Soviet Urban Planning. What Makes it so Unique?

I walked around a typical Soviet microdistrict in the city of Polotsk to show what its pros and cons are compared to the classic block development. I also briefly talk about the very idea of the microdistrict and the modernist approach to urban planning. The microdistricts themselves were designed very well for its time, but with the arrival of the market economy, their weaknesses became apparent. At the end of the video, I give the example of Hong Kong, where the same modernist ideas in urban planning were more advanced, making the city more convenient for residents.
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Time Stamps:
00:00 - A little background about Polotsk
01:25 - What is Microdistrict
04:09 - Pricing and Apartment Review
07:46 - Not So Obvious Problems
15:55 - Same Ideas Done Right
17:59 - Conclusion

[@MrPrevedmedved]

Sorry for the shaky camera. I'll pay more attention to it next time. Also, ultra-wide and 60 fps would be much better for videos like this.

[@ElPirAaAa]

да норм же

[@sp1991pl]

Interesting point of view. In Poland it is the other way around. Old post soviet housing districts are getting more and more valuable because modern housing areas are built by real estate development companies, which want maximum profit, so they build blocks of flats very tightly, so there is no open space for people at all, and prices are extremely expensive. Post communist estates have more space, greenery which is seen as an advantage. But there is also more room for private businesses and they are well connected so we don't have that problem.

[@piccalillipit9211]

Same here in Bulgaria - I live in a comi block, a 1 bedroomed apartment on the wrong side [not facing the sea] just sold for €74,000 in terrible condition. You can buy a brand new apartment the same size for €50k. BUT we have a LOT of green space, a small wood a wild flower meadow, 2 playgrounds, a small high street of shops and they are very well built of solid concrete not hollow blocks

[@1337nathaniel]

Thanks for the video. I live in Perth Australia and we suffer from terrible urban sprawl and car dependency. I have a Czech friend, and have been watching Adam Something, and they both talk about the greatness of "Commie blocks". It's nice to see your fair assessment of them, talking about both the pros and cons, especially how they integrate (or fail to) into the rest of the city.

[@leekarssen]

Fellow Aussie here, totally agree mate 👏

[@LapisCZ]

By Adam Something you’ve meant Adam Gebrian? 😅

[@illiiilli24601]

Also from Perth, the city with a better transport network than its horrible land use deserves

[@simonmacarthur6808]

Thank you for this. I live in Chisinau, in Moldova and it looks very similar. You have answered many of my questions!😊

[@jackiemoffitt6780]

It's ironic that these apartments meant to be as pedestrian accessible as possible became the opposite when the economic system changed. But I do like the aesthetic of all the open space and greenery between the blocks.

[@piccalillipit9211]

I live in a commi block in Bulgaria and they have made the city almost totally car free so we get to enjoy the city planning as it was intended, and its GREAT. Im from the UK btw.

[@My-nl6sg]

This is a hidden gem in terms of explaining Eastern Bloc urban planning for both its pros and flaws because you actually include footage of walking through it! I grew up in Guangzhou, Mainland China and our contemporary city planning learned a lot from both the Soviet Union and Hong Kong and I think we managed to combined the best of both worlds: land is cheaper than Hong Kong so Microdistricts (yes we learned the word from you guys) here can afford green space, while still having commercial spaces at the bottom of some buildings. Some buildings are still residential only so it is more quiet but access to shops via the greenspace is easy. One big difference between Chinese housing and Soviet housing is that the greenspaces are gated instead of public which creates some issues when they're too big and make walking around them a lengthy task, but they're also more maintained and less neglected.

[@Whatshisname346]

Commercial space in apartment blocks is vastly underrated. In Finland most of the commercial spaces are owned by the blocks (ie jointly by residents). The rents from these spaces then pay for some of the maintenance cost thus keeping the monthly charge down. Also, because empty commercial spaces affect the look of the building and overall property values, they’re usually rented out very quickly so in our city there are very few empty commercial units. Of course other countries have different models where commercial spaces are sold onto individual landlords and left vacant because renting them out can cost more than sitting on a rising property asset.

[@q01q]

I partially agree, and have seen this happen where i live. Here in Bucharest, we have some ground floor apartments in our own soviet blocks, which have been repurposed by some owners into commercial spaces. But i think a common thing that gets overlooked is that usually this comes at a price: a general lack of accessibility for disabled people, cramped conditions (like in the clip above, the building's walls are structural so you cannot reconfigure the apartment space to serve the commercial need), a very high problem of constant noise that can travel quite far through these thin, resonant walls, making daily life quite unbearable for the neighbors, and the traffic it attracts which needs to be accomodated (parking space is already non-existant, and people will bring their cars to shops). solve at least these problems and you might be on the right path to get some level of multi-mode usage out of these modernist buildings. Also, i would like to say a kind thank you to Oleg, for his insightful video.

