Cities of Russia: Open the future
The event became part of the Congress of Economists and Financiers. This year, the finals included a dozen of different projects submitted by applicants from all over Russia and abroad.
The authors presented cities of the future, tourism development projects, municipal development strategies, ecological parks, and much more. The presentations were held both in person, within the walls of the university, and online.
An interesting concept of cultural development of the Leninsky district of Yekaterinburg was presented by USUE students Vladislava Volynets, Maria Komarova, and Maria Basalaeva. The project is called “Duck Tales”. In a nutshell, that entails excursions to local museums, but creatively organized, ensuring a comfortable stay for city guests. Although the economic component in the development was weak, the jury members highly appreciated its potential.
Albina Pastukhova and Yana Makeeva from Vladivostok demonstrated their vision of an ecological park, and their co-resident, Polina Vall, presented the Far Eastern Breakfast project. The team from Vladivostok State University also developed Sails of Hope, a creative public space designed to help socially disadvantaged children and teenagers adapt.
Several works were devoted to the cities of the future. Representatives from Tajikistan showed their worth in that. According to Snezhelana Okilova (Tajik National University), her project could be useful not only to her native city, Dushanbe, but also to Yekaterinburg. “Our cities have a lot in common,” says Snezhelana Okilova. “These are continental climate, mountainous terrain around, a lot of vehicles, environmental problems. It seems to me that it would be reasonable to move large industrial enterprises beyond the boundaries of the metropolis, install alternative energy sources on the roofs of houses, and they should pay special attention to landscaping.”
Students of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Alexander Kupriyanov and Alexander Garanin, presented a “smart parking” project. In many cities of the world, similar systems are already operating, however, for Russia they are still new. According to the developers, their innovative solution will both reduce car traffic in million-plus cities and improve the environmental situation. Students are confident that their initiative may interest business and government officials.
The jury paid special attention to the project of the tourism cluster in Suzdal by Maria Bazhanova (Moscow), the production of tiles from solid household waste by Daria Tselishcheva and Yulia Matveeva (Kumertau), the Dolzha project (by a group of authors from Belarus), the marketing strategy of Verkhnyaya Pyshma (Yekaterinburg).
