Urban Planning and Spontaneous Spatial Order: The Post-Soviet Transformation of Spatial Guidelines for the Development of Moscow

Abstract

This article is devoted to the post-Soviet period of Moscow’s development, when the principles of Soviet urban planning were replaced, first by the ideology of an entrepreneurial city, and then by new urbanism. The author investigates the mechanisms ordering the spatial development of the Russian capital against the background of an intense flow of poorly controlled changes and violations of many urban planning norms and rules. An assumption is made about the interaction of two relatively independent sources of spatial order—urban planning and spontaneous self-organization. Attention is paid to the shifts in the priorities of different stakeholders of urban development: authorities, businesses, and residents. The role of the population as a key agent of change is highlighted. In conclusion, the article highlights the deep contradiction associated with the autonomy and the interdependence of urban planning and spontaneous self-organization. The example of Moscow shows that the dominance of individual interest groups does not ensure the sustainable development of the city, regardless of who determines the city agendagovernment institutions based on urban planning and regulatory regulations, businesses imposing their own logic of development, or “active Muscovites”. Despite the effect of adaptive self-regulation mechanisms, which smooth out the negative consequences of planning decisions and spontaneous self-organization, constant intellectual efforts are needed to identify the side effects of changes taking place in the city which reformat its physical and imaginary space.