[@Whatshisname346]

@@q01q yeah, I agree with you on that. Repurposing buildings built from prefabricated elements can be pretty tricky and of course unless you’ve designed in the access the spaces created can be impractical. A lot of the buildings here in our area have purpose built commercial units. The ones that have been repurposed tend to just function as office spaces or very small niche shops. It’s a tough thing to get right but as I stated it’s a great way for a building to make money off underused space to cover maintenance and renovations. I agree also, it’s a nice well thought out video.

[@leekarssen]

Oleg, you’re great! Keep making stuff!

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

The solution is: inserting the bicycle into the microdistrict system . like in the Netherlands bicycles cover 60% of the trip. and build a parking building because it's cheaper than underground parking or you can make a small shop on the side of the road and an apartment or house behind the shop like in the type of development in developing countries in asia

[@alexeytsybyshev9459]

multi-level parking buildings would work very well. For whatever reason, I have only seen paid parking lots repurposed for new high rises, and only saw multi-story garages built. A garage can also fit some cars, but it is much more expensive and cannot fit nearly as many cars as a parking building.

[@Whatshisname346]

I think one of the points of this video is to say that building stand-alone parking lots here isn’t really economically viable given the low property values. Also I’d reckon enforcement of any parking restrictions is quite difficult in a neighbourhood like this. People will always choose convenience unfortunately.

[@annasolovyeva1013]

The climate is not as comfortable for cycling, plus Russian plains are quite hilly, so you would prefer an aluminium (under 15 kg so you could lift it) bicycle with gears, and that is more expensive. No cargo bicycles as well. Another problem is, there's nowhere to store your bicycle, because the flats and lifts are small (putting a full-sized bicycle, especially commuter/cruiser/dutch bike, they're longer with wide handlebar, in a flat's corridor means it's difficult to pass by) while bicycles left on the street get stolen even when chained. An aluminium bicycle with planetary gears is more expensive than the minimum monthly wage in Russia, and easy to bolt-cut and carry away. Basically, to use a bicycle, you have to own a garage with a steel locking door next to your house.

[@alexeytsybyshev9459]

@@annasolovyeva1013 I would say an MTB is a good compromise for Russia as it is still relatively lightweight whete you can reasonably carry it, while also being sturdy and fit for most weather conditions above zero and even bad road conditions. There are options for storage besides a garage, but they are individual. You can store the bike in your apartment, but it would probably require you to wash it when it is muddy outside. In some houses you can also become a happy owner of a storage closet either near the garbage chute or in the basement. Several bicycles can fit there. The important part about the time of the year is very true though. Unless they make streets skiable in winter like in Finland, there is no way to get anywhere except cars and public transport in winter.

[@annasolovyeva1013]

@@alexeytsybyshev9459 cycling and skiing are generally village/surburban thing. Not for the city. Winter conditions are too unstable for skiing usually, and most Russians only know classical/parallel skiing on beginner/amateur level, which is not significantly faster than walking. 5-10 kmph. Not-very-athletic not-a-pro on inexpensive skis - isn't any fast. As fast as the same not-an-athlete average Joe jogging. The issue with retrofitting microdistricts with commercial exists in this video, because it is illegal in Belarus as far as I know. It's not a problem just anywhere else. They limit the profits of retail, and have more strict buliding laws for distances between bullyings and living to commercial. So, there's less convenience stores in Belarus than it would be in the same place if it was in Russia.

[@davidhh1021]

Very great video!! I really like these post Soviet neighborhoods, really advanced for their time. Thank you for explaining their design

[@WynnofThule]

13:38 15:11 15:44 those are some serious desire paths. When enough people cut across lawn to make a new path, that's a sign that the paths aren't very well designed.

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

Just like in campus.

[@fabiankohring1440]

Great video! Nice introduction and good points. In Singapore I also found the 3D city layout very well used. I grew up in a former East German state and visited a school in one of these design districts like you showed. And it faces the exact same problems you mentioned. Thank you for the great vid!

[@RoniiNN]

Good didn’t expect such detailed video.

[@ShaunakDe]

Excellent video! Thanks for making this.

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

15:58 please don't be a hongkong cage house, or kowloon city 16:06 I suggest Singapore is better 17:29 not all countries have the money to build overpasses for pedestrians 17:54 Hong Kong is the city with the most expensive housing in the world 18:07 because during the Brezhnev period there was a reduction in house budgeting . and higher is cheaper. although the plan in Gorbachev's time was to park under buildings in every new Microdistrict that would be built due to increased car ownership

[@pmlbeirao]

Interesting that the drawbacks of Soviet urban planning are roughly the same as the North American urban planning -- no accommodation for commerce in residential areas, car dependency, pedestrian-unfriendly, uninspiring and desolate. