Path-Dependent Development of Mass Housing in Moscow, Russia

Ch. 13. P. 289–311.

Gunko M., Bogacheva P., Medvedev A., Kashnitsky I. S.

Since the 1950s, Moscow’s housing development has been underlined
by modernist planning schemes. From the 20th to 21st centuries, the quality and
appearance of apartment buildings changed, but housing estates designed as
coherent neighbourhoods not only remain the principal type of housing organization
but are still being constructed in Moscow and its suburbs. Though the concept
itself has not been challenged by policy-makers and planners, by the end of the 20th
century it became apparent that early housing estates have become a problem due
to poor quality of construction. In 2017, the Moscow Government announced a
highly controversial program suggesting the demolition of housing estates built
between the 1950s and 1960s. Our contribution analyzes the history of housing
estates development in Moscow aiming to understand what has led to the adoption
of the 2017 “renovation” program. If this program ends up being fully implemented,
along with planned renovation of former industrial areas, the cityscape of
Russia’s capital will be completely redefined.

Keywords: Moscow, post-socialist city, housing estates, mass housing, modernist planning

In book

Housing Estates in Europe. Poverty, Ethnic Segregation and Policy Challenges

Springer, 2018.