Abstract: The subject of the research of this article is the analysis of models of development of local self-government in small towns of modern Russia and the identification of the self-governing potential of their residents. The study of models of the territorial organization of local self-government and methods of formation of municipal government bodies allows us to identify trends in the evolution of the local self-government system, to determine their nature. The study of the ideas of residents of Russian small towns about the models of local self-government and the attitudes of citizens to participate in solving local problems allows us to identify the socio-cultural foundations of the processes unfolding in modern municipalities. The object of the study is residents of small towns in the Tver region. The methods of document analysis, statistical data analysis, and survey methods were used. The data of sociological monitoring carried out in the Tver region in 2018-2020 by the method of formalized interviewing are presented. В  The models of the territorial organization of local self-government in small towns are investigated, the degree of prevalence of elective procedures for the formation of municipal bodies is studied. The ideas of the population of small towns about the nature of local self-government and its place in the management system of Russian society are analyzed, the attitude of citizens to various models of territorial organization of local self-government and ways of electing the head of the municipality is studied, the nature of the attitudes of citizens to participate in self-governing practices is revealed. A special contribution of the authors to the study of the topic is the analysis of the prevalence of various models of local self-government in small towns, taking into account their spatial and geographical location, resource characteristics and the level of self-governing potential of the population. The information obtained can be used by state and municipal authorities in the process of forming municipal management systems and organizing work with the population to involve them in self-governing practices.

Keywords: municipalities of the settlement level, enlarged municipalities, self-governing potential, activist attitudes, chapter election models, territorial organization of self-government, models of local self-government, small town, local government, spatial development

Abstract: The subject of this research is the problem of preservation of historical heritage aggravated to rapid urbanization, which is characteristic to many developing cities. Special attention is given to the existing trends of total destruction of historical and cultural monuments in the conditions of dense urban fabric. The relevance is defined by the dynamically increasing process of degradation, and at times, full destruction of environmental objects that are listed as state protected. The theoretical framework of this research is comprised of the system-environmental approach, which views the urban environment surrounding the landmarked object as a system that is in direct interaction with it. The novelty consists in practical application of theoretical provisions of the system-environmental approach to the specific conditions of Khabarovsk. Having explored over two dozen of landmarked buildings of the city, the authors reveal the contradiction between legislation intended for legal regulation of the protection and use of architectural heritage and the actual city practice of exploitation of historical buildings by the new owners of the landmarks. The study was conducted in cooperation and on behalf of Khabarovsk Regional Center for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments. The results are used in practical activity of the center and in development of its strategic goals.

Keywords: environmental approach, private home ownership, legal regulation, degradation of the historical environment, legislative acts, annotated catalog, architectural heritage, protection zones project, infill development, urban landscape

Abstract: This article provides the results of continuous zoning of Vasileostrovsky District of Saint Petersburg using the methods that are based on the systems of interconnected quantitative parameters, such as floor area ratio and building density coefficient. These include Spacmatrix (description of building density) and MXI (functional classification). The aforementioned methods are convenient for determination of the morphological types of buildings and differentiation of the zones of implementation of various urban planning policies; however, in Russia they are not widespread, and are used mainly for selecting the alternatives of urban planning solutions for a separate land plot or block. The continuous zoning patterns for the large diversified urban development are published for the first time. Comparison of the acquired patterns with the results obtained using historical and genetic analysis of the morphological development sites, as well as with the functional zoning of the draft Master Plan of Saint Petersburg from 2021 through 2048 demonstrated that the parametric methods allow a more accurate delineation of boundaries of morphological districts and describe the morphotypes of development. The article discusses the factors of the detected discrepancies and the limitations of methods used in creation of planning documents; as well as the requirements for the quality of the base data, sequence of implementation of Spacmatrix and MXI methods, and their alignment with the traditional methods for determination of the morphological types of development.

