Gated communities of the Moscow green belt: newly segregated landscapes and the suburban Russian environment |
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| Authors: | Mikhail Blinnikov Andrey Shanin Nikolay Sobolev Lyudmila Volkova |
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| Institution: | (1) Geography Department, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN 56301, USA;(2) Graduate School, London School of Economics, London, Great Britain;(3) Biodiversity Conservation Center, Moscow, Russia;(4) Severtsov Institute of Ecological & Evolutional Problems, Moscow, Russia |
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| Abstract: | The transition from the Soviet to the post-Soviet period in and near Moscow manifested itself in increasing production of
segregated space both in the urban core and suburban areas outside of the beltway to accommodate the preferences of the new
Russian business and governmental elite. This paper focuses on the residential single-family housing inside old and new settlements,
which are frequently gated. Approximately 260 of such suburban communities have been developed within 30 km of the beltway
during the past few years, of which a majority have some form of exclusion mechanism in place, typically tall solid fences,
gates, closed-circuit video surveillance and guarded entry checkpoints. The difference in exclusivity varies from the most
exclusive older communities inside Moscow Serebryany Bor enclave and Rublevskoe highway mansions to less exclusive new developments
along Novorizkhskoe and Dmitrovskoe highways. Despite high rates of construction, based on sociological surveys in 2003, only
about 11% of Russia’s upper class claimed to live in such new “cottages,” with the rest owning condos and luxury apartments
in the inner city or older detached homes in villages and small towns. Therefore, not all the needs have been accommodated
and more development is certain to take place. The environmental impact of such developments is profound. Based on preliminary
LANDSAT image analysis, almost 22% of suburban “green belt” forested land within 30 km zone has been converted to new construction
from 1991 to 2001. New construction is now focusing on the remaining fragments of natural vegetation, which will likely lower
air quality and water quality available for the city. Ironically, the new developments advertise themselves as “clean and
green” with massive investments in unnatural landscaping (seeded lawns, exotic shrubs, river and lake shore “improvements”).
This investment highlights the well-known paradox of development in which people move out of town to live near nature, while
destroying the wild nature they come to enjoy.
“We left city for the weekend
It was raining, saw no stars
There were fences everywhere
Our chiefs behind the bars.”
Gennady Shpalikov |
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| Keywords: | Environmental impacts Gated communities Land use change Russia |
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