The term "cluster" was proposed back in 1990 by Michael Porter, an American economist and professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School, who is today considered the father of the concept of cluster development. At one time, Porter used the concept of "cluster" to define geographically interconnected companies and organizations working in a single economic or industrial field. Over the past 30 years, the term, having acquired many new connotations, has penetrated into the urban planning industry.
Today, the most common of its definitions defines a city-cluster as "a territorial entity within a metropolis, which is a relatively autonomous unit and provides its residents with a full set of urban functions and the interrelationships between them (spatial, informational, economic, socio-cultural, communication, etc.) )".
But do not forget that one cluster is not like another. In fact, this concept, depending on the context, has a much broader interpretation than indicated above. This requires a clear understanding of the function of the cluster, the specifics of its elements and structure.
The American city of Redburn, New Jersey, can be considered the first official implementation of the concept of cluster development. It was founded in 1929 in the spirit of the "city of the motor age". Its planning concept was developed by Clarence Stein and Henry Wright with landscape architect Marjorie Sewell Colley. Redburn was surrounded by green belts, and the buildings were designed with an emphasis on park areas. This garden city, according to the creators' idea, was supposed to be a self-sufficient entity, where residential, commercial and industrial areas complemented each other and provided for the needs of the community. The ideas applied at Redburn could later be traced to the Chatham settlement near Pittsburgh (1936) and the Baldwin Hills settlement (1941).
Simultaneously with the founding of Redburn, the concept of the neighborhood unit, or the so-called district block (neighborhood unit), theorized by the American planner and sociologist Clarence Perry, was made public. It was a schematic model of residential planning in megacities, created by Perry as a basis for city planners seeking to design functional, self-contained blocks of industrial cities in the early 1929th century. In particular, Clarence Perry's work "The Neighborhood Unit" was published in 1960, and already in the 18s it was adapted by no less than XNUMX professional and governmental organizations, including CIAM (International Congress of Modern Architecture) and the Congress of New Urbanism.
Followers of Clarence Perry developed the concept of the neighborhood, generally accepting it as the basic unit of urban planning and development. Some authors warned against turning the neighborhood into a tool of segregation and de facto selection of "towns within the city" based on the criteria of income level, status of residents, real estate value, etc.
The American city of Redburn, New Jersey, can be considered the first official implementation of the concept of cluster development
The most common definition defines a city-cluster as "a territorial formation within a metropolis, which is a relatively autonomous unit and provides its residents with a full set of urban functions and relationships between them
In general, the planning principles of K. Stein, H. Wright and K. Perry had many supporters and significantly influenced the development of urban planning theory. These architects became ideologues of the construction of new garden cities in the USA and offered a new approach to the design of this type of settlement. Its content consisted in the creation of so-called "superblocks" - mainly residential blocks, grouped around internal park areas, and the separation of traffic and pedestrian traffic in order to increase safety. This involved the separation of main roads, service lanes and expressways between themselves and pedestrian infrastructure at different levels. It is not for nothing that Redburn, the American garden city, is mentioned as "a new city with the first major innovation since the construction of garden cities."
The key work for many Western planners, as well as for some constructivists, is the work of the English sociologist Ebenezer Howard "Garden Cities of Tomorrow", which was published in 1898.
By the way, at one time, K. Stein recognized that his project with H. Wright was a continuation of Howard's work, but a distinctive and characteristic feature of Redburn was that it was "realistically designed for the era of motorization."
In Germany, the concept of a garden city was first realized in 1909 during the construction of Hellerau, a settlement located near Dresden and established primarily to serve the furniture factories of Carl Schmidt.
It is important to note that only at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, many garden suburbs appeared in Germany, including Rümerstadt, Siemensstadt, Hufeisen, as well as garden settlements, such as "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in Zellendorf. In general, Germany is historically considered one of the European countries with the largest number of monocities.
Illustration of Ebenezer Howard's Garden City concept. His work "Garden Cities of Tomorrow" became key for many Western planners and constructivists
The idea of a garden city was the beginning of the formation of concepts aimed at the decentralization of large cities with the use of adjacent territories and an attempt to combine rural and urban lifestyles
In Germany, the concept of a garden city was first realized in 1909 during the construction of Hellerau, a settlement located near Dresden. © Brück & Sohn Kunstverlag CC0 1.0
The adoption of the Athens Charter in 1933 contributed to the division of urban planning concepts into urban and de-urban concepts. The idea of a garden city was the beginning of the formation of concepts aimed at the decentralization of large cities with the use of adjacent territories and an attempt to combine rural and urban lifestyles.
