The National Project “Housing and Urban Environment” developed by the Russian Ministry of Construction as part of the implementation of the Presidential Decree includes four federal projects:
- "Mortgage": aims to create opportunities for purchasing housing using a mortgage loan. Measures are envisaged to transfer the mortgage market to an electronic format, as well as the formation of a liquid market for mortgage securities.
- "Housing": aims to increase the volume of housing commissioning, including by introducing risk-free investment instruments for citizens in housing construction, effective land involvement, supporting infrastructure construction in housing construction projects, as well as modernizing the construction industry and optimizing administrative procedures.
- “Formation of a comfortable urban environment”: involves the implementation of comprehensive projects for the development of the urban environment to create decent living conditions for citizens and competitive cities. Projects will be selected on a competitive basis. The most important criteria for their assessment will be the impact on the socio-economic development of a particular city, region and country as a whole. The fundamental condition remains the maximum involvement of citizens in addressing issues of urban development, including the widespread use of digital technologies. Special attention will be paid to projects for the development of the urban environment in small towns and historical settlements - 80 best projects will be selected annually on a competitive basis, the implementation of which will help preserve the identity and culture of our country.
- “Ensuring a sustainable reduction in uninhabitable housing stock”: involves the creation of a permanent mechanism for relocating emergency housing with precise parameters for recognizing a house as unsafe based on successfully implemented programs for relocating citizens from emergency housing in 2013-2017. It is planned to create an expanded set of tools for implementing programs: housing purchase, exchange, subsidies for purchase, development of built-up areas, rental houses.
Key project implementation indicators by the end of 2024 include:
- increasing the availability of mortgage loans and reducing the interest rate on them to 8%;
- annual commissioning of 120 million square meters of housing;
- increasing the urban environmental quality index by 30 percent and reducing the number of cities with unfavorable environments by half;
- creation of an effective mechanism for relocating citizens from emergency housing.
Unified information system for housing construction (our.dom.rf)
The implementation of the National Project “Housing and Urban Environment” will be greatly facilitated by information systems in construction, created and being developed, including on the initiative of the Russian Ministry of Construction.
The Unified Housing Construction Information System is designed to provide comprehensive support to market participants. It can be used by citizens, regulatory authorities, local governments, developers, and participants in shared construction. Particular attention is paid to information for citizens - the system implements a search for objects by region, delivery dates and class of housing object.
This system implements the principles of managing housing construction processes for citizens and all participants in the housing sector, and will also allow monitoring developers’ compliance with the requirements of the Law on Shared Shared Construction.
The operator of the UISHS is JSC Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending.
Chronology and plan of events:
- On May 7, 2018, the Presidential Decree “On national goals and strategic objectives of the development of the Russian Federation for the period until 2024” was published;
- August 06, 2018 has passed Meeting of the Presidium of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Strategic Development and National Projects;
- August-September 2018 The Russian Ministry of Construction completed the development of a national project passport;
- October 2018 – presentation of the national project to the State Duma for adoption.
Sources: minstroyrf.ru, otr-online.ru, nash.dom.rf
“Formation of a comfortable urban environment” is a priority project of the Ministry of Construction, initiated by the United Russia party and designed for 2017–2022. During this time, the authorities are going to comprehensively improve all courtyards and public spaces in all municipalities of the country with a population of more than 1,000 people. At the same time, the residents themselves will choose the courtyards that need repairs.
In the Belgorod region, four municipalities will participate in the program in 2017 - Belgorod, Gubkin, Belgorodsky and Shebekinsky districts.
Why only these four municipalities?
They were selected by the regional housing and communal services department based on the criteria outlined by the Ministry of Construction. In 2017, there were several mandatory ones:
1) Participation in the regional center program
2) Participation in the single-industry town program
The Belgorod and Shebekinsky districts were chosen because in these territories in 2016, programs for the overhaul of high-rise buildings were actively carried out. In addition, these municipalities wanted to co-finance the project.
How much will the project cost and who will pay?
The project is being implemented on co-financing terms: more than 263 million is a federal subsidy and 135 million is money from the regional budget. Another 76 million 830 thousand will be added by municipalities. Thus the total budget for the Belgorod region for 2017 is 475 million 664 thousand rubles. Of this, two-thirds will be spent on repairing courtyards and another third on improving public spaces.
Photo by Elena Baytinger
How will yards be selected for the program?
If earlier people thought that officials choose which yard to repair and which not, now residents will determine this themselves. Anyone can submit an application to the local administration or housing and communal services department with a proposal to improve their yard. All municipalities have created commissions, which include house elders, representatives of social movements, etc.: they will consider applications and form a so-called address list - a list of courtyards that will be repaired. The main criterion, again, is the recent overhaul of houses.
What will they do with the yard?
How exactly to improve a particular yard will be decided at a meeting of owners, not only of residential premises, but also of shops, offices - everyone who uses the yard. When the list of works is approved, the local architecture department will draw up a design project, which residents will again be able to discuss at meetings and make their own adjustments - everyone will be able to influence the progress of the improvement. If people cannot agree, the meeting will be held again, and the final version of the project will be adopted by a majority vote. Next, a contractor will get involved and must complete all the work by the end of 2017.
