The Urban Development Strategies in Russia and Worldwide: Comparative Analysis
The paper is dedicated to a comparison between Russian strategies for the long-term development of cities with the best world urban practices on the basis of a methodology developed by the author for assessing the quality of strategies. This methodology differs from many approaches of qualitative assessment of strategies in that it is based on measuring the quality of a strategy by not only comparing it with an ideal template of the author but also assessing the compliance of a strategy with the modern paradigm of strategic planning and values of the post-industrial society. The assessment was carried out with two types of criteria: basic (the presence of the minimum necessary blocks) and progressive (compliance with the ideas of sustainable development, values of the post-industrial era). It was revealed that the strategies for the socio-economic development of Russian and foreign cities differ significantly. The greatest lag of Russian strategic documents from modern world practices was recorded in such areas as the environmental block, spatial planning, and transport development, the presence of unique and ambitious goals, as well as clarity and simplicity of presentation. In other words, Russian strategic documents are significantly lagging behind in terms of integration and reorientation towards sustainable development, creating a comfortable urban environment, designing a modern transport system, embedding the city in the global and national economy, etc.