Master 2020/2021

Modern Russian City and Life in a Megapolis

Type: Elective course (Russian Studies)

Area of studies: Political Science

Delivered by: School of Sociology

Where: Faculty of Social Sciences

When: 2 year, 1, 2 module

Mode of studies: offline

Instructors: Alexander Puzanov

Master’s programme: Российские исследования

Language: English

ECTS credits: 5

Contact hours: 40

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course is designed to introduce master students with different educational background to the theory and practice of urban studies with the emphasis on the economic, social, cultural and institutional specificity of the urban development in Russia and specifically in the Russian megacities. The course materials consider a number of up to date real applied urban research projects that illustrate diverse theories, methods of gathering and analysis of data and research approaches to the explanation and argumentation of the social, cultural, demographic and institutional issues of urban development.

Learning Objectives

• to equip students with intellectual tools in the identification and specification of characteristic features of economic, social and urban development processes in modern Russian cities
• to develop understanding of comprehensive system of instruments and skills in applying such instruments to analysis of municipal development programs and policies

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Critically analyze and evaluate data on municipal and urban development of Russian cities, social and economic policy issues at local level, use adequate analytic instruments
• Develop concepts and carry out monitoring and evaluation of public programs aimed at municipal development in social and economic spheres
• Evaluate performance of Russian cities in cross-country comparative research
• Present results of the policy analysis in a comprehensive and convincing form.

Course Contents

• Origin of a Modern Russian City
  a. Urbanization patterns in Russia during ХХ-XXI centuries b. Marxist theories and Soviet policies of spatial development c. Types of Russian Cities, Megapolises, Urban Agglomerations
• Local Governance in a City
  a. Local competences b. Governance actors c. Political process
• Structures of Urban Economies
  a. Role of big corporations and small businesses b. Economic restructuring during transition c. Internal sources of economic growth
• Municipal Finance
  a. Definitions, level of autonomy b. Inter-budgetary relations c. Structure of revenues d. Structure of expenditures
• Housing provision
  a. Soviet model of housing provision b. Housing privatization c. Structure of housing stock d. Public housing policies e. Housing consumption modes
• Local Housing Markets: institutional analysis
  a. Developers b. Regulators c. Utility providers d. Voters e. Consumers
• Multi-apartment blocks
  a. Management models b. Homeowners’ associations, management companies c. Utility provision
• Land market, Land use and Urban Development
  a. Density gradients b. Land plots formation c. Industrial zones transformation d. Urban activism in development issues e. Public spaces and beautification
• Public transportation
  a. Public vs private transport dilemma b. Public transportation market segmentation c. Policies encouraging use of public transportation
• Education, health protection and social safety net
• Urban society
  a. Urban strata b. Vulnerable urban groups: migrants, disabled, homeless c. Local communities

Assessment Elements

• Activity during class hours, including group presentations
• Written test
• Written examination

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (2 module)
  Activity during class (30%) + Written test (20%) + Written examination (50%)

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Alain Bertaud. (2018). Order Without Design : How Markets Shape Cities. The MIT Press.
• Alexeev, M. (1988). Market Vs. Rationing: The Case of Soviet Housing. Review of Economics & Statistics, 70(3), 414. https://doi.org/10.2307/1926779
• Gregory Andrusz, Michael Harloe, & Ivan Szelenyi. (1996). Cities After Socialism : Urban and Regional Change and Conflict in Post-Socialist Societies. Wiley-Blackwell.
• Sasha Tsenkova. (2009). Housing Policy Reforms in Post-Socialist Europe : Lost in Transition. Physica.
• Saunders, P. (1984). Beyond housing classes: the sociological significance of private property rights in means of consumption. International Journal of Urban & Regional Research, 8(2), 202. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2427.1984.tb00608.x
• The reform of housing in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union / ed. by Bengt Turner . (1992). Routledge.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Bater, J. H. (1985). Housing and urban development in the USSR (Book). International Journal of Urban & Regional Research, 9(4), 571.