Despite criticism from some scholars, the concept of the garden city nevertheless left its mark in the history of architecture and urban planning, mostly in the countries of Europe and the North American continent.
Thus, from the mid-1940s and in the second half of the XNUMXth century. a whole series of projects arose, such as "Greater London", "Greater Paris", "Greater New York", which aimed to de-densify these cities by creating satellite suburbs.
One of the not so successful examples of the American cluster city model can be considered Detroit, Michigan, which at one time was completely concentrated only on the automobile industry, which served as one of the reasons for its decline. And this is not an isolated example. The decline of cluster-type cities occurred due to the employment of the population at one enterprise, which could not withstand global competition. With this in mind, urban planners have been trying to blur the mono-function of cities in recent decades. Although at the same time, it was on the mono principle that the highly successful project of Silicon Valley, California, was formed, where the bet was placed on the development of high technologies.
One of the not so successful examples of the American cluster city model can be considered Detroit, Michigan, which at one time was completely concentrated only on the automobile industry. Cadillac Building in Detroit (c. 1910)
As for Asian countries, the implementation of the idea of clustering took place not only with regard to economic and social indicators, but also from the point of view of overpopulation, congestion and the unsatisfactory ecological situation of megacities. The concept of creating the newest cluster cities as agglomerations was put forward for discussion at the state level as almost the only future option for relieving the burden of million-strong cities.
Thus, China has only recently included the construction of urban clusters in its national policy, approving "urban cluster" as an official term in government documents in 2014. Five large urban clusters are expected to be established in China by 2035 to help the country meet its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
Yaroslav Korniachenko, CEO of Vlasne Misto
Vlasne Misto, located in the suburbs of Kyiv, can be considered the first modern cluster city in Ukraine. Currently, this is the only project of an autonomous city with a population of 32 people and an area of 000 hectares. It is built according to the principle of people-centeredness, has ecological technologies, energy independence and qualitatively new modern infrastructure for a comfortable life and implementation of business tasks.
PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA: In modern economics and development, the term "cluster city" is applied to several models. For example, Silicon Valley is a kind of cluster, Ukrainian Slavutych also has signs of a cluster city. Urban agglomerations clearly defined to promote economic growth are often called clusters. Please explain your interpretation of this term on which your Vlasne Misto concept is based.
Yaroslav Korniachenko: In my opinion, Silicon Valley is not a cluster city, it is rather a region, the core of which was a higher educational institution, where education, technical capabilities, creativity inspired the creation of innovative products.
Ukrainian Slavutych is a close example to our project in terms of population, but it is still a satellite city. It was created for the lives of workers and liquidators of the consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion, and its only possible direction is energy. The structure and planning of Slavutych do not create conditions for sustainable development and do not allow for the full development of the economy. Although it is worth noting that the master plan of the city is very similar to the Soviet version of the "Garden City" utopia.
You are right that clusters contribute to economic development. Cluster cities have a number of advantages compared to other types of urban agglomerations, but today mostly monoclusters are known to the world. They often have higher productivity, higher levels of employment and lower unemployment. Such cities are able to attract investments and generate innovations.
The interior of one of the quarters of Vlasne Misto. Visualizations courtesy of Vlasne Misto
"A cluster is a system of sincere and stable relations, shared values and clear competition based on the quality of a product or service. The main one in this structure is the management company, which forms a systematic approach to the economic growth of the city, helps participants create added value for by-products within their businesses or facilities.
General plan of the Vlasne Misto project. Visualizations courtesy of Vlasne Misto
Vlasne Misto will provide an opportunity to obtain an effective amount of market for each business cell at each stage of the formation and construction of the city. For example, when designing a school or a kindergarten, we fill the premises in advance with additional common functions for the community and the city, since the educational process is only 180 days a year. At other times, sports halls, a library / co-working space, a coffee shop / dining room, an assembly hall / theater / community event center will be available for various events and initiatives of citizens. Also, in schools outside the educational process, various educational programs are provided for residents of all age groups. But we will open the veil over all the secrets and subtleties a little later
Vlasne Misto is the very city-cluster in which we laid three main levers from the very beginning: economy, energy and ecology. They guarantee the sustainability of the city's development, safety and social consciousness.
