Dvorulitsa (Yardstreet):

a Reboot Method for the Semi-Periphery of a Post-Socialist City

Abstract

Post-socialist cities need a tool to work with the morphological structure they inherited from the socialist era. The location of semi-peripheral micro-districts between the gentrified center and booming suburbs exacerbates the need for a new strategy for their development. In this article, we consider a soft technique for transforming existing micro-districts and creating Yardstreets — complex, diverse spaces, shaping a second network that connects and organizes the visually loose spaces of micro-districts. A yardstreet-creation algorithm is given. Such planning transformation dramatically increases the connectivity and accessibility of urban spaces, unlocking opportunities for the development of a new urban economy.