Public spaces as a factor of the quality of the urban environment (on the example of the city of Irkutsk)

Abstract

The article describes the relevance of the study of public spaces as an important element of the quality of the urban environment. Successfully functioning public spaces are called upon to solve a number of urban problems, including the social isolation of citizens caused by urbanization processes. The characteristic of public spaces of a particular city is based on an assessment of a set of attributes and related criteria developed by placemaking specialists. It is proved that this complex should reflect not only the general requirements for public spaces, but also the features of the city: the diversity of the socio-ethnic structure of the population, cultural and historical heritage, and the specificity of the existing urban environment. The characteristics of the four most visited public spaces of the provincial Siberian city of Irkutsk are fulfilled: the Kirov square; historical and memorial complex “Jerusalem Mountain "; Municipal Park “Yunost Island”; shopping and entertainment complex “130th quarter”. The results showed that the public spaces of the city perform a number of functions with varying degrees of success: best recreational and entertaining, partially creative and the function of storing the “collective memory” of the city. At the same time, the city does not have public spaces that fully meet the objectives of the development of urban society; this applies to both historical and newly created. Their main drawback is the inconsistency with the modern challenge for Irkutsk, namely, the solution to the problem of social inclusion of new citizens. Some measures have been proposed for City management to purposefully strengthen the elements of public spaces that implement the function of involving residents, especially migrants, in the public life of the city.