During the design of the school and kindergarten in Vlasne Misto, the premises are provided with additional common functions for the community and the city, which can be used outside the period of the school year. Pictured is a school in Vlasne Misto. Visualizations courtesy of Vlasne Misto
During the design of the school and kindergarten in Vlasne Misto, the premises are provided with additional common functions for the community and the city, which can be used outside the period of the school year. Pictured is a school in Vlasne Misto. Visualizations courtesy of Vlasne Misto
PM: Creating an autonomous and self-sufficient cluster city is a real challenge in the field of urban planning. As pioneers, you run the risk of facing both non-obvious technical problems during implementation and increased public attention. Are you ready for it?
AS.: Creating Vlasne Misto is an ambitious project, so we are ready for challenges. Risk management, clear calculations and involvement of experts formed the necessary future management structure. Each of the directions of the cluster, which is subordinate to the management company — energy, education, real estate, medicine, hospitality, agricultural production, investments — has its own strategies and implementation plans during all stages of project implementation.
"The non-publicity of our project for many years is also a strategy that made it possible to achieve certain guarantees of the sustainability of the project not only in project decisions"
If we talk about urban planning solutions, we worked, studied, and made mistakes for more than five years to avoid any technical problems. Today, we continue the search for new technologies and engineering solutions for the implementation of the most balanced master plan, combined with an economic strategy and new architectural solutions.
As for public attention, it is definitely needed, primarily because people's trust in development is weak. We aim to strengthen it with every step we take, and if we make a mistake, I am sure we will be told about it in time.
PM: Which foreign projects did you take into account as references, or did you analyze their current state after a certain period of existence?
Y.K.: Currently, you can observe many cities that are at the stage of design or construction. Some are openly utopian, others have a stable, understandable model.
One of the interesting ones is the innovative Neom project in Saudi Arabia, which has the strong financial and administrative support of Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Even a Hollywood director was involved in the creation of its concept, and the teams of some of the most powerful corporations in the world are involved in technologies and engineering networks. As part of this high-tech project, the city of The Line arose, with which we drew certain analogies during the design process.
The Line is a futuristic linear city concept currently being implemented by NEOM in Saudi Arabia. Photo: NEOM
We are partly similar in essence, because we believe that the city should use smart technologies and be an open center for development. There is a certain similarity in the approach to the formation of the directions of the economy, ecology, but, unlike The Line, we do not need to create barriers from nature or form artificial territories and influence the climate. Our task is to implement the city in the location as much as possible and to design measures to preserve ecology and local natural resources. Of course, our main difference is the availability of investments.
"Our task is to implement the city in the location as much as possible and to design measures to preserve ecology and local natural resources"
From real projects, we considered already existing cities, and not clusters, because they are the result of clustering of the economy or industry. These are the cities of the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and Germany. The best were selected and used in the planning and development strategy of Vlasne Misto.
In my opinion, the general planning of projects and cities in Germany is rational, they have controlled permanent plans for the development of industries and enterprises for the period of validity of urban planning documentation, approved sometimes for decades. Ecology and work with innovations are the Netherlands. Today, their agrocluster Food Valley NL is a leader in the formation of new ideas of agricultural production and greenhouse farming.
A good example is the Dutch city of Almere, which received the status of a separate administrative unit in 1984. ed.). Now, according to the updated master plan, its population should increase from 180 residents to 300. The founders and conceptualists agreed on one thing: Almere should not be high-rise, anonymous (closed) and monotonous. We fully share the values of this project, we believe that the city, in addition to the development of technologies, should be a place for the development of personalities and society.
General plan of the Vlasne Misto project. Visualizations courtesy of Vlasne Misto
Isn't it utopia?
