Healthy City, Healthy People

2 September 2021

Healthy City, Healthy People

KEY CONCLUSIONS

Health care is the primary concern of city residents

“The population of Russia is really highly urbanized – about 65% of people live in cities. The creation of a high-quality urban environment designed for a healthy lifestyle, with abundant green spaces, providing opportunities for working out, is really important for not only, as it is now, treating diseases, but also for creating conditions to prevent them, for contributing to the development of a healthy lifestyle culture,” Ekaterina Kucheryavenko, Managing Project Director, KB Strelka.

“Urban planning is closely related to the health of the citizens, to their lifestyle, and, therefore, to the way we can respond to current issues. For example, do we go to work by car, or on foot, or by bicycle? Can we walk to that green space after work or not?” Kirill Solgalov, Deputy Director, Chief Architect, SPI Planning Group.

PROBLEMS

Life expectancy in the Far East is below the Russian average

“The environment is not only about ecology. There are political, economic, social and physical aspects of it that determine the risk factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases. Cardiovascular diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancer and, of course, lung diseases have a huge impact on life expectancy and cause premature mortality,” Melita Vujnovic, Representative to the Russian Federation, Head of Office, World Health Organization Office in the Russian Federation.

“We now have a lower life expectancy than the Russian average. According to Rosstat, the average in Russia is 71 years, while the average in the Far East is 69 years,” Marat Shamyunov, Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.

Excess of space and lack of infrastructure

“Speaking of modern strategies, most often we think about the ’15-minute city’, which means a city where anything a person might need can be reached within a 15-minute walk. This strategy is often associated with Paris that was the first to implement such practices. But the population density in Paris is 210 people per hectare, while in Vladivostok it is 43 people per hectare, so we cannot talk about 15 minutes,” Kirill Solgalov, Deputy Director, Chief Architect, SPI Planning Group.

“On the one hand, the share of people living within 15 minutes from sports facilities in the Far East is on average slightly higher than elsewhere in Russia. But on the other hand, they are firly busy. It means that locals do not have enough sports facilities,” Andrey Samokhin, Chief Executive Officer, Head of Analytics and Marketing Unit, VEB.RF Group.

SOLUTIONS

Investing in the Far East infrastructure

“The Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic has a practice of government support and the single subsidy. The latter one is used as a tool for determining the priority infrastructure facilities based on suggestions from Far Eastern regions. These are social facilities, healthcare and education facilities we allocate funds for in addition to other programmes. Importantly we can boast a certain success in this department. It is not just hospitals, clinics, schools, or kindergartens – it is also embankments. Let’s take the embankment in Komsomolsk-on-Amur that is being reconstructed now or the embankment in Blagoveshchensk,” Marat Shamyunov, Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.

“A more thorough approach to healthcare or healthy lifestyle infrastructure can really improve longevity. It can help save on medical services – Russia spends roughly RUB 5 trillion on treating chronic diseases annually,” Ekaterina Kucheryavenko, Managing Project Director, KB Strelka.

Reimagining space and long-term planning

“Vladivostok, much like other cities in the Far east, is in need of integrated development and reimagining of its space. Why is it important? Today, we are mostly addressing urban expansion. Urban expansion results in a lower density actually. It also results in poorer financing of urban spaces. We are spreading the budget thin on a huge territory. At the same time, the number of users does not go up,” Kirill Solgalov, Deputy Director, Chief Architect, SPI Planning Group.

“An important product we are working on now meets all sustainable development requirements. It is a master plan, which includes a master layout and the region’s socio-economic development strategy. Normally these are two different documents that are too complicated and never clear. However, we see that master plans are recognized by investors, government and general public,” Andrey Samokhin, Chief Executive Officer, Head of Analytics and Marketing Unit, VEB.RF Group.

For more information, visit the ROSCONGRESS.ORG Information and Analytical System at roscongress.org.

Healthy City, Healthy People

Read more