What do I have to do with it?
The project involves participation in the improvement of townspeople - either financially or laboriously. This means that residents are not prohibited from chipping in themselves, for example, for additional play equipment or plant seedlings for a flower bed. However, this is not necessary: holding clean-up days and maintaining a well-maintained yard clean also count. The desire or unwillingness of residents to continue to monitor their yard is one of the conditions that can significantly affect the acceptance of their application.
How exactly will the courtyards be transformed?
There are mandatory and additional lists of work. Mandatory work includes repairing driveways, sidewalk paths, installing benches and trash cans, lighting, etc. The list of optional works includes landscaping, arrangement of additional parking areas, installation of sports or children's equipment - whatever the residents themselves choose.
Photo by Natalia Kozlova
How many yards will be renovated in 2017?
There is no exact figure yet - it all depends on the number of applications and the budget. On average, repairing one courtyard costs 6–8 million rubles, but a large courtyard in a new building may require all of 20 million. Therefore, a commission with the participation of citizens will choose: whether to make one huge courtyard for 20 million or spend this money on four courtyards in Khrushchev-era buildings at once . The regional housing and communal services department expects to improve about 40 courtyards this year.
What will be developed besides the courtyards?
As part of the program, public areas (for example, embankments) will also be developed - one in each municipality. Residents can already submit applications and propose certain public spaces for consideration by the commission. About 158 million rubles from the project budget will be spent on their improvement.
For example, in Belgorod, city residents can propose their own version of a public area that will be landscaped this year. Voting is carried out on the Active Citizen portal. Proposals for both courtyards and public areas will be accepted until April 10.
What about parks and squares?
The development of parks and squares is a separate project with separate funding, designed for cities with a population of 250 thousand people or more. This year in the Belgorod region only the park named after. Lenin in Shebekino - as the only park in this municipality. 11 million rubles will be spent on its improvement: 3.5 million will be given by the region, 7.5 million by the federal subsidy. If there are several parks in the municipality, citizens will choose one of them (next year).
What then?
Then regional authorities will develop a five-year program for 2018–2022. All municipalities and all settlements where more than 1,000 people live will participate in it. How many federal subsidies the region will receive next year depends on how the program is implemented in 2017. At the end of the year, a commission created under the governor will select the best two from the renovated courtyards of Belgorod, Gubkin, Shebekinsky and Belgorod districts, the projects of which will be sent to the Ministry of Construction. There they will form a rating, on the basis of which subsidies will be distributed for the next year. So far there are no figures for 2018, and there are no criteria by which regions will have to determine municipalities to participate.
Elena Baytinger
Before sending an electronic appeal to the Ministry of Construction of Russia, please read the rules of operation of this interactive service set out below.
1. Electronic applications within the sphere of competence of the Ministry of Construction of Russia, filled out in accordance with the attached form, are accepted for consideration.
2. An electronic appeal may contain a statement, complaint, proposal or request.
3. Electronic appeals sent through the official Internet portal of the Ministry of Construction of Russia are submitted for consideration to the department for working with citizens' appeals. The Ministry ensures objective, comprehensive and timely consideration of applications. Review of electronic appeals is free of charge.
4. In accordance with Federal Law No. 59-FZ of May 2, 2006 “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation,” electronic appeals are registered within three days and sent, depending on the content, to the structural divisions of the Ministry. The appeal is considered within 30 days from the date of registration. An electronic appeal containing issues the solution of which is not within the competence of the Ministry of Construction of Russia is sent within seven days from the date of registration to the relevant body or the relevant official whose competence includes resolving the issues raised in the appeal, with notification of this to the citizen who sent the appeal.
5. Electronic appeal is not considered if:
- absence of the applicant’s surname and name;
- indication of an incomplete or unreliable postal address;
- the presence of obscene or offensive expressions in the text;
- the presence in the text of a threat to the life, health and property of an official, as well as members of his family;
- using a non-Cyrillic keyboard layout or only capital letters when typing;
- absence of punctuation marks in the text, presence of incomprehensible abbreviations;
- the presence in the text of a question to which the applicant has already been given a written answer on the merits in connection with previously sent appeals.
6. The response to the applicant is sent to the postal address specified when filling out the form.
7. When considering an appeal, disclosure of information contained in the appeal, as well as information relating to the private life of a citizen, is not permitted without his consent. Information about applicants’ personal data is stored and processed in compliance with the requirements of Russian legislation on personal data.
8. Appeals received through the site are summarized and presented to the leadership of the Ministry for information. Answers to the most frequently asked questions are periodically published in the sections “for residents” and “for specialists”
In February of this year, the Government of the Russian Federation took a step towards the development of a comfortable, ergonomic, advanced urban environment (Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 169 of February 10, 2017), which could become a turning point in the history of the development of Russian cities.