Since the English utopian sociologist Ebenezer Howard created his first project in 1898, the idea of a garden city, many approaches and methods have been tested to create an ideal living space: with all the benefits of civilization provided by the city, but at the same time in maximum symbiosis with by nature Urbanized areas return again and again to the idea of a garden city, which has been reinterpreted many times during its existence. It is quite natural that with the development of digital technologies, Howard's garden cities went through an evolutionary path of transformations and took the form of a set of local-territorial formations created according to the principle of bio-urbanism. Architects, urban planners and ecologists today often have to deal with scattered separate territories and plots, where each object and space becomes a manifesto of preserving the values of nature, human society and its cultural and genetic code.
Despite the decline in the popularity of the garden city idea in the second half of the XNUMXth century. and only partially achieving its stated goals, the concept nevertheless made a significant impact on the understanding of the urban environment. The principles that were applied earlier in the concept of the garden city created the prerequisites for the formation and formation of new phenomena in architecture and urban planning, for example, the "New Urbanism" movement.
PM: The idea of organizing a rational and comfortable city "from scratch" is not new, but not all such solutions have been successfully implemented. What distinguishes Vlasne Misto from utopian projects similar to Ebenezer Howard's initial "garden city" project (as we remember, this idealized project had to be significantly adjusted to take into account the harsh reality)?
AS.: Utopia is an ideal social order, but its vision is different for each person and an entire generation. For example, in the last century, a communist utopia was imposed on us. I haven't read all of Howard's work, but I often come across his quotes, comparisons and ideas, they are proof that a city only grows with its people.
Personally, I see many irrationalities in his idea, perhaps because he, like other authors of books on improving the life of cities, is not an architect, does not have an engineering or economic education, but belongs precisely to the creative class of society.
With the development of the city, for which negative conditions of existence are created, in particular in the pursuit of the price of square meters, for economic purposes, a gradual destruction of comfort is taking place.
However, Howard's urban planning scheme of the ideal city adapts well to the present, technologies and is used by many cities, in particular Lviv and the aforementioned Slavutych. But the cities that literally embodied his idea, an example is the German Korweiler, had to make significant adjustments in the process of life.
Fun fact: Vlasne Misto's population unexpectedly matched Howard's ideal city size of 32.
In addition, we provide almost 165 hectares of green areas for rest and recreation of city residents and guests, everything necessary is within walking distance, and public areas are located throughout the city. The future has already arrived, and society values comfort, ergonomics, and services. So we focus on a harmonious combination of these properties through the introduction of technologies and clustering of directions. We are not a unloading city for the capital. We create a city for people.
Street of the town of Vlasne Misto. Visualizations courtesy of Vlasne Misto
Autonomy and manufacturability
Renewable energy is currently a pan-European and even global trend that is actively developing in Ukraine as well. Solar panels, wind generators, heat pumps, and biomass are opportunities for increasing energy independence of both individual cities and the state as a whole.
The current stage of global technological development is characterized by high rates of innovation, particularly in the energy sector. Every city should strive to maximize its potential — to increase the use of renewable energy wherever possible.
PM: You have repeatedly spoken about the autonomy of Vlasne Misto, namely its autonomous water and energy systems. One of the promising directions of the latter is the Vlasne Green Industry Park, which will ensure the production of green renewable energy within the project. Tell us more about the terms of implementation and capacity.
AS.: Autonomy and energy independence are important components of modern cities and settlements. We spent a lot of time on forming our own energy park. Before a possible energy crisis and the transition of all countries of the world to renewable energy, we used the geographical potential and rationalized the use of protection zones, namely: zones around the 330 kV power line, occupying more than 120 hectares in the territory of the community, the protection zone of the eco-farm and treatment facilities.
We designed the Vlasne Green Industry Park with a projected peak capacity of almost 100 MW/h. This is the energy of the sun and wind, as well as biogas generation with complete processing of the city's waste. With the volume of the city's own consumption of almost 57 MW, the park will also provide electricity to the nearby area. The balance will give us the opportunity to become a full-fledged market player in the sale of "green" energy and convert it into a stable financial indicator.
Outside the city, we plan to build a solar park with a volume of up to 30 MW. In addition, we will gradually add panel complexes on the roofs of commercial, administrative and public facilities (up to 30 MW) during the construction of the city over the next 16 years. We plan to start the first stage of construction already next year, and then we will gradually increase the capacity in accordance with the stages of the development of the city according to the master plan.
