Press Release
Plenary Session "Moscow’s Priorities for a New Stage of Development"
Moscow: a City for People
The second day of the Fourth Moscow Urban Forum, which continued its work at the Manezh Central
Exhibition Hall, is dedicated to the Moscow city agenda. Prospects for the development of the Russian capital
and the most important challenges to be addressed in the coming years by the Moscow City Government
were discussed at the morning plenary session "Moscow. Priorities of a New Stage of Development". The
meeting was moderated by Alexander Auzan, a well-known Russian economist and Dean of the Faculty of
Economics at the Lomonosov Moscow State University.
At the opening of the meeting, Alexander Auzan urged to seek new priorities for the development of Moscow
in the changing economic environment. Moscow is a global city that lives not only according to a national but
also a global agenda. However, in the first instance, it is important that the mayor and his government listen to
the city’s residents.
A Comfortable Environment for Development of Human Capital
The main speaker at the plenary session was Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin. He spoke about the major
projects that await Moscow in this decade. The Mayor of Moscow believes that infrastructure development
allows the city to grow and evolve. The lack of resources means serious work has to be done on the
effectiveness of investments. Sergey Sobyanin urged that all main areas in the development of the megacity
be preserved, such as improvement of the transport infrastructure, transformation of industrial zones, and
development of public spaces.
According to the Mayor, Moscow's residents are the main driver behind its development. The capital has all
the prerequisites for the development of human potential. The high-tech sector, multimedia and IT are among
the priority areas in the development of the city. Moscow has a developing network of technology parks,
technopolises, and a special economic zone, which form the infrastructure for the "new economy". More than
360 companies with 5,000 employees are already working in Moscow's new technology parks. The next step
should be the creation of full-fledged innovation centres. The reduction of office lease rates in Moscow will
help to attract more startups.
The mayor insists on the need for the comprehensive development of New Moscow. The newly attached
territories should not resemble the old residential suburbs of the city. It is essential to build not only residential
housing, but also to create jobs and transport infrastructure. The New Moscow project envisages the
construction of a new city in 20 years that will be home for 1.5 million people. The total volume of construction
development in New Moscow will amount to 100 million sq. m.
Sergey Sobyanin paid particular attention to the renovation of industrial zones. New production facilities, office
spaces, retail trade, social and transport infrastructure will all be built within industrial zones.
The reconstructed industrial zones will be connected by the Moscow Ring Railway. The Mayor of Moscow
stated that the development of public transportation and normalization of the situation with parking spaces is a
priority aspect of his transportation strategy.
According to Mr. Sobyanin, communication between the public and city authorities has undergone a
revolutionary transformation. The number of people using the public services portal has increased by
3.4 times. The Active Citizen project, which in a short time managed to attract 800,000 users, helped to bring
communication between the government and city residents to a new level.
The Moscow City Government presented the most important projects at the Forum that shall change the face
of the city in the next few years by significantly expanding public spaces in the Russian capital. The city
authorities view the Moscow River project as a key development area in the near future. This is one of the
largest projects for development of river embankments, since the length of the river within city boundaries
reaches some 83 km. My Street, a special program designed to improve the safety of pedestrians, will be
launched from 2015. The Mayor also spoke in detail about creating and developing both the existing (VDNKh)
and future (Nagatinskaya Floodplain, Park Zaryadiye) parks.
Mikhail Abyzov, Russian Minister for Open Government Affairs, has, in turn, stressed that the whole policy
of the Moscow authorities should be focused on the citizens. Conditions have been established in Moscow for
engaging the people in city projects. New services for businesses and citizens substantially improve the living
environment for Muscovites.
Real Policy is City Administration
Benjamin Barber, Senior Research Scholar at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York
(CUNY), author of the book "If Mayors Ruled the World: Dysfunctional Nations, Rising Cities", noted that the
statements of the Mayor about jobs, schools, health centers, and economic development are all very
important. A clean, comfortable, cosy city, about which Mayor Sobyanin spoke: this is the real policy. "Moscow
could become one of the best cities in the world by creating an inclusive environment for all and developing
public spaces", said Mary Jane Crisanto Ortega, Vice President of the Global Executive Committee of ICLEI
(Philippines).
Andrés Mendoza Peña, Head of Strategy, Marketing and Sales Practice at AT Kearney, agreed on the need
to develop high-tech industries. "The cities that think about the future today will achieve success", he believes.
"In any case, the negative trends and complicated global environment should not slow the development
of Moscow", Sergey Sobyanin summed up the discussion. The city’s key asset is comprised of the determined
Muscovites. The development strategy will represent a transition from quantitative indicators to a higher
qualitative level based on the potential accumulated over recent years.
About the Moscow Urban Forum
Moscow Urban Forum has been held annually since 2011. It is an international conference dedicated to city
development, architecture, economics and strategic planning of the cities.
The Forum is held under the auspices of the Moscow Government, with the participation of Sergey Sobyanin,
the Mayor of Moscow. The Urban Land Institute is the International Partner of the Forum. The Programme
Directorate of the Forum is represented by Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design.
Moscow Urban Forum is a platform for sharing experiences, where leaders of the largest cities in Russia and
the world have an opportunity to discuss pressing issues and projects with representatives of the international
expert community.
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