A mistake of the modernists
In the middle of the 20th century, modernist urban planners contrasted the warm and supportive atmosphere of the old proletarian quarters with the emotional coldness of the bourgeois suburbs. They sincerely sought to qualitatively improve the conditions for the residents of the city's industrial zones and the surrounding areas in the belief that when people have the opportunity to live in bright apartments with centralized heating, water supply and sewage, their creative energy will be released and humanity will enter a golden age. But the post-war optimism and spiritual uplift passed, and people housed in modernist towers did not automatically turn into good neighbors.
Pruitt-Igow's modernist utopia was hatched in just 20 years. Literally in the first 10 years, the level of security in the complex decreased so much that the policemen refused to leave when called. In 1972, the authorities of St. Louis decided to demolish 33 high-rise buildings. Architect Minoru Yamasaki went down in history as the author of two destroyed symbols: Pruitt-Igow as a symbol of social disaster and the end of the modernist era, and the World Trade Center, a symbol of American prosperity.
We previously wrote about similar problems of multi-apartment residential complexes in the new cities of France in the article "Populated monument. Correction of mistakes". The luxury residential complex "Abraxas" was conceived by Ricardo Bofill, founder of Taller de Arquitectura, as a palace for the proletariat with spacious duplexes and triplexes. However, the residents turned it into a life-threatening labyrinth.
Postwar modernist housing was branded as a cold and unsustainable environment. Even if the architecture itself was remarkable, it somehow did not form a stable community
In West Berlin, the Märkisches Viertel sleeping area became a symbol of modernist mistakes, which journalists called "the garbage dump of West German society", "the most empty example of cement architecture". Thamesmead, an area of south-east London, became famous all over the world thanks to Stanley Kubrick, who filmed it in the movie "A Clockwork Orange".
The Märkisches Viertel district is a symbol of modernist mistakes in West Berlin. Photo: Kai Kniepkamp. Image source: www.abseitsberlin.de
By the end of the 20th century, post-war modernist improved housing was branded as a cold, desolate, dangerous and unsustainable environment. Even if the architecture itself was remarkable (like "Abraxas"), it somehow did not form a stable community, warm connections, relationships and special energy characteristic of old quarters did not arise.
There is still no consensus on whether the wrong scenarios of planners, or errors of public administration, or social segregation are to blame. There are also versions that the campaign to discredit modernism was part of a policy aimed at compromising the idea of subsidized public housing.
But if the planning approach of the modernists "being determines consciousness" did not work, then why not go from the other side and start with the awakening of public consciousness?
CEO of Vlasne Misto Yaroslav Korniachenko conducts a tour of the territory of the future cluster city in 2023
Superneighbors are the heroes of our time
"Community must be at the heart of urban development," says Ramón Marrades, director of Placemaking Europe, a network of European organizations committed to revitalizing public spaces. All of the placemaking guides we previously wrote about in the Learn It! How research helps to create a new identity of places", rely on the community. William White, founder of the Project for Public Spaces (PPS) and author of The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces and How to Transform the City, also teaches us that the wisdom of community provides the basis for all decisions in public space.
In June 2023, the UN-Habitat agency adopted the concept of sustainable neighborliness as the basis of urban development: "At a time when the combined effects of environmental crises and socio-spatial inequality increasingly affect life, we believe that sustainable neighborhood is a key factor, able to contribute to people's well-being".
The agency "UN-Habitat" adopted the concept of sustainable good neighborliness as the basis of urban development: "We believe that sustainable neighborhood is a key factor capable of contributing to people's well-being"
Many cities in the USA and Canada have developed good neighborliness guides, which are primarily aimed at new residents. This is not a collection of rigid codes and laws, but a list that explains local traditions and customs to newcomers. It is designed not only for individuals, but also for entrepreneurs who have come with their investment projects. Despite the fact that the recommendations laid out in such a textbook sound rather soft, if they are not followed, local residents can file a lawsuit against a new neighbor who is too noisy or does not properly sort garbage. Or boycott a business if the entrepreneur ignores the opinion of local residents and simply behaves impolitely.
