Abstract: In the last few years, the approach “Urban Health” is gaining popularity in the world practice of municipal and state administration. Its peculiarity consists in the fact that in structuring any policies and making any decisions, priority is given to health and wellbeing of the population, and the key indicator of effectiveness is life expectancy. There is a range of works dedicated to ratio between physical and mental health of citizens and organization of the urban environment. However, the yet only Russian-language research on the practice of using Urban Health approach in different countries, the Russian experience is presented by Moscow alone and without emphasis on architecture and urban planning. The author systematizes the existing health-saving technologies that can serve as the foundation for environmental development programs; successful urban development programs of other countries are compared with such in Moscow and Russia, which allows revealing the merits and flaws of the latter. The conclusion is made that despite a set of measures presented in multiple programs and documents, which are aimed at improvement of health and well-being of the citizens, life expectancy and mitigation of risk of various diseases, do not appear as the goals of these programs. Therefore, urban planning policy can objectively be much more health-saving; the rhetoric and optics of the Urban Health approach, being articulated by the government,  can be more comprehensible for the population than the environmental agenda, and thus, promote the necessary urban changes.

Keywords: urban improvement, active design, pedestrianization,, urban renewal, urban health, health-saving technologies, urban environment, urban policy, health, sustainable development

Abstract: This article presents the materials of the research conducted by the author within the framework of the scientific project “Architects and Engineers of the Eastern Suburbs of Russia” (late XIX – early XX century)". The paper touches upon the spheres and results of activity of the graduates of Saint Petersburg Institute of Civil Engineering, who worked in Yakutsk in the pre-October period. Brief biographical records are provided on the following civil engineers: A. N. Aristov, N. V. Baumgarten, G. F. Katsienko, A. I. Kudryavtsev, K. A. Leshevich, G. V. Rozen, I. F. Tamulevich, and V. A. Shkalin. The significance of the preserved objects of artistic heritage of the graduates of Saint Petersburg Institute of Civil Engineering in the site development of the historical core of Yakutsk is described. Based on the field surveys and archival findings, the author presents the holistic picture of creative and professional activity of the graduates of Saint Petersburg Institute of Civil Engineering who worked in Yakutsk in the late XIX – early XX centuries. It is established that the administrative, urban planning and creative activity of civil engineers associated with routine work in the local government  bodies, coordination and planning of the projects of facilities of various purposes, had a considerable impact upon the development of regional architecture, and as well as new construction technologies of the large public buildings in the conditions of permafrost.

Keywords: creation, architectural monuments, heritage, history, ICE, engineers, architects, Yakutsk, professional activity, permafrost

Abstract: This article explores the ability of wooden sculptures and objects to influence psychoemotional state of a person. It is noted that the expanding gap between man and nature due to the rapid development of large cities along with the natural factor receding into the background, generate the fundamentally new problematic and applied field that requires the creation of operational mechanisms to release the growing tension in the context of alienation from nature. It is stated that one of the recent achievements of the European scientific community consists in classification of this problematic as the nature deficit disorder, as well as in first steps towards resolving this issue in form of natural therapies – specific ways of human interaction with nature. The author traces and analyzes the possibility of using wooden sculpture as one of the instruments for stabilization pf psychoemotional and physical state of a person via interaction with natural material. Thus, the development of wooden sculptures and their inclusion into training, educational and rehabilitation programs indicates the properties of wooden sculpture as an affordable and effective therapeutic instrument.

Keywords: environmental psychology, works of art, a nature deficit disorder, artistic woodworking, a wooden sculpture, an ecotherapy, an art therapy, a metropolis, arts and crafts, an urban space

Abstract: This article examines public spaces in the urban environment of Krasnoyarsk and outlines current trends in design. The object of this research is the territories with hydraulic structures – fountains, which have lost their attractiveness and relevance, currently undergo dismantling and remodeling. The author analyzes the needs of Krasnoyarsk residents, latest trends in design and organization of public spaces in Krasnoyarsk. The article describes remodeling of the two most popular fountains of the city as most popular for promenades: the fountain “Adam and Eve”, which now is the sculpture “Valentine and Valentina”; and the fountain “The Seize of Europe”. The research is based on the method of analysis and synthesis of public opinion determined in the course of questionnaires, expert assessments and scientific inquiries regarding the dynamics of urban development. The analysis of beautification of streets of Krasnoyarsk allows assessing the current state of the outdoor furniture in recreation areas. Examples are provided of both a successful approach towards layout of public urban spaces, as well as the projects which potential has not been fulfilled. The author proposes new layout solutions that take into account complex needs of the consumer. The theme of beautification of territory around the fountain remains relevance, and urban planning departments are interested in selecting high-quality outdoor furniture with consideration of color and texture of the materials, laws of rational composition, and maintainability.