Keywords: Floor Space Index, master plan, territorial planning, framework zone, urban development model, morphotype, functional zoning, Spacematrix, Mixed Use Index, Ground Space Index

Abstract: In modern world, the problems of formation of the quality urban environment are brought to the forefront in megalopolises, small cities, and urban localities. In the conditions of rapid urbanization and expanding urban population, the public spaces are becoming an important element of the city planning system, foundation for the formation of urban environment, reflection of the level of cultural and social life. The design of comfortable public urban spaces consists not only in the functional and technical nuances, which determine the components of this environment, but also in conceptual designation of the space. The tasks of comprehensive approach in creation and modernization of the new and existing public spaces gain priority. The article is dedicated to theoretical analysis of the problematic, patterns and relevant trends in formation and modernization of public urban spaces on the example of Russian and foreign experience. The analysis of this question allows formulating the key principles and conditions for formation and development of the efficient system of urban public spaces. The object of this article is the environment of public urban spaces under various urban planning conditions. The subject of this article is the peculiarities and trends in the formation of urban public spaces. The goal consists in determination of the factors, conditions, functions, specificity, and patterns that impact the formation of the environment of urban public spaces.

Keywords: improvement of urban areas, comfortable urban environment, urban environment, formation of public space, urban public space, public space, modern city, space cities, urban planning, urban design

Abstract: Many countries currently suffer from uneven development of urban areas. There are no requirements for integrated development. Land use in the cities varies depending on physical characteristics and material value. Spatial development is closely connected to socioeconomic arrangement of the city. The study is based on the analysis of urban construction, land use, economic development, and municipal policy. The historical approach allowed following the stages of functionality and development via determination of most notable historical incidents associated with urban aspects. The goal of this article consists in tracing the history of development of the city Amarah from the perspective of urban planning. The author examines the evolution of Amarah in the context of geography, politics and economy. The conducted research reveals the significant transformations and changes that that took place in the last 30 years, namely after 1980, in early 1991 and after 2003, which considerably affected the spatial structure of the city. It is clearly evident that the city Amarah have undergone five different stages: the first and second are the phases of evolution, the third is the phase of discovery, and the fourth and fifth are the phases of major expansion.

Keywords: administrative center, Tigris river, Maysan province, regional features, urban structures, history, urban development, Al-Amara city, Al-Saray, Al Sabunjia

Abstract: This article examines the promising concepts of formation of vertical greening systems for buildings and structures, as well as the problem of development of environmental approaches towards creating architectural sites using the advanced technological means. The object of this research is the system of vertical greening of facades of buildings and structures. The subject is the analysis of installation of various vertical greening systems, which allowed conducting a comparative assessment of costs. Special attention is given to the design peculiarities of vertical greening systems and their functionality during winter. The article employs the method of systematic analysis of tested techniques for the installation of vertical greening systems based on the criteria of the type of greening to be used, method of installation, irrigation and drainage systems, convenience of use, and cost. The author describes the approaches towards creating various designs of vertical greening systems; compares the systems by technical and economic parameters. These obtained results are presented in a tabular form for selecting the system, taking into consideration various parameters. The solutions are given that allow using the vertical greening systems during winter for various types of structures, indicating that the installation costs depend on the special measures to be used. The examples of implementation of the concepts under review are provided.

Keywords: biodiversity, environmental urbanization, photosynthetic cities, resource saving concepts, eco space, vertical gardening, green facades, green walls, vertical forest, hydroponic systems

Abstract: “Green” architecture of city riverwalks: on the example of Yekaterinburg The object of this research is the Iset River walk, between Malysheva Street and Kuibysheva Street of Yekaterinburg, which is the major attraction for population and the water-recreational urban area. The subject of this research is landscape urbanism used for reconstruction and recreational development of the territories of various functionality, including riverfronts. The author determines the key aspects of the development of recreational spaces of Yekaterinburg in the context of implementation of landscape and city planning approach, as well as the peculiarities of their formation of public and private lands. Comparative-historical analysis of the stages of formation and reconstruction of recreational spaces in the Sverdlovsk agglomeration, analysis of the shoreline of the Iset River between Malysheva Street and Kuibysheva Street of Yekaterinburg is carried out from the perspective of landscape urbanism. The obtained results are as follows:1. The author outlined the prospects of application of the principles of landscape urbanism in reconstruction of city riverwalks;2. The author analyzed the current functional and planning structure of Yekaterinburg; determined the prospects for its transformation, considering the principles of landscape urbanism and formation of the unified ecological-recreational framework;3. The author highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of reconstruction of the Iset River walk and the prospects for its further reconstruction, taking into account the concepts of landscape urbanism and eco-city.

