Central Park in New York covers 3.4 square kilometers. Sokolniki, another expansive city park, borders Losiny Ostrov National Park, which has an area of 116 square kilometers (thanks again to Moscow’s Wikipedia page for these numbers). The Botanical Garden of the Russian Academy of Sciences is vast and multifaceted, with exhibitions, research facilities, exotic plants, greenhouses, streams, and old-growth forest. Moscow University has a botanical garden just north of the garden ring, which was built over 300 years ago as a source of medicinal herbs. Trees grow through the stone wall that surrounds it.

Parks in Moscow reflect the influence of historic ideas on urban landscapes. There are elements of feudalism, socialism, and capitalism. There is monarchy, anarchy, religion, modernism, and post-modernism. I think I will begin a series on the history of Moscow’s public park system. Each post could look at the influence of a different era: first, the rise of new ideas that culminated in socialist visions for the city; second, Stalin; third, Khrushchev and Brezhnev in Stalin’s wake; fourth, perestroika and the end of the Soviet state; fifth, economic crisis, recovery, and capitalist development. In looking at how different ideas shape urban landscapes, there may be lessons for improving the quality of life in cities.

Credits: Photo of Moscow’s Chistye Prudy Park by Peter Sigrist. Photo of a statue in Neskuchny Garden by trueol.

It’s probably not correct to say horsewoman, as in horseman, but I’ll have to find out what they’re really called. These riders, both men and women, are fairly common on Moscow sidewalks. They’ll bring you to your destination for a negotiated price. Though just one of many transportation options in the city, they offer an interesting counterpoint to the powerful traffic rushing through the streets.

[Originally posted to polis] I’m not sure about the accuracy of this title. :) Maybe someone else can shed light on that, but there are a lot of impressive moves here. This song reminds me of how audio spaces mix in cities. The way you can hear so many kinds of music, transportation, work, and other activities from your window or while walking down the street. Also how cultural forms combine when a lot of different people are together in one place.

(Video from SBuitenhuis)

[Originally posted to Where] Having just returned from Russia, I’ve been thinking a lot about public and private space. The country has been experiencing rapid privatization since the early 1990s. Many aspects of urban life, from transportation to housing to recreation, are becoming less public.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Private space can encourage responsibility for quality maintenance. We’re usually more likely to repair and improve upon places we own than places we share with everyone.

According to the logic of privatization, public maintenance is best contracted to independent businesses or nonprofits. In a way this makes sense. It provides incentive for efficient work, and as long as high quality is a requirement, we should get intended results at lower costs.

So why do market efficiencies so often result in low-quality public space? Strip malls, for example, or over-commercialized waterfronts. I guess it has to do with our priorities, and how much we’re willing or able to pay. If public space isn’t valued, it will be difficult for businesses and nonprofits to cover the price of basic maintenance.

(more…)

[Originally posted to Where] According to Dmitri Orlov, Russian dachas (cottages outside of cities) helped people make it through the economic upheaval of the 1990s. Apparently, many were able to supplement their diets with food produced on small agricultural plots. Even given long winters, food products could be cured to last until spring.

From the air, the landscape surrounding Moscow is very unique. Instead of almost grid-like plots covering most of the land, there are clustered houses, arranged organically, surrounded by small gardens. I think these might be dachas (see photo from Google Maps below).

On a recent train trip, I saw what I think were dachas more closely. I wonder if it is typical for them to be located near train lines? The majority had outdoor vegetable gardens, and some had greenhouses. The countryside was a mix of cottages, forests, and heavy industry. Many of the industrial sites were abandoned. There were a few decaying cottages, but most appeared to be in use.

(more…)

I’d like to add a detailed post on the ideas of Peter Kropotkin in relation to environment and planning. For instance, Lewis Mumford noted his influence on Ebenezer Howard, and Paul Robbins has described him as a sort of grandfather to political ecology.

For now just an immediate thought on anarchy: it’s interesting that the word has come to mean chaos, even though (I think) at root it just means without a ruler. Is it possible to prevent chaos in the absence of a ruler? Anarchy also shares a root with architecture. Different connections between architecture and rule never stop fascinating me.

Credits: Photo of Peter Kropotkin from the Anarchist Library.

The St. Petersburg Guide provides an unpretentious and informative overview of the city’s history through its distinctive architecture. Maintaining so many historical buildings beside a river prone to flooding must be a great challenge. The conversion of the Winter Palace into a museum is also very interesting. Apparently there are other former palaces and estates in the city that might be reused as well.

Quoted from the St. Petersburg Guide: It’s called The Winter Canal, and this is one of the most poetic corners of the “old St. Petersburg”. It was described in Alexander Pushkin’s famous “Queen of Spades”, and until now is the place for romantic dates of people who are in love. This place is especially lovely when seen from the water – when you sail either along the Moyka or along the Neva river in a boat and cast a look on the beautiful arch that frames the Winter Canal…