Vol 12, No 1 (2022)

The article considers concepts such as "information space", "information balance", "information and communication field", which are presented in various studies on architecture and have their own interpretations. The role of a signboard and an identification sign in the information and communication field of a modern city and their influence on the visual environment of the city are indicated. Examples of placement of signs and identification signs in the cities of Vienna (Austria), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Vancouver (Canada) are presented.

The issues of scientific definition of the concept of “Smart City” in the theory of urban planning and management of large cities are considered. The author analyzes the practice of implementing new management mechanisms that are being formed within the framework of the national project “Smart City". This state program, aimed to improve the efficiency of urban development and management processes based on digitalization, has several significant scientific and methodological shortcomings that can lead to a significant decrease in its effectiveness and usefulness. A hypothesis is proposed that shifts the semantic load of the concept of “Smart City" from the technology of intelligent management of elements and systems of urban economy to the creation of an information management phenomenon, conventionally called the "brain of the city", capable of independently generating optimal management decisions, regardless of random factors related to the qualifications of managers. This hypothesis relates to the use and development of an anthropomorphic approach, the product of which is the very concept of "Smart City", with its numerous interpretations. This approach also implies the further development of methods of system analysis of urban formations. Adaptation and implementation of current methods of designing city models and algorithms for its management are based on studies of the beginning of the XX century, involving the unification of all human, biological and physical sciences in the search for universal organizational principles underlying all types of systems.Within the framework of the proposed hypothesis, based on methodological approaches in the field of development of digital platforms as perspective information and management tools, an attempt is made to formulate the structure and content of the institutional phenomenon, conventionally called the "Center for Intellectual Support of Urban Management".

The article suggests that the introduction of innovative forms of European urbanization – urbanized regions - into the domestic practice of urban formation will contribute to the accelerated formation of new and effective development of existing urban agglomerations, as well as the actualization of geostrategic and territorial settlement trends in the spatial development of the country. The typology of urbanized regions developed by the author earlier has been corrected. The basic qualitative characteristics and quantitative parameters of these objects are clarified, examples of their successful spatial strategizing, as well as the substantive implementation of planning, forecasting and urban planning decisions that took place in the Baltic region countries are given. The specifics of the process of "urban-regional construction" are revealed. The predominant forms of spatial co-organization of typologically differentiated urbanized regions are revealed. A model of designing an innovative structure of urbanized settlement based on the St. Petersburg agglomeration is proposed.

The restoration of the territories of Syria, destroyed as a result of the crisis and the war of 2011, determines the need to develop proposals for territorial planning as the basis for the implementation of urban development activities in the regions. Based on the systematization of the processes occurring in the "Region" system, proposals were formulated for the territorial planning of the Desert Region of the SAR, which has a significant territorial resource. Based on the concept of sustainable development, the expediency of developing the energy industry based on renewable energy sources of the sun and wind as biospherically compatible, having a lower impact on the environment in comparison with power plants operating on other types of fuel (coal, oil, gas) is shown. Approximate estimates of the theoretical potential of solar and wind energy on the territory of the Desert Region are given, based on data from the Global sun Atlas and Global Wind Atlas. The determination of territories promising for the placement of wind and solar power plants was carried out taking into account the existing land use by sequentially excluding already occupied sites using Openmaps software. Proposals for the territorial planning of the Desert region are formulated, justifying the location of new energy facilities in the region, ensuring economic growth and allowing a balanced use of natural potential.

The modes of living of people and the organization of the space of dwellings in general, and the places where people stay in particular, are serious vectors for studying both the theoretical and practical application of settlement and construction systems. At the level of responsible attitude of both citizens and management structures of the country, Russia, as the world's largest habitable space, proves its grandiose achievement of the resilience of the Russian superethnos. From these initial positions, the synarchiotectonic practice, logic and methodology of modern eco-urbanism of Russia, its long-suffering city regulations of the national program «Housing» originates.