Master plan of the cluster town of Vlasne Misto in the Kyiv region. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
In Europe, the idea of a 15-minute city, formulated by Carlos Moreno, has become mega-popular. This urban design concept aims to provide residents with everything they need for physical and spiritual well-being within a 15-minute walking or cycling radius. Increasingly, Europeans are resorting to the practices of hyperlocal or, as it is also called, acupuncture urbanism. These are measures that extend to even smaller units, such as the superblocks in Barcelona or the "1-minute city" in Stockholm. But none of these concepts can be implemented without good neighborly relations.
"When we awaken a sense of place and community, citizens and the urban fabric are transformed," says Parisian journalist Patrick Bernard, who has been experimenting with the "Republic of Super Neighbors" since 2017. He initiates neighborhood summer get-togethers in parks or cafes and invites people to engage in community projects, for example, collecting compost for landscaping and urban gardens, carefully filtering garbage and placing bio-waste in special street composters. In the last year alone, the super neighbors collected 60 tons of compost. All that is required from the local authorities is to allow the installation of wooden boxes on the streets.
Good neighborliness and safety
It should be clarified that urban planners are not interested in friendship between neighbors per se, but the benefits that these good relations give to society (city) as a whole. First of all, of course, safety. In the modern sense, good neighborliness is not only a mutual exchange of smiles, warm greetings and joint grilling. It is implied that your neighbor will call the police if you break the parking rules, run over a dog, hit a child, make noise or run out at night with a knife in your hand. In case of emergency, disaster, war, Martian invasion, members of the community will help each other and jointly protect the property.
Pedestrian and green is a residential quarter of the Vlasne Misto cluster town in the Kyiv region. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
Good neighborliness is part of the culture of small settlements, cities and villages. As a reminder, Vlasne Misto is a cluster autonomous town for 32 people, which is being built within the boundaries of the Dmitrivsk OTG in the Kyiv region, among forests and lakes. The idea is to create a permanent settlement with low-rise buildings, a full range of services and infrastructure and a strong community. The CEO of the company, Yaroslav Korniachenko, is sure that common values will be the main social glue that will unite more than 30 people. Economic, energy and environmental components are the three main principles of sustainable development of a cluster city. Read more about the values and the start of the project in the article "Yaroslav Korniachenko from Vlasne Misto: Ukrainian City Village format for like-minded people". These same values are suggested to be shared by the residents of Dmitrivska OTG.
The "strong bones" of the city, that is, a competent plan and transport schemes, are the foundation, hard settings, on which social soft can already be built
Most of the new owners will bring the urban culture and the urban style of communication to the countryside. The Dmitrov community is a well-established society, but only about 16 people live in all the villages of the OTG. When 32 residents settle in the Vlasne Misto cluster, the old-timers will be in the minority. If the principles of sustainable development are followed, the task is to build close, partnership and friendly relations between 45-50 thousand people.
The market square of the cluster town Vlasne Mysto in the Kyiv region. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
And here we have to mention Dunbar's number. Anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist Robin Dunbar suggested that the number of stable social relationships in primates has a physiological limit and depends on the size of the neocortex (the cortex of the large hemispheres of the brain, which is responsible for higher nervous activity). In a person, the limit of social relations seems to be equal to 150 — and this is the maximum size of a social group capable of acting cohesively. This is just a theory, and Dunbar's number is time and again tried to recalculate and extrapolate to the growth of social contacts in social networks.
But it is obvious that, in addition to values, policies are also necessary for the formation of a community — external and internal rules, as well as the creation of an environment favorable for their observance. The "strong bones" of the city, that is, a competent plan and transport schemes, are the foundation, hard settings, on which social soft can already be built.
The market square of the cluster town Vlasne Mysto in the Kyiv region. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
Safety in the literal sense
If we start with physical security, then first of all it is important to find out how the issues of public order and property protection will be solved in the new town. Is there a police station? Yaroslav Korniyachenko said that law and order will be controlled by the municipal police in close cooperation with the territorial departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In addition, the city will use modern technologies to ensure protection: "Video recording network at all intersections and streets, control of car traffic, restrictions on the movement of external vehicles in residential areas, heat sensors on the outer border of the city with forestry, control and inspection of freight transport, traffic which is allowed by prior agreement with the customer/resident of the town, the GPS-monitoring system for children, safe lighting of the entire town during the dark period of the day — these are far from all the technologies and security protocols that have been programmed and designed. In addition, residents can set the dispatching of the security of their apartments or commercial premises.
