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Участие граждан в градорегулировании: теория и практика законодательного обеспечения
This article is dedicated to the study of the forms of participation of citizens in town-planning regulation.
Recently, attempts have been made to bring back the topic of public participation. It gained momentum following the start of the implementation of the federal project called "Design of a comfort urban environment". Forms of citizens' involvement in the city urban beautification processes are being actively discussed, the practices of joint design are adapted, residents are successfully involved in the development of beautification documents and see the results of their work in implemented projects. Simultaneously, there is another process underway, the process aimed at reducing public participation in the discussion of town-planning regulation documents, which determine the future spatial development of the city and legal consequences for real estate owners are being established. In such a way, the focus of attention of citizens shifts from legal issues, for example, from issues about land parcel boundaries under apartment buildings to the choice of landscaping or play equipment for playgrounds.
The article gives an overview of the forms of participation of citizens in solving issues of local importance, as a range of opportunities established by the legislation regarding public participation in solving issues of town-planning regulation. The role of public hearings and public debates is defined as the only form of discussion of certain issues of town-planning regulation, the mandatory conduct of which is guaranteed by law. All other forms of citizen participation are optional, and their application largely depends on the interest of the public authorities. In addition, the article discussed in detail the issues of legislative support for public hearings and public debates in Russian cities. It analyzed the problems identified by the author in practical terms of applying public hearings and public debates. All conclusions are confirmed by statistics with information collected by the author. Suggestions were made to improve legislation from the point of view of the theory of rational and fair organization of the process of public discussion of town-planning regulation documents.