We also conducted research on wind activity, which will provide an additional 20-25 MW/h. By 2022, it was almost impossible to get approval from the state-owned enterprise "Ukraerorukh" to place high masts of wind generation in our area. As in the examples of other countries, state support is of great importance in the effectiveness of the existence and planning of cluster cities. In addition, we will use the technologies of biogas production with the production of electricity and heat on the basis of sewage treatment plants and processing solid waste, agricultural waste, housing and communal services waste, forestry waste.
We designed the Vlasne Green Industry Park with a projected peak capacity of almost 100 MW/h. This is the energy of the sun and wind, as well as biogas generation with complete processing of the city's waste
The implementation of the project is planned in stages: 2025 and 2030. There are enough resources in the city for implementation. For the calculation, we can take as a basis the fact that 10 tons of raw materials can provide from 000 million m1,2 to 3 million m2 of biomethane. One resident of Kyiv and the region generates 3-350 kg of solid waste per year, of which 400% is food waste, the rest is paper, glass, plastic, non-ferrous metals, construction waste, etc.
PM: As part of the project, the construction of an autonomous modular water treatment complex is planned, which is designed to connect two existing settlements. When will it be built and how will Vlasne Misto be supplied with water before its implementation?
AS.: The project envisages the construction of a modular water treatment complex for 12 m000 per day. According to the signed memorandum with Dmitrivska OTG, a joint venture will be created on the territory of the existing complex, which today due to outdated technologies cannot fully provide the population with high-quality service. The launch of the first line with a capacity of 3 m1200 per day will take place in the spring of 3, the following launch modules will be implemented in stages: in 2024 - 2025 m5000 per day, then with the growth of the city's needs and the increase in the number of residential quarters and services, two more lines of 3 m6000 are planned and optimized day. The indicator of the water treatment needs of the project at full implementation is 3 m8800 per day. The water treatment complex with a network of 3 water pressure towers is currently designed only for the needs of Vlasne Misto, for which we are currently obtaining a license and permits for the special use of subsoil.
All buildings and structures of the market square in Vlasne Misto will be constructed from materials that have a low carbon footprint, are recyclable and reduce environmental impact
PM: A solar park of up to 30 MW, solar panels on houses of 30 MW, an electricity storage system and a park of wind generators of up to 20 MW — all this will provide Vlasne Misto with its own electricity. Homes currently for sale are not equipped with solar panels. Will there be a separate / additional option for own energy supply for future residents?
Y.K.: We envisage placing a solar park on the roofs of commercial, administrative and public facilities, unused roofs of low-rise apartment buildings, and sometimes even on walls, as in the example of a vertical greenhouse and an entertainment center. On individual houses that are currently being built, such placement is not rational, because the investment of such technology in one house will not give the necessary indicators of economic efficiency, in particular, due to the impossibility of placing the maximum permitted power on the roof area. If desired, people will be able to mount solar water heating systems, heat pumps and even solar panels on the operated roofs.
Our goal — to enter the energy sales market — can be shared with homeowners, they will have the opportunity to provide themselves with permanent passive income as project investors, as well as to contribute to the energy security of their city. This is the format of added value in the cluster that we always talk about.
According to the current legislation, the produced energy will be sold on the terms of the energy market. Therefore, we plan to set tariffs for residents and partners of the city on favorable terms and at a lower level than competitors, encouraging the use of green energy also for the production of our own products. Residents and partners will have the opportunity to fix the tariff according to a long-term contract for 10 years after the commissioning of the power park, which will also provide stability for the park itself, and OTG can fix the tariff for a period of 5 years. With the current stable growth of the cost of energy, this will be a great competitive advantage for us as a supplier and an indicator of the efficiency of investment calculations for business customers, and for residents - confidence in stable pricing.
Analyzing the concepts of planning units of the city, implemented in the XNUMXth century, it can be argued that the future vector of the development of any residential entity determines its ideological core.
Clustering of cities does not lose its relevance in our time and is able to expand scientific research in the issues of development and modernization of existing modern settlements, ensuring a balance between nature and high urban loads, which are characteristic of the present time.
In fact, the cluster approach is an attempt to build an ultra-complex autonomous urban model that is self-developing, guided by mathematical, economic and social components.