Keywords: improvement of the territory, comfortable urban environment, public spaces, small architectural forms, environmental design, outdoor furniture, fountains, ergonomics, functional zoning of the territory, aesthetic qualities of furniture

Abstract: This article is dedicated to examination and testing of the modern methods of morphological analysis of the territories of large-scale residential development. The urban planning theory marks the emergence of works on the study of morphotypification of residential construction of different periods. A number of recent publications provide the analysis of the morphotypes of urban environment using GIS technologies to determine such parameters as the density of urban fabric, porosity and ratio of open and closed spaces, number of storeys in a building; nature of the relative positions of buildings in a residential group, neighborhood unit, etc. The author outlines the new vectors in studying construction patterns and evolution of topography of large-scale residential development plan. The goal of this research lies in determination of the morphological periods of large-scale residential development in Krasnoyarsk based on the analysis of topology, study of the structure of the plan based on geoinformation data analysis. The article aims to determine the construction periods of large-scale residential development through the use of mathematical analysis; analyze the topology of the plan of living quarters of various construction periods; establish the morphotypes of residential planning units that are characteristic to the periods of large-scale residential construction; substantiate the morphological periods of neighborhood units of large-scale residential development. The author describes the typical morphotopes of residential development of the city based on determination of the preferred geometry and number of storeys in a building: “ribbon”, “dot”, “spline”, “L-shaped”, “U-shaped”, “circuit”. The article conducts a comprehensive calculation of morphotopes based on the key indicators, and reveals the morphotypes characteristic to different periods of large-scale residential construction: 1st period (1960–1975) – “ribbon development”; 2nd period (1975–1990) – “sporadic building” due to varying geometry of the building plan; 3rd  period (1990–2010) – “mixed housing” due to coexistence of different types of buildings; 4th period (2010–2020) – “homogeneous development” due to the presence of typical, recurring morphotope. Substantiation is given to morphological periods of residential construction.

Keywords: urbanization, Plan topology, Geoinformation analysis, morpotope, morphotype, residential planning units, urban planning, morphology, morphological periods, living environment

Abstract: The goal of this research lies in discussing the key provisions of Carlos Moreno’s concept of 15-minute city in the context of issues caused COVID-19 pandemic. Besides the original texts by C. Moreno, the article employs the following data: 1) publications in the international scientometric databases (Scopus, WoS2) dedicated to positive effects of implementation of the concept of 15-minute city and its analogues; 2) documents of international organizations (C40 Cities, OECD, UN-Habitat3 that recommend the key vectors of sustainable urban development policy to the national governments; 3) strategies of global megacities that embarked upon practical implementation of the concept of 15-minute city. The concept at hand is based on the idea of spatial-temporal hyper-proximity of all essential functions and services of the city. The concentrated infrastructure (place of residence, work, retail, education, health, and leisure) within micro-scale spatial structures contributes to the formation of more environmentally, economically and socially sustainable cities. The global COVID-19 pandemic, which demonstrated the urgent need for “upgrading” the local living conditions, stimulated the adoption of this concept on the level of international organizations and progressive foreign megacities, as well as interest of the Russian Federation in its implementation. The conducted analysis leads to the conclusion that the model of 15-minute city, which allows effectively counteracting the new risks (including the unexpected circumstances), can be adapted to spatial peculiarities of the particular cities and needs of the residents. This article is an invitation to a scientific discussion on the prospects of transformation of the Russian megacities into a network of 15-minute cities, as well as the search for methodological solutions in the research dedicated to differentiation of the quality of urban environment in the micro-spatial dimension.

Keywords: accessibility of urban functions, urban environment, Carlos Moreno, 15-minute city concept, sustainable urban development, urban development models, quality of life, COVID-19 pandemic, Russian metropolis, spatial inequalities