Press Release, 24.05.2015

Saint-Petersburg and the Leningrad region need to transfer from their competition to a single system of development of this metropolitan area and agree on common interests. Development of a single economic and urban concept for agglomeration of the two regions should become another step towards this. Such a statement was made by Dr. Grigory Yavlinsky, head of the YABLOKO faction in the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, in the First Forum of Spatial Development “The Harmony of Versatility”. The conceptual development strategy for the metropolitan area “The Greater St.Petersburg. The 21 Century” was developed under the guidance of Grigory Yavlinsky.

The key feature of the strategy is the combination of economic, spatial and temporal approaches.

The basic principles for the development of the concept are as follows:

– Strategic development. It is necessary to form the concept as the document coordinating the solutions of the fundamental problems of the development.

– Independence should be an instrument harmonizing the principles of economic and spatial development of the metropolitan area between business, society and government, rather than come from a formal state order.

– Complex approach. The project should consider interrelated issues of economic, social, infrastructural and urban nature. “In developing the conceptual strategy, we did not set the task to unite the regions. We proceeded from the fact that none of the problems of St. Petersburg can be solved in the imposed administrative boundaries. We should proceed from the logic of the economic, social and humanitarian development, ” Grigory Yavlinsky said. “The second objective of the concept means that it is a senseless thing for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region than compete for investors during the economic crisis,” he added.

Thus, the concept will also act as an anti-crisis plan.

Apart from Yavlinsky, Vice-governor of St. Petersburg Mikhail Mokretsov, Vice-Governor of the Leningrad region Dmitry Yalova, rector of ITMO Vladimir Vasiliev and Director of the Institute “Urbanica” Anton Finogenov also took part in the Forum. They generally agreed on the need for closer cooperation between the two subjects of the Russian Federation, based on the principles of the strategy “The Greater St.Petersburg. The 21st Century”.

Conceptual strategy has been published for public comments on the Internet.