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Papers by Elena Batunova

European Planning Studies , 2018

Shrinkage since the collapse of state socialism has been evident in many Russian cities, especial... more Shrinkage since the collapse of state socialism has been evident in many Russian cities, especially in small and medium-sized (SMS) ones. The Russian state, de jure, has been promoting the idea of self-governance; thereby, urban municipalities ought to develop and adopt own planning decisions to cope with various challenges, including those related to depopulation. The current research focuses on planning responses to urban shrinkage. It aims at understanding how the phenomenon is conceptualized in the planning documents of Russian SMS cities and what solutions are proposed to cope with it in the conditions of inherited from the Soviet times housing and infrastructural deficit. The empirical evidence for the analysis is drawn from over 70 SMS cities located in Central and Southern Russia. Results state, that despite the obvious and persisting urban shrinkage, most of the reviewed documents ignore or underestimate the phenomenon. Instead of suggesting flexible solutions, which would help overcome the shortage of urban infrastructure not aggravating shrinkages’ effects in the cityscape, long-term spatial plans are being developed with hope for future growth proposing measures that contribute to the intensification of urban sprawl and fragmentation.

The issue of urban shrinkage has appeared in the scientific and political agenda mainly due to it... more The issue of urban shrinkage has appeared in the scientific and political agenda mainly due to its negative effects expressed in the cityscape. Being a widespread phenomenon, it provoked the development of policies addressing it. Still, there is a significant gap between demographic policies and the management of depopulation’s spatial footprint. Russia has been experiencing a dramatic demographic crisis after USSR’s collapse. In the last 25 years about 70% of Russian cities have depopulated, the process has been especially evident in small and medium-sized (SMS) cities. Depopulation is a notable concern for national and regional policies. However, the still unsatisfied housing need, lack of infrastructure, and continuing construction boom pose additional challenges for urban planning. The present contribution focuses on formal spatial planning in small and medium-sized Russian shrinking cities and policy’s reaction to depopulation. Its aim is in assessing if and in what context do the local spatial plans recognize current and projected population trends in SMS shrinking cities, as well as if perceptions of shrinkage change in different regional contexts. The obtained results clearly point to the fact that the common perception of depopulation in the Russian urban planning is largely ignoring; growth paradigm is still the only one in use. Hence, there are no clear strategies addressing current and future effects of depopulation.

Аннотация. Демографический кризис в России обусловил постоянное снижение численности населения к... more Аннотация.
Демографический кризис в России обусловил постоянное снижение численности населения как страны в целом, так и большинства её городов, на протяжении 25-летнего периода. Демографические прогнозы предсказывают дальнейшую убыль населения страны, а соответствен-но, и городов. Это означает необходимость планировать и управлять городским развитием в новых непривычных условиях. Однако, инертность систем планирования, управления и профессионального образования не обеспечивает необходимой гибкости и адаптации имеющихся подходов, методов и ин-струментов. В статье представлен анализ демографических трендов в городах Юга России, пред-ложена классификация городов в соответствии с характером демографических изменений, а также приведены результаты исследования генеральных планов «сокращающихся» городов на предмет учёта демографических изменений в планировании их перспективного развития.
Abstract.
The demographic crisis in Russia has led to a steady population decline in the country as a whole and most of its cities during 25-year period. Most demographic projections predict a further country's population decline and, accordingly, the population decline for many cities. This implies the need to plan and manage urban development in new unfamiliar conditions. However, the inertia of the planning system, management and professional education does not provide the necessary flexibility and adaptation of existing approaches, methods and tools. The article presents an analysis of demographic trends in the cities of Southern Russia and the classification of cities according to the pattern of demographic changes. The article also shows the results of study of general plans'investigation done for " shrinking cities " in order to understand the consideration of the current demographic changes in the planning for the cities'perspective development.

Ключевые слова: сокращающиеся города, депопуляция, территориальное планирование, генеральный план, Юг России.
Key words: shrinking cities, depopulation, spatial planning, general plan, Southern Russia.

Goal. The aim of this research is to investigate how the phenomenon of shrinkage is understood in... more Goal. The aim of this research is to investigate how the phenomenon of shrinkage is understood in the most affected areas, such as mining cities, so-called one company towns, in Southern Russia and what kind of responses addressing the issue have been developed in special programs, strategic plans and plans of territorial development.
Methods. For the analysis of demographic trends in Southern Russia the data from the Federal Statistic Service was used: the results of the three censuses of 1989, 2002 and 2010, but also the annual statistic. The data on economic development was analyzed through the indicators presented in the statistical database, in programming documents and media sources. Federal, regional and municipal programs related to demographic and economic decline, as well as strategic and territorial plans of the Rostov region and municipality, were analyzed in order to find special responses to the shrinkage issue.
Results. The research has shown the stability of depopulation trends in the municipality of Zverevo and Rostov region, the lack of awareness of causes and consequences of urban shrinkage among policy makers and planners and, accordingly, the absence or inadequacy of the responses to the shrinkage challenge in the strategic documents.
Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the paper is in the results obtained through a framework of content analysis of municipal and regional strategic documents developed for the municipality of Zverevo in terms of consideration of the shrinkage issue. The research aimed to verify the intention to develop the planning documents according to a paradigm of growth despite the actual population and economic decline.

