Authors

Guliev Melik Eldar-ogly
Adaptive urban planning and spatial organization of the coastal zone of Azerbaijan under conditions of the Caspian Sea level fluctuations

Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education №3 (95) September, 2026

The study offers a solution to the problem of vulnerability of coastal cities to cyclical changes in the shoreline using the example of the Caspian coast. For the first time at the macro-regional level, the inefficiency of traditional rigid master plans for territories subject to large-scale transgressions and regressions is considered on the example of Azerbaijan. The novelty of the work lies in the application of the dynamic pathways methodology to the specifics of urbanization near a closed fluctuating sea. Based on the analysis of three key macro-zones of the coast, the author proposes to abandon static functional division. The main result was the development of three mechanisms of spatial transformation. Firstly, a transition to pulsating zoning with floating land-use regulations is proposed. Secondly, the creation of continuous shielding ecological buffers forming a water-green protective framework is justified. Thirdly, the necessity of using artificial reclaimed territories as spatial shock absorbers is proven. The practical application of these tools will allow turning the densely populated contact zone into a flexible self-regulating system capable of safely developing synchronously with natural macrocycles.