St. Petersburg General Plan 2005
Core idea
Ring roads, infill, heritage protection
Why it matters
Statutory big-city plan in Russia
Description
The St. Petersburg General Plan of 2005, prepared under the city's Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture (KGA), was the first post-Soviet statutory master plan for Russia's second city, drawn up under the new federal planning code. Its principal moves included completing the ring road and improving the radial road system, prioritising infill and redevelopment of underused industrial belts over peripheral expansion, and codifying protection for the extensive historic centre.
Significance
The plan is significant as a demonstration that large Russian cities could produce legally binding general plans adapted to market conditions while retaining the inherited genplan tradition. Its attempt to balance heritage protection with development pressure, tested by controversies such as the Okhta/Lakhta tower debate, made St. Petersburg a focal case in Russian arguments over conservation, and its metropolitan road and infill strategy typifies post-Soviet polycentric restructuring.
What shaped it
- The master plan (early 20th c.)
- Genius Loci (Norberg-Schulz) (1979)
- Standard State Zoning Enabling Act (1924)
Sources
- https://www.e3s-conferences.org/articles/e3sconf/abs/2020/24/e3sconf_tpacee2020_05008/e3sconf_tp
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg_City_Administration