Keywords: reconstruction, landscape-urban approach, recreational spaces, comfortable environment, territory, promenade, ecological and recreational framework, landscape urbanism, eco-city, degradation

Abstract: The subject of this research is the peculiarities of formation of sustainable architectural environment using green photobioreactors – a technical devices that ensures specific conditions for the life cycle of microalgae. In global practice, this direction is known as “Algaetecture”. The authors define “Algaetecture” as a set of measures and means for the formation of environmentally sustainable urban environment, based on the integration of green photobioreactor systems into the structure of open and closed urban spaces. The research demonstrated that the spatial characteristics of objects containing photobioreactor systems are directly associated with the conditions for the life cycle of microalgae. Modelling of the shape for enduring the life cycle of microalgae is one of the leading factors in the formation of volumetric planning characteristics of buildings, development of landscape design of the vicinity, and architectural solution of the photobioreactor systems themselves. As a result, the author determines the main methods of creating urban environment that maximize the efficiency of based on photobioreactors green systems that are integrated into the building. This includes: consideration of local climate peculiarities in development of spatial characteristics of the buildings, namely for redistribution of solar radiation; use of various techniques for the formation of multilayered, weather-adaptive façade envelopes and roofs of the buildings; ensuring the interface between the architecture of external photobioreactor systems and interior environment of the buildings for creating the inside light and heat comfort; formation of the vicinity open spaces and surfaces of the building that contains photobioreactors, as a unified system that regulates insolation and wind streams; combination of different photobioreactor systems and microalgae cultures, including in the one particular architectural object. Based on the acquires results, the author offers solutions for the volume, surfaces and territory of a building that includes photobioreactor systems, considering the specificity of the monsoon climate of Southern Primorye. The recommendations are elaborated on the development of the architecture of photobioreactor systems for the facades of buildings depending on their expansion into the main sectors of the horizon.

Keywords: sustainable urban environment, ecological urbanism, sustainable architecture, photobioreactor systems, photobioreactor, algae green systems, algae building technology, algaetecture, sustainable city development, green systems

Abstract: This article follows the stages of urban planning in the Iraqi cities Al-Kūt, Amarah and Najaf. These large cities have emerged as populated localities in different historical periods. This has played a certain role in formation of the urban landscape. The author determines the stages of urban development of these cities. Depending on the period of establishment of the populated locality, the author distinguished from six (Najaf) to three (Al-Kūt and Amarah) stages of formation of the functional planning structure. The historical periods of Iraq impacted the formation of urban planning periodization and models of the ongoing urban processes. The article reviews the models of urban processes proposed by Western scholars, and their influence upon the formation of new characteristics of Iraqi urbanism in the modern landscape of the listed cities. The Iraqi cities have certain similarity in functional planning structure; however, each city has own peculiarities that define its uniqueness. The uniqueness of cities is determined by a number of characteristics: the hierarchy of urban structure, architectural image of the city, social harmony through the organization of residential environment, transport and pedestrian accessibility, recreation and tourism sites, human resources, and level of environmental pollution. As a result  of studying Al-Kūt, Amarah and Najaf, it is revealed that Najaf plays a special religious role among Shiite Muslims; it also features archaeological sites attractive for tourists, such as the ancient mosques and churches. Al-Kūt and Amarah also have a rich history, although they have emerged in a later period. Urbanization of Iraq is particularly specific with regards to residential developments in the new urban districts. It manifests in the construction of residential areas by the type of professional activity (for example, a district for teachers, workers, police, etc.)

