6 City Morphology and Layout
Moscow is situated on the banks of the Moskva River which are linked by about 50 bridges. The capital was thoroughly planned and systematically developed. Moscow is characterized by a very compact cityscape. Morphologically Moscow represents an example of the saucer type city. This descriptive term stems from the fact that the elevations become progressively higher towards the outskirts. (3)
Picture 5: Newly constructed residential towers. This ensemble represents "modern-style" and upmarket residential developments, respectively (photographed in March, 2007)
Moscow was affected by planning ideals which tended to neglect the city's historic evolution. The basic planning entity was the microrayon (microdistrict). These spatial units represented essentially self-sufficient neighborhoods which contained workplaces, retail facilities, and a variety of other amenities. Thus, there was no need for a large central business district. Instead, central Moscow is dominated by the monumental Kremlin and the Red Square. The rudimentary downtown is surrounded by residential estates and some areas interspersed with commercial and office clusters, respectively.
Many city districts represent huge high-rise residential quarters which are made up of prefabricated slab buildings. (4) In consequence, Russia's capital looks more uniform than many western European cities. The residential districts are linked to the center with an efficient subway systems.
The city's internal hierarchy of centers and functional nodes, respectively, is not yet as comprehensive as in other European metropolitan areas. There, for instance, are no historically evolved district centers like in Berlin, London or Paris. And, related to retail functions, Moscow's inner city is of minor importance as compared to their counterparts in the cities mentioned above.
Still there are less discernible differentiations regarding the land use pattern. However, the former Soviet appearance is rapidly enriched by a wide variety of urban infrastructural as well as architectural elements, via infill developments or master planned projects from scratch. Not only commercial properties are featuring high architectonic standards, but many residential communities as well.
Picture 6: Residential building under construction, located within a vibrant commercial district near downtown (photographed in February, 2007)
Stemming from Moscow's role as the nation's main manufacturing center, the urban fabric is interspersed with vast industrial estates. Many of those, like the area along Volgogradsky, are situated comparatively close to downtown. The relocation of existing manufacturing plants and logistics facilities to Moscow's outskirts is planned, however, it'll take a long time to implement this planning objective. In general, approval procedures take quite a time, planning permissions are not easily obtained. This fact is stabilizing the market to some extent.
Footnotes
(3) Sometimes referred to as hollowed city, this type is quite typical for many countries of the former Eastern bloc.
(4) Contrary to western preferences, this type of housing is quite popular in Moscow.