1. RESULTS OF SPECIAL RESEARCH FORUM
Urban Index Russia 2011
«CITIES GRADED F+»
Bulat Stolyarov, general director of IRP Group

2. WHOM DID WE ASK ABOUT RUSSIAN CITIES?
12 cities*
Moscow
300 experts
Saint-Petersburg
Nizhny Novgorod
Kazan More then
Ekaterinburg
Samara
Chelyabinsk
Rostov-on-Don
Volgograd
Omsk
Novosibirsk
Ufa
*с населением более миллиона человек по данным переписи 2010 года
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3. WHAT DID WE MEASURE IN THE CITIES?
1. What is going on?
Basic needs Advanced needs
А. Habitat B. Environment for self- С. Environment for social D. Environment for carrier F. Cultural and aesthetic
sufficiency life and self-development environment
2. What is important for 3. Are you satisfied?
development?
Technical potential Quality of Quality of social
management environment Inhabitant Business Tourists
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4. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXPERT
OPINIONS FROM VARIOUS CITIES?
The largest and better economically developed million cities percept the environment in a
more critical way.
«ХОРОШО, «ХОРОШО,
ИЗМЕНЕНИЙ НЕ НАДО» НО НАДО ЛУЧШЕ»
«ПЛОХО, НАДО ВСЁ
МЕНЯТЬ»
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5. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN EXPERT OPINIONS
FROM VARIOUS PROFESSIONAL GROUPS?
Main pessimist today is firstly professional community of architects-urban planers, аs
well as professional groups whose problems are not widely recognized – business and
culture (their indexes got the highest rates).
maх
«OPTIMISTS»
The factors that affect the quality of the
Deputies
Media journalists
and editors Officials
Managers of hospitality
Representatives of social business
field of activity
urban environment
Archiects
Businessmen
Cultural workers Satisfaction:
Below 50 grades
Above 50 grades
«PESSIMISTS»
min Environmental situation of the city maх
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6. WHAT IS GOING ON?
Our cities can not meet such high level of basic needs yet, so it starts to seem
generally acceptable condition of hospitality, culture, education and architecture
spheres.
No reasons to worry
Problem zones
76,9 Business development– shops, malls, networks Road net, traffic jams 22,3
75,2 Communication infrastructure Ecological state 33,2
70,9 Restaurant business Availability of kindergartens , schools 36,2
66,8 Regularity and accessibility of utility Conditions for small business 40,3
66,5 Transport communication with Russia and the Availability of medical services 41,1
whole world
City noise 41,3
66,0 Quality of higher and professional education
Security 41,6
65,7 Visual attractiveness, aesthetics
Opportunity to find an interesting job 43,6
62,4 Culture – theatres, museums, concerts
OVERALL INDEX 2011 53,6
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7. WHAT IS EXPECTED BY EXPERTS IN THE FUTURE?
Under the forecast of experts, the most alarming problems of Russian cities in the
future will be the following: 1) utilities infrastructure, 2) quality of high education,
3) business environment. It is indicative that experts evaluate cities touristic
attractiveness very low and so far do not consider development of the tourism
industry as an important priority.
«GOOD AT THE
PRESENT,
ALARMING IN THE
«BAD AND FUTURE,
IMPORTANT» IMPORTANT»
«GOOD AND
UNIMPORTANT,
«BAD AND WILL DEVELOP ON
UNMPORTANT» ITS OWN»
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8. WHO FINDS RUSSIAN CITIES CONVINIENT?
For the present Russian cities are not of much attractiveness from the point of view of
leisure time industry and they have a weighty luggage of unresolved strategic
challenges in functional development.
min
Investors, business community
Requirements in the sphere of leisure
Highly qualified specialists
Creative people
Scientists, researchers
Workers without special professional skills
time industry
Russian tourists
Foreign tourists
max
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9. WHAT CITIES AND FOR WHOM ARE THE MOST HOSPITABLE?
Saint-Petersburg
Rostov-on-Don
Kazan
Moscow
Ekaterinburg
Novosibirsk
Ufa
Nizhny Novgorod
Samara
Chelyabinsk
Omsk
Volgograd
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10. WHAT IS CONVINIENT AND INCONVINIENT FOR
BUSINESS COMMUNITIES IN RUSSIAN CITIES?
The positive factors that are pushing assessment of business climate of n cities up
are: availability of realty for business and availability of adequate human
resources. Negative factors for business environment of the city are: lack of
qualified construction sites and general inability of city authorities to work with the
tools of PPP.
COMFORT ZONE
Mechanisms of state and municipal project
Sites for new constructions
Availability of credits
Rent spaces for offices, trade
Opportunity to find employees of required
qualification in the city
0 100
DISCOMFORT ZONE
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11. WHAT IS INCONVINIENT FOR TOURISTS IN RUSSIAN
ДЛЯ КОГО КОМФОРТНЫ РОССИЙСКИЕ ГОРОДА?
MILLION CITIES?