In the article the study of the Samara court was carried out in the aspect of the phenomenological approach through the categories: place, time, ritual, material. This approach significantly expands the value ideas about the architectural and spatial environment of historical Samara. Based on the analysis of phenomenological qualities, it was concluded that the Samara courtyard is an example of a place of "genuine" human habitation, which allows residents to experience their presence in this world. It organizes collective memory, determines the culture of society, produces social connections, and contributes to the realization of the needs of residents for self-identification with living space.

The article examines the specifics of the architectural environment of public spaces in a socio-cultural context. Describes 2 scientific approaches put forward by H.Arendt, J. Habermas and R. Sennett, who interpret the concept of “public space" in completely different ways. The problem of globalization of cities that are being built up with modern soulless buildings is being raised, thereby cities with a national context that are subject to this destruction lose their authenticity, regional features of the place due to prestigious, but not adapted to the local culture of development.

The article reveals the historical and logical approaches to the agro-tourism industry formation around the world, which is becoming an alternative to the lifestyle in urban megacities. The authors explain the prospects of this direction of tourist infrastructure, describe models of its development, based on examples of existing successfully functioning facilities and comparing them with each other.

The article deals with the problems of identifying the optimal ways to develop the floodplain territories of megalopolises that meet the requirements of nature protection and the formation of a full-fledged environment. The paper provides positive examples of the regeneration of urban and suburban public spaces in domestic and foreign projects. The principles of landscape urbanism and the strategy for the development and regeneration of landscape-recreational territories are covered on the example of the floodplain territories of Samara. The features of the formation of a functional architectural and planning structure of coastal zones in specific conditions of floodplain landscapes are presented. Methods of delicate introduction into the natural environment without disturbing the existing ecological balance with the use of design technologies are shown.

The study of various types of urban parks in the world, existing classifications and systematization of data on parks in Almaty, as well as the features of gardening art are considered. In connection with the constant growth and development of the city, there is a need for further expansion of park areas, the creation of new green areas. As a result of the survey, it is proposed to develop a complex of environmental protection measures to improve the existing state of city parks and squares in Almaty and adjacent territories.

The features of the repair of facades of buildings that are not related to objects of cultural heritage, but create the architectural attractiveness of city districts, are considered. The problems faced by the owners of apartment buildings, where there are decorative elements under the balcony slabs, are listed. The tasks that need to be solved to bring the facades of apartment buildings in line with the original architectural design of the building or to make a decision on the development of a reconstruction project with a change in the design of the facade have been established.

Territories and objects of industrial architecture are an important and integral part of the image of St. Petersburg. On the vast industrial territories of St. Petersburg, in the past the industrial capital of Russia, many valuable architectural monuments of the 19th - early 20th centuries, created by prominent architects, are concentrated. However, the fate of this architectural heritage raises serious concerns. The liquidation of many industries, caused by socio-economic changes, left entire groups of enterprises lifeless. Such objects are in varying degrees of preservation, repurposed and used in different ways. The article briefly presents the history of the formation of these monuments of industrial architecture. The purpose of the article is to consider the most characteristic objects of the industrial heritage of St. Petersburg, located along the waterways of the city - the Neva and the Obvodny Canal, as objects of architectural tourism.

Examples are given that show the relevance of the concept of a “compact city” at the international level and in the practice of domestic urban planning, the idea of ​​such a city in domestic publications. It is shown that this concept can be criticized due to the uncertainty and weak scientific groundlessness of its definitions. The author describes the initial motives that gave rise to the birth of German urban planning as a science, which led him to the forefront of the world at the beginning of the 20th century, the first experiments in urban planning, their mistakes and shortcomings, which led to the popularity of Mietskasernen (rented or profitable barracks), symbols of crowdedness and unsanitary conditions. The article presents the struggle of the educated part of the German society for decent living conditions in cities, which led both to the formulation of scientific principles of urban planning and to the adoption of laws for their implementation. For the first time in the domestic scientific literature, seven principles of urban expansion by Reinhard Baumeister are given and the content of the book “Urban Expansion in terms of technology, building regulation and economics” is summarized. The development of Baumeister's concepts in the works of Camillo Sitte and Josef Stübben, who completed the formation of a comprehensive theory of urban planning, is shown. An assessment of the importance of this theory and its practice for the “new urbanism” of the United States in the 21st century is given.