One of the most common problems of suburban living is that people are afraid to leave their house for long periods of time due to the fear of robbery and trespassing. But modern people like to travel. Typical cottage buildings around Kyiv are residential complexes or private houses behind two- or three-meter fences. Architecture is no longer socially important, anyway, except for the owners, no one sees it. However, this is not a purely Ukrainian specificity, but a global result of neoliberal urban planning policy, which gave birth to "protected communities", "barrios cerrados", "urbanizaciones privadas" or "condomínios datados" - closed residential communities in various parts of the planet.
The design code developed for Vlasne Misto completely prohibits blind fences within blocks of individual residential buildings or blocks
Apartment buildings in the residential quarter of the cluster town of Vlasne Misto in the Kyiv region. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
Sociologists have confirmed experimentally that fences tend to create feelings of fear and anxiety rather than reduce the real threat. At the same time, people inside the fenced area are more prone to anxiety than those outside. Fences are also perceived as a tangible expression of social segregation and lead to a lack of social cohesion.
The design code developed for Vlasne Misto completely prohibits blind fences within blocks of individual residential buildings or blocks, allowing fences no higher than 1,53m and 1,85m in the respective zones.
"The height of the fence does not protect against robbery, and within the boundaries of a single city, it even interferes with video surveillance and control of motion sensors. Good neighborliness, reliable front doors, locks, possible additional dispatching to the guard post, street lighting, control of car traffic at checkpoints — these are the principles that realize the safety of you and your homes. Of course, when you live in a settlement where you don't know your neighbors, because you are a "stranger", you don't contact, you don't communicate, you think that it is the municipal authorities who are obliged to light the street, while you pay taxes in the capital - a fence can you add 10% to security.
It is planned to lay 84 kilometers of bicycle paths on the territory of the Vlasne Misto cluster town. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
When designing the street network, pedestrian and recreational areas, we avoid blind spots, but lighting should not overload and conflict with housing. Energy efficiency is regulated by motion sensors and the level of illumination."
Since the town is embedded in the forest ecosystem, the lighting plan foresees the undesirability of excessive lighting: it harms not only the fauna, but can also cause discomfort to people. Therefore, it is planned to increase the level of security along the border of the forest area with the help of thermal imagers and motion sensors.
Quick response
For all their flaws and hustle and bustle, cities benefit from proximity to critical services. The medical reform that started in Ukraine in 2012 led to the closure of hundreds of hospitals and clinics across the country. First of all, the residents of rural areas were affected - the patient could not wait for a team of doctors from the district center or to be transported to the city hospital. Dmitrivska OTG managed to save the village dispensary. But taking into account the expected population growth, this is not enough.
Yaroslav Korniachenko, CEO of Vlasne Misto. Photo: Yuriy Ferendovych
Yaroslav Korniyachenko said that the plans include the construction of an entire medical town on the territory of Vlasne Misto: "Before the medical town with a resuscitation and rehabilitation department is put into operation on the territory of the city, medical points will be built to provide first emergency aid, cooperation with medical institutions around the city and for needs — urgent delivery to clinics in Kyiv.
Health care is an important issue of providing preventive medicine and rehabilitation of citizens, so we are already working on the realization of a medical center in partnership with the ADONIS network of clinics. I am sure that we will be able to raise funds for the project in the near future."
The city has designed its own utility company with the provision of all the equipment for the life of the city for a quick response to any engineering accidents
The new city will also have a separate fire station. "Nowadays, we are all constantly thinking about safety, but when we buy an apartment, for some reason, we first of all dismantle the smoke detection and fire extinguishing sensors provided by building regulations, so the level of safety also depends on us. The city has designed its own utility company, equipped with all the equipment for the life of the city, it is located in the central part for a quick response to any engineering accidents within 5-10 minutes. The fire station will also be located on this territory, explained CEO Vlasne Misto. — Residential blocks are designed with access for a fire truck from all sides, a system of fire hydrants and fire reservoirs is combined with a program for reusing rainwater and treated sewage, which rationalizes use and guarantees access to water in all corners of the city in the event of a fire. The city will also have its own system of all sensors: smoke detection, air pollution and others. Low-rise provides a high level of safety and comfort."
