Authors

Wagner Yekaterina A.
URBANISATION AND PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC DEVELOPMENT (with reference to the urban development in Central Europe and Russia, and to the planning practice in the city of Krasnoyarsk)

Architecton: Proceedings of Higher Education №2 (38) June, 2012

The article reviews the formation of pedestrian spaces in the cities of Central Europe, Russia (USSR), and Krasnoyarsk from the early twentieth century to the present time. In the early twentieth century, vehicle and pedestrian traffic in European and Russian cities that had formed under the influence of 'ideal city' plans demonstrated common features, with elements of division between vehicle and pedestrian traffic spaces.

The abolition of private property in the Soviet Union led to gradual disappearance of private and semi-private pedestrian spaces.

A turning point in the development of pedestrian spaces in both European and Soviet city planning practice came with the legitimization of the car (as embodied in the Athens Charter) and under the influence of American ideas relating to the organization of "Motor Age" life within areas limited by urban highways.

In the 1960s – 70s, a new town-planning concept of a "car-friendly city" emerged in Europe. In the 1980s, however, the European urban planning experienced a second turning point in its development, whereby the dominance of personal motor vehicles as a structural town-planning principle was rejected. This triggered intensive development of public transport and cycling and pedestrian spaces.

The fact that the Soviet Union was a closed country and the crisis of the late 1980s led to growing divergence between the principles underlying the formation of pedestrian spaces in Europe and Russia. The existing pedestrian spaces in Russia are degrading, whilst new ones are not built. The lack of a strategy in this field has resulted in various social and environmental problems.

In conclusion, the author emphasizes that Russia is going through fundamental changes and is shaping new approaches to urban planning and development. One of the main goals of this development is to create conditions for safe and secure pedestrian mobility of residents.