Advantage of the Russian cities tourist services , according to the expert opinions,
is primarily a variety of services, cafes, restaurants. Disadvantage is lack of hotels
and hostel. The dispersion of the situation estimates regarding the hotel fund is
huge - from almost 70 points in developed Kazan and Yekaterinburg and up to 25
points in the depressed Volgograd.
Convenience of navigation in the city
Hotels, hostels, short-term renting
Help, information, city web-site
City tours, museum excursions
Citizen attitude towards tourists
Cafes, restaurants and etc. for tourists
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12. WHAT SHALL BE DONE?
Most of the hopes the experts lay on the management progress: creation of a
competent strategy and master plan, fight against corruption and improvement of
the management team quality. In the civic vector of improvement the experts
have much weaker hope. The need for technological improvement of municipal
economy the experts from different cities, regardless of their status, evaluate
approximately equally, the spread of opinions is extremely small.
73,4 MANAGMENT
Improvement of the city management system, selection of managing personnel
74,2
Developing a competent strategy, urban-planning policy
80,4
Fight against corruption in administration, municipal economy
78,0
Development of cooperation with other cities, regions
60,2
64,6 TECHNOLOGIES
Technical equipment of municipal economy 64,6
62,9 QUALITY OF SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
Education of patriotism for the city and culture of behavior in the city
67,9
Support of civic initiatives and activities from the bottom
69,0
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13. WHAT SHAL BE DONE FIRST ACCORDING TO THE
GOVERNMENT OPINION?
The government evaluates its competence quite high (except anti-corruption
index); in their opinion they have to do something with culture and attitude of
citizens to their city.
«BAD AND «GOOD AND
IMPORTANT» IMPORTANT»
«BAD AND «GOOD AND
UNIMPORTANT» UNIMPORTATN»
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14. WHAT SHAL BE DONE FIRST ACCORDING TO THE
BUSINESS OPINION?
Representatives of business, in their turn, are much more critical regarding
modern urban management evaluation. High priority of managerial factors
conforms to the statement "everything that is important; is in bad condition now"
«BAD AND
IMPORTANT»
«BAD AND «GOOD AND
UNIMPORTANT» UNIMPORTANT»
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15. WHICH MODEL IS WORKING TODAY?
«BOTTOM UP» vs «TOP DOWN»
While society is not capable to fully participate in the formation of the vector of the
city environment development, in the vast majority of large cities the main initiator
and catalyst of all innovations and changes in the urban environment shall be top-
down command structure.
Bottom Up Top Down
(government
(social initiative)
initiative)
Explanation of the drawing
The following factors show efficiency of the “initiative from the bottom: 1) safety in the city, reduction
of crime; 2) arrangement of open public spaces for communication and recreation; 3) conditions
small business and enterprises development; 4) transport-logistic links with other cities and
countries; 5) support of civil initiatives, "activity from the bottom".
As signs of the model “initiative from the top” were selected such factors as factors of environment
development: 1) building social accommodations; 2) preparation of sites for certain functions and
attraction of investors; 3) development of road networks, construction of interchanges, car parks on
state financing; 4) improving of city management system, selection of management personnel; 5)
development of "strategies from the top".
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16. «How many socially active people are there in your city in
comparison with other Russian cities?
Ability of the public to influence the activities of the
authorities as to different groups of respondents estimation:
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17. WHAT IS LACKING IN PROFESSIONALISM OF
OFFICIALS TODAY?
The most negative estimation of a discrepancy between the desired and the actual
situation recorded by the indicator, characterizing the integrity and honesty of
officials. Also, in the opinion of the respondents, the city officials lack qualification
and professionalism, creativity and originality of thinking – qualities that are opposite
to the business skills (as on the data of the correlation analysis).
Honesty, resistance to corruption
Qualification, professionalism
Skills of strategic planning
Ability to negotiate with federal, regional authorities
Skills to solve prompt tasks, urgent problems
Skills of public policy, communication with citizens
Creativity, originality of thinking
Skills of work with large investors
Experience in business, entererprising skills
Needed
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18. DO MODERN STRATEGIC DOCUMENTS MEET CURRENT
NEEDS OF CITIES?
Strategy of the socio-economic city City master plan
development
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19. ANSWERES OF PROFESSIONAL GROUPS
Strategy of the socio-economic city City master plan
development
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20. WHAT IS THE MAIN REASON FOR THE POOR
QUALITY OF STRATEGIC DOCUMENTS?
In the opinion of experts, we don’t draw business actively enough into the processes
of strategies and the master plans development (all cities, except St. Petersburg,
agree with this assessment), continuing to forecast its development and annually
updating these projections; and public (the highest negative assessments in all
cities), deciding for them what is important for quality of life and comfort of the city
environment.
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21. IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS THAT MAKE THE RUSSIAN
MILLION CITIES FEEL PROUD: SOFT vs HARD
The list of projects, named by experts, included a lot of projects in the areas which
experts do not consider to be priorities: exhibitions, festivals, navigation system for
tourists, construction of cultural facilities, business centers, etc.
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