Indexing Arctic Urban Sustainable Development Planning Strategies: The Case of Russia

P. 300–314.

Sergunin A. A.

Russian Arctic cities acknowledge the need to build sustainable development strategies (SDSs) to ensure their long-term socio-economic and ecological viability. They try to create proper conceptual, legal and institutional settings for the development and implementation of such strategies. First and foremost, the Arctic cities aim to create and develop an efficient strategy planning system, which is seen as a necessary precondition for successful urban SDSs. This paper aims to discuss possible indicators to evaluate the SDS planning process in the major industrial cities of the Russian Arctic. The following indicators will be discussed:

• The ability to acknowledge the need for SDS planning.

• The integrated/comprehensive nature of planning.

• The existence/non-existence of a planning office in the city.

• Clearly defined goals, outcomes/expectations and implementation strategies, including indicators and benchmarks.

• The quality and accuracy of assessments (whether they are based on science or wishful thinking).

• Coordination with the regional and federal SDSs.

• The transparency of the planning process.

• Public input/community engagement (opinion polls, public discussions in the media, hearings in the public chambers, NGOs’ role).

• The ability to take into account private and public interests.

• Centralized or indicative planning.

Keywords: planning, Arctic, Indexing, Urban Sustainable Development

In book

The Russian Arctic in the 2010s and 2020s: Selected Articles from the Arctic Yearbook

Sergunin A. A., Heininen L., Lackenbauer W., Barnes J., Exner-Pirot H. Peterborough: North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network, 2025.