Peculiarities and Pathways of Single-Family Housing Development in Russian Major Cities

Abstract

Single-family housing typology in Russian cities is usually seen as an inefficient use of land – the need for redevelopment and diversification of such territories is discussed. Despite similar urban form parameters, the areas of single-family housing can be differentiated depending on their location in the spatial city structure, distance from the centers of commercial activity, functional diversity, and mix with other housing typologies. Using methods of spatial and document analysis (land use and legal zoning regulations) I study various scenarios for the transformation of such territories in major Russian cities aiming at developing a sustainable decision-making process regarding residential development. The research shows that the revolutionary way of development of such territories is gaining prominence, where the low-scale built environment is substituted with high-rise buildings without the necessary infrastructure, and middle-rise housing typologies being not represented in the urban fabric. According to the results of land use analysis, it was revealed that in Russian major cities the share of territories occupied by single-family housing reaches 50%, somewhere reaching 70%. Meanwhile, existing approaches to the regulation of these territories lack a vision of how the urban environment should develop and undervalue the effects of existing transformation scenarios.