Yard spaces in the residential quarters of the Vlasne Misto cluster town in the Kyiv region. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
Pedestrian city
The most successful urban practices are related to pedestrianization of cities. Blocking streets and turning them into promenades, moving highways into tunnels, narrowing the roadway - all this really makes cities cleaner, quieter and safer. If the city is being built from scratch, the designers have the opportunity to immediately foresee a transport scheme that meets modern principles.
"Speed limit is used not only for the safety of different categories of vehicles or pedestrians. It is an element of traffic regulation, without creating traffic jams in the city and at entrances/exits. On active inter-block streets, the speed limit is up to 50 km/h, then there are streets of 30 km/h and 20 km/h, in residential blocks the speed limit is from 5 to 10 km/h, since the movement of motor vehicles is prohibited, but, unfortunately, violators can even become cyclists and electric transport.
"We are creating a network of underground parking lots in multi-apartment residential blocks and public and commercial areas, as well as several multi-level mobility buildings"
The territory of the Vlasne Misto cluster town in the Kyiv region will be fully inclusive. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
Mobility, accessibility and inclusiveness of the urban environment should create comfort and safety for all residents. A city without cars on the streets is safety for everyone. We are creating a network of underground parking lots in multi-apartment residential blocks and public and commercial areas, as well as several multi-level mobility buildings around the business center and on the outer edge of the city in the areas of the medical campus and recreation and entrance to the city."
Only temporary parking on the islands will be allowed on the street for no longer than 15 minutes. Public parking lots are provided for parking, where you can remotely reserve a space for residents' or guests' cars via smartphone. Part of the transport lines will immediately be laid underground. Within Vlasne Misto, residents will be able to travel by bicycle (84 km of bicycle paths have been designed for safe cycling), by tram or electric shuttles.
Linear park in the residential quarter of the cluster town of Vlasne Misto in the Kyiv region. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
Inclusivity as part of the policy of openness
Yaroslav Korniachenko interprets the concept of "inclusiveness" not only as a physically accessible environment. Making the territory as barrier-free as possible is one of the obvious conditions. For example, escalators and lifts that can be used by residents and guests with limited mobility will be installed in places of relief. The fact is that there will be a lot of elderly people among the residents of Vlasne Misto. The idea of creating a rehabilitation complex and a high-quality inclusive space for people of the silver and golden age, as Yaroslav calls them, is one of his main motivations. This is, in particular, the policy of openness and full acceptance and the principle: elderly people should lead a fully active social life.
"The rehabilitation complex construction program includes two functional blocks:
- the block of the dual purpose rehabilitation center — 7987 m² (for permanent residents, residents 50+ and guests from outside);
- block of permanent residence and boarding service — 14 m².
The first block provides special treatment procedures for the musculoskeletal system, for cardiovascular diseases, mental disorders, speech disorders and other concomitant diseases of the elderly and all other citizens. In addition, the block contains additional services such as a spa and hairdressers for permanent and temporary users.
Escalators and lifts that can be used by residents and guests with limited mobility will be installed in places of relief
The territory of the Silver Age Vlasne Misto rehabilitation complex in the Kyiv region. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
According to the functions, there are premises for management and administration, medical staff, additional services, as well as collective premises for residents and visitors: a cafeteria, a conference hall, a cinema hall, a multifunctional hall, a gym, therapeutic pools and baths, creative workshops that serve as therapy. A landscaped park with a biotop pound, vegetable gardens with greenhouses and a pétanque court is a continuation of the previous functions located on the first and minus first floors of the rehabilitation center. All of these features help patients find a new hobby or do something they've been doing all their life."
У articles "It's a matter of young people. Age mixed-use and new design for an aging world" PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA explained why designing with specialization in housing and care for the elderly is becoming one of the most prestigious architectural tasks. A city for seniors is a combination of design solutions that benefit everyone, regardless of age. In the ranking of conditions for the aging population, which is compiled by the international organization HelpAge International, Ukraine is at the bottom of the list of 96 countries — in 73rd place. And these were the statistics before the large-scale invasion. It makes no sense to count on any breakthrough in this area in the coming years. But developers may see senior infrastructure as a niche investment.