Keywords: Transport accessibility, Social harmony, Hierarchy of the city structure, Planning, Architectural appearance of the city, Spatial urbanization, Architecture and Urban planning, recreation and tourism, Human factor, environmental pollution

Abstract: The urgent problem of growing housing demand of urban population and solution of environmental crises of the XXI century, testifies the need to apply the local knowledge in creating the economically sustainable and cultural sensitive architecture and urban environment like never before. Search for a stable solution requires not only a clear understanding of the needs of current generation, but also grasping the experience of the past. This problem is particularly relevant in the cities that experience rapid urbanization, although culture and tradition also remain important. The object of this research is the different types of residential buildings in Addis Ababa. The article provides a brief historical overview of housing policy and examines the typology of housing architecture in Addis Ababa. In the course of this research, the author analyzed and generalized the documents and resolutions on the urban development policy and land management, as well as employed the methods of analysis, systematization, and comparison of the Russian experience of housing development. The examination of historical prerequisites of development of the city revealed the role of sociopolitical and socioeconomic factors in evolution of the typology of its architecture. The author's contribution consists in the analysis and determination of architectural types of residential buildings of the city. The main conclusion lies in realization of the importance of implementation of the principles of folk architecture for sustainable housing construction in the XXI century, while preserving cultural integrity of the city.

Keywords: sustainable development, traditional building materials, architectural typology, informal settlement, vernacular architecture, construction, city, housing, cultural continuity, cultural sustainability

Abstract: The article describes the peculiarities of Crimean culture of the Soviet period through analyzing the key images and symbolic dominants of the cultural space of Soviet society and cultural landscape of the peninsula. The object of this research is the cultural landscape of Crimea as a system of unique cultural codes of symbolic nature; while the subject is the symbolic dominants of Crimean cultural space, most vivid markers of cultural space and meaningful structures of semiosphere of the Crimean cities. Methodological framework is based on the systematic approach that allows studying urban landscape as a set of interrelate elements, such as architecture, monuments, parks, toponymy, nature as a component of cultural landscape, information and communication specificities of interaction between the center and periphery. Analysis is conducted on the nature of the symbolic dominants of Crimean cultural landscape of the Soviet period based on the semiotic models of R. Barth, Y. Lotman, U. Eco, as well as research of the contemporary authors. It is established that symbolic space of the  Crimean cities reflects the “new cultural construction”, in which priority is given to infrastructural transformations; attempt of the cultural dialogue between the city and rural areas, the center and periphery; changes in the social and ethnic structures; image of the Soviet city is now based on the technics, technology, and man. The author identifies the symbolic dominants that resemble the specifics of the Soviet culture formed in the cities of the peninsula, which defined the novelty of this research. The acquired results reveal the current state of the Soviet text on the culture of Crimean cities as a part of cultural memory of the Crimeans, and can be valuable for determining the specificity and mechanisms of the use of urban space by modern urban community. The images of the “Soviet city” and “Soviet Crimea” depicted in the article can be implemented in the strategies for the development and advancement of territories

Keywords: cultural landscape, symbolic dominants, symbolic space, cultural space, culture text, urban culture, city, Soviet culture, Crimea, Simferopol

Abstract: In view of the possible solutions to the question of preservation of cultural heritage, the experts in various fields face a problem of appropriateness of the selected solution or approach towards specific object, which method should be used in a particular case, what difficulties may impede the implementation of plan for preservation of cultural monument. Taking into account the importance to meet the requirements on preservation of cultural heritage sites and avoid the change of appearance, spatial planning, design solutions and structure of the object, the question of preservation becomes more complicated and relevant. This article provides example of one of the first projects for preservation of the monuments of ancient civilization, conducted by UNESCO, which allowed acquiring an invaluable experience of reconstructing the world significant sites located outside of Europe. A detailed analysis is carried out on restoration of the world heritage site, which due to the construction of Aswan High Dam on the Nile River, was on the edge of being lost. Thus, considering various proposals pertinent to preservation of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel, provided by organizations and individual experts from different countries, as well as the challenges faced in implementation of the approved plan, it is possible to find new solutions for other UNESCO sites that need to be preserved and restored due to various factors influencing their integrity and conservation

Keywords: integrity, dismantling, restoration, heritage of world significance, preservation of cultural heritage, international community, UNESCO, preservation, relocation, The salvage of the Abu Simbel temples