The future of Russian cities is in the hands of their residents

The All-Russian vote for improvement projects will help you take care of your home yard.

We all care about comfort in our home. We make repairs, buy curtains, beautiful dishes, decorate with flowers and paintings. All this is important, because we are the ones who live in these surroundings, our children play here, our friends and relatives come to visit. This is a healthy attitude towards your own home, and the same attitude among Russians towards their small homeland. Residents of the country approach the comfort and outer appearance of their settlements with trepidation. And the federal project “Formation of a Comfortable Urban Environment” of the national project “Housing and Urban Environment” helps them participate in the future of their cities.

In order for Russians to participate in the process of urban development, an All-Russian vote for improvement projects was launched in 2021. Any resident of the country over 14 years of age can choose parks, embankments, public gardens, streets, squares, courtyards and public areas that will be landscaped in their locality first. The most modern design projects are presented to their judgement.

This year voting will take place from March 15 to April 30. According to regional data, 1,586 municipalities from all constituent entities of Russia, including new regions and the city of Baikonur, will become participants.

You can vote for your favorite project using the unified federal online voting platform za.gorodsreda.ru. This year, the functionality of the voting platform has been improved: now residents can also submit proposals to create a list of voting territories. In addition, volunteers will also help Russians with their choice. They will accompany voting in public places of all participating municipalities. The winning projects and territories will be included in the implementation plan for the following year.

Meanwhile, the projects that won last year’s vote will soon begin to turn into real points of attraction. One of these will be the area near the House of Culture on Krasnoarmeyskaya Street in the city of Gvardeysk, Kaliningrad Region.

“Our city with a long history is in dire need of care. It’s nice to see that he’s now starting to settle down again. Get a new life. Last year we all actively voted, the projects receiving the most votes changed weekly. It was a real race! In total, it was proposed to choose one of 10 territories for improvement. As a result, three public gardens became winners: on Krasnoarmeyskaya Street – near the House of Culture, the Arts Square and the area on Yubileinaya. Now, next to the House of Culture there will be a square with a stage and a walking area, as well as nice paths paved with paving stones,” said city resident Alla Vasilyeva.

The involvement of Russians in the fate of their small homelands is growing every year. Last year, 14 million of our compatriots took part in the voting. Experts are confident that this year the number of people involved will only grow.

“Previously, landscaped spaces lacked “life”: people didn’t come, there was no activity. The federal project set the task of involving citizens. Now they can choose, but this is only the first step. Many also take responsibility, begin to monitor the implementation of projects, hold public councils and acceptance meetings. And after this, social activities increase around such landscaped places. For example, they made a park, they began to hold holidays there, life began, and points of attraction formed. This is good practice. It’s great that it continues, despite all the difficulties of the budget, the program was extended until 2030,” said Svetlana Razvorotneva, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Public Utilities.

Let us remind you that one of the key objectives of the national project “Housing and Urban Environment” is to improve the comfort of the urban environment. And the urban environment can only be improved with the participation of residents. Only the residents themselves know better where the playground should be located, and where the new square or park should be. Citizens use these areas every day, so they can tell about what local authorities and planners do not see.

Together we can make our cities even more beautiful!

Photo: Information and analytical portal of Kaliningrad