This Resolution is about a new approach to the distribution of federal subsidies between subsidized subjects of the Russian Federation, aimed specifically at supporting programs for the development of a modern urban environment. A few months earlier, in November 2016, the priority program “Formation of a comfortable urban environment” was adopted and began to be implemented, indicating the main directions of actions taken in the near future.
It is assumed that the bulk of the entire program budget will be allocated from the federal treasury, the remaining costs will be covered by the regions themselves. In 2017, the amounts set aside are 20 and 10 billion rubles, respectively. However, these are general figures; these ratios may differ in regions. For example, in the Komi Republic this ratio will look like 51 to 49, and in Crimea the state budget will cover 100%.
The document also distributes priorities within cities. In particular, it is stipulated that two thirds of the allocated subsidies should be directed to the development of courtyard areas, and only one third - to parks, squares, pedestrian areas, etc. This is undoubtedly a good sign. Our courtyards should long ago move away from the usual “children’s swing plus a domino table” scheme, and this is the best case scenario, and become a place where residents, especially those with limited mobility, can spend quality time, taking care of their health, communicating with each other, etc. .d.
Another feature of the program is the high level of involvement of city residents in the project selection process. In order to receive a subsidy, applicants will have to provide reports on meetings of citizens and the work of public commissions, during which the main directions of activity for the formation of public spaces were determined. Who, if not residents, knows about the needs of local teenagers, animal lovers, and elderly people? Open dialogue between urban planners and society is a promising way to prioritize urban development programs.
Moreover, in my opinion, this creates a useful precedent for the participation of residents in solving problems of public utilities, which in the future can result in a fruitful discussion about ways to solve the accumulated problems of housing and communal services, safety, youth leisure, etc. In order to avoid taste and other extremes, it is necessary to establish a balance of relations according to the “triangle” principle: city authorities – the expert community – citizens, including business representatives who are capable of making a real contribution to the development of urban structures.
The first steps taken over the last decade in large Russian cities have already shown good results. Among the most striking projects are the following:
- Work of the Council for the Development of Public Spaces in Moscow.
- Reconstruction of Gorky Park in the capital, as well as reconstruction of Triumphal, Teatralnaya and Revolution Squares.
- Complex sites “Wonderful City”, “Lakhta”, “New Holland”, etc. in St. Petersburg, where citizens not only relax with their families, but also have the opportunity to bring their children to educational events.
- Various art centers, open-air museums, anti-cafes, etc. in large cities of Russia, such as Samara, Kazan, Perm, etc.
However, it is too early to talk about the results of changes in the infrastructure of Russian cities, since for us everything is just beginning. Turning to the statistics of foreign experience in building a comfortable urban environment inspires optimism. For example, consider the report of the management company Central Park Conservancy that New York's Central Park provoked an increase in the market value of nearby real estate by $11.5 billion! In addition, commercial properties located in this public area create an additional tax flow of $400 million per year.
In general, it is obvious to us that public spaces, being centers of attraction for city residents, provide not only financial results, but also become factors in the decriminalization and cultural improvement of the urban atmosphere. A new trend in public policy gives hope that our cities will experience serious social reformation.
Before sending an electronic appeal to the Ministry of Construction of Russia, please read the rules of operation of this interactive service set out below.
1. Electronic applications within the sphere of competence of the Ministry of Construction of Russia, filled out in accordance with the attached form, are accepted for consideration.
2. An electronic appeal may contain a statement, complaint, proposal or request.
3. Electronic appeals sent through the official Internet portal of the Ministry of Construction of Russia are submitted for consideration to the department for working with citizens' appeals. The Ministry ensures objective, comprehensive and timely consideration of applications. Review of electronic appeals is free of charge.
4. In accordance with Federal Law No. 59-FZ of May 2, 2006 “On the procedure for considering appeals from citizens of the Russian Federation,” electronic appeals are registered within three days and sent, depending on the content, to the structural divisions of the Ministry. The appeal is considered within 30 days from the date of registration. An electronic appeal containing issues the solution of which is not within the competence of the Ministry of Construction of Russia is sent within seven days from the date of registration to the relevant body or the relevant official whose competence includes resolving the issues raised in the appeal, with notification of this to the citizen who sent the appeal.
5. Electronic appeal is not considered if:
- absence of the applicant’s surname and name;
- indication of an incomplete or unreliable postal address;
- the presence of obscene or offensive expressions in the text;
- the presence in the text of a threat to the life, health and property of an official, as well as members of his family;
- using a non-Cyrillic keyboard layout or only capital letters when typing;
- absence of punctuation marks in the text, presence of incomprehensible abbreviations;
- the presence in the text of a question to which the applicant has already been given a written answer on the merits in connection with previously sent appeals.
6. The response to the applicant is sent to the postal address specified when filling out the form.
7. When considering an appeal, disclosure of information contained in the appeal, as well as information relating to the private life of a citizen, is not permitted without his consent. Information about applicants’ personal data is stored and processed in compliance with the requirements of Russian legislation on personal data.
8. Appeals received through the site are summarized and presented to the leadership of the Ministry for information. Answers to the most frequently asked questions are periodically published in the sections “for residents” and “for specialists”