After the Soviet Union’s collapse Russia has been characterized by population decline for most of... more After the Soviet Union’s collapse Russia has been characterized by population decline for most of the period. Despite the shrinkage phenomenon presence in the country it has not been investigated yet. However, the Russian Federation together with other post-socialist countries, demonstrate a specific case of shrinkage due to the influence of the post-socialist transition. Moreover, within the country as well as in particular parts there is a variety of the shrinkage pattern that could hardly be tackled by universal solutions. Based on the previously mentioned issues it is possible to conclude that post-socialist cities should be investigated as a specific case of urban shrinkage. They need development of a specific direction of urban theory concerning this phenomenon.
This paper deals with shrinkage in Southern Russia and presents a variety of cases caused by different reasons in which many of the negative effects of shrinkage have not been seen yet, but which will create problems in cities in the future which are continuing to plan for expected growth. This paper argues that the addition of acceptance of shrinkage and the elimination of its negative effects in planning preventing of those expected effects should be included into building theory.

Goal. The aim of this research is to shed light on the negative outcomes of excessive land privat... more Goal. The aim of this research is to shed light on the negative outcomes of excessive land privatization and development in the post-Soviet transition period in traditional resort areas. It will specifically examine the case of the Northern Caucasus area where the main challenge today is to find ways of restoring a sense of common good through the revision of existing planning laws and regulations. The paper also tries to explore the chances of reinstating to a certain extent some of the state’s role as main regulator and guarantor of the public domain.

Methods. The case was investigated using face to face interviews with local and regional authorities, property owners, and visitors to the Dombay resort. It was also performed through field visits in addition to analyzing satellite images, cadastral maps and property registry. The research was also based on a thorough understanding of the exiting Russian land and planning laws.

Results. The investigation has shown that the lack of public spaces significantly reduces the quality of the urban environment, the attractiveness of resorts and, consequently, the value of land. Finding tangible solutions requires joint efforts at various levels of government including the amendment of existing legislations on urban planning and land use and the development of various forms of public-private partnerships, which means the need to reassert the state's role in regulating urban development.

Scientific novelty. The paper shows connection of land use and urban environment’s quality that has significant influence on place’s touristic attractiveness. At the same time, this fact is not recognized by authorities and is not used in local policies. The survey showed a necessity to shift attention to long-term vision in constructing of municipal economic benefits and interrelation between different levels of governance.

Thesis Chapters by Elena Batunova

Urban shrinkage, provoked by the combination of long-term depopulation and economic decline, is a... more Urban shrinkage, provoked by the combination of long-term depopulation and economic decline, is an emerging challenge now facing most Russian cities, which appears to be the largest shrinking urban system in the world. Shrinking cities have attracted the attention of scientists, policymakers, and planners throughout the world due to the inadequacy of the available planning and policy approaches and tools that have been developed for growth scenarios. However, in Russia, the long-term population decline is still viewed by most as a temporary phenomenon provoked by the dramatic socioeconomic transition and, accordingly, spatial planning remains growth-oriented. The PhD thesis is motivated by the contradiction between the current demographic development in Russian cities and the obsolete planning approaches and methods being used. The study aims at discovering evidence of population decline as an important trend in the development of Russian cities and to then identify which opportunities exist for the transformation of municipal and regional spatial development policies in order to appropriately address this urgent challenge.
The research pursues two main lines of investigation: the urban shrinkage phenomenon itself (its definitions, causes, consequences, threats and opportunities) and the spatial planning of cities experiencing shrinkage conditions. Within this logic, several levels of research have been developed: 1) analysis of the global discussion of the topic through the literature review; 2) confirmation or applicability of the aspects discussed in the literature to the Russian context (at the national and regional levels) as a verification for the necessity of a deeper analysis; 3) testing the developed hypothesis at the city level through multiple case studies; 4) integration of the results obtained through the case studies into the general view; 5) evaluation of the findings.
The thesis provides empirical evidence drawn from cities located in southern Russia, which statistically represents the most favourable part of the country in terms of its demographic development. The intention was to show that even in an area where depopulation is not considered an issue; many cities are shrinking and experience a lack of demographic resources that could compensate for their depopulation. The research focuses on both shrinking and growing small to medium-sized cities in southern Russia, investigating through the comparative analysis the drivers and consequences of population change, but also how existing policies reflect upon demographic issues.
Based on a mix of quantitative and qualitative data, I have found that population decline is a new reality for most Russian cities, where the current and future depopulation trends are an unavoidable process. The consequences are especially notable in small and medium-sized cities, which are more vulnerable and often lack development resources. However, the current negative transformations in both shrinking and growing cities result from a combination of complex factors, the influence of which should be deeper analysed through further research. Due to such discreet effects of depopulation, planners and policy-makers are largely ignorant of these processes, not only because of a lack of “awareness”, but also due to institutional, managerial, professional, and educational issues, which must yet be solved in order to provide a professional approach to spatial planning. Another discovery of the research is of a specific pattern of urban shrinkage in the cities of southern Russia where depopulation happens over the background of a growing need for housing and infrastructure construction and an extensive ongoing urban development. Moreover, growth-oriented urban planning itself, which ignores demographic factors, creates conditions for the appearance of negative consequences of shrinkage in the future, such as abandonment, vacancy or infrastructure surplus, instead of using planning as an opportunity to prevent these effets.
This thesis therefore contributes to the general discussion on urban shrinkage. While the existing literature on the topic is mainly dedicated to various contexts that differ significantly from the Russian situation, this research helps to fill in the important missing element of the Russian experience in the global puzzle of urban shrinkage.

European Planning Studies , 2018