"Our task is to increase the level of social activity of our relatives over the age of 50+ to the maximum possible. Increase the average life expectancy"
"The second block provides for three residential floors with medical support. It has 202 individual one-room residences for the elderly, which provide a private and at the same time friendly atmosphere between all residents, Yaroslav continues. — Our task is to increase the level of social activity of our relatives over the age of 50+ to the maximum possible. Increase the average life expectancy.
The territory of the Silver Age Vlasne Misto rehabilitation complex in the Kyiv region. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
The silver age is a respectable age, a person has experience that he can share with society, performs lighter physical activities, has a desire for quality rest and spending time with his family, needs support and timely medical assistance, provided the necessary infrastructure facilities are available for a long period of his life to participate in the development of the community. Educational and cultural centers of the city will provide an opportunity to study, develop creativity, erudition at any age. Medical research claims that brain activity is responsible for prolonging life.
Like-minded people and partners of Korniachenko in the project understand that, by creating a fully inclusive living environment for the elderly, they are investing, in particular, in their own comfort and health in the future.
Neighborhood control: how not to cross the line?
From the topic of inclusiveness, you can smoothly return to the topic of good neighborliness. After all, good relations with neighbors are perhaps the main condition for moral comfort, and conflict can nullify all the advantages of a well-planned environment. We take care of our neighbors and they take care of us. Probably, everyone knows the popular urban idea about neighborhood control as a guarantee of safety and peace.
Korniyachenko believes that the concept of "neighborhood control" must be transformed into "conscious public control", while adhering to a reasonable framework, so as not to turn the city into a place of suspicious paranoia, where everyone is watching everyone else.
Yaroslav Korniachenko, CEO of Vlasne Misto
"During the time of the first land reform in Germany, a neighbor who surrendered a neighbor who threw garbage on the curb received part of his land plot. Society = safety and comfort in coexistence in the same area. Norms of living in society should not be excessive, but also not selective. In order to distinguish one's own personality, it is impossible to allow neglect of the established common norms - in terms of volume level, driving speed. But there is no need to set too high levels of bans. So we will establish all these internal norms and prohibitions together. We will encourage the sorting of garbage with fines. Or we will motivate by filling a joint account from what was sold for recycling, and the funds from there can be spent on public needs or entertainment, the development of culture or education."
"Residents are co-owners of most of the territory, they will also control it and establish the rules of openness, guest regimes"
The authors of the Vlasne Misto concept are sure that there will be no problems with the mutual integration of new residents and old residents. Moreover, they will constantly communicate with each other in shops, markets, schools and hospitals, since services and commercial services are available to all residents of the OTG. Joint improvement projects and public initiatives are only welcome.
Access to locations in the residential area is provided only for residents, as their level of comfort, as emphasized by Korniachenko, remains in the first place: "Vlasne Misto is not an island and not an exclusion zone! The use of park zones and squares is possible if you follow the general rules of behavior and current legislation. Residents are co-owners of most of the territory, they will also control it and establish rules of openness, guest regimes.
Several lakes are located on the territory of the Vlasne Misto cluster town. Image courtesy of Vlasne Misto
Our project is aimed at increasing the economic level of the community and the region, with our experience we will be able to help expand the number of infrastructure facilities and services around the project. All people who are consciously oriented towards development deserve a comfortable and safe life. It is necessary to understand that water does not flow under a lying stone. No one is to blame for us. At scale, we, the citizens, must create, control and make the right choices for the team of public managers who manage our taxes and create services, shape the country's sustainable development, provide pension funds, market internationally, attract investment and help us create sustainable cities."
No urbanist in the world is capable of making people happy, active and friendly. No genius planner is able to prescribe a prosperous life scenario for every resident. Urban planning today is not only about planning and architecture as such, but also about the architecture of relationships. Being determines consciousness or consciousness determines being - this existential dispute between Marx and Hegel migrated into the field of urban construction. So what comes first: hard environment settings or social soft and stable community? This question can turn any boring landscaping topic, such as installing new street urns or birdhouses, into a heated philosophical debate. But it is necessary and important to discuss, since the lifespan of any architectural object depends on communication with society today. And even more so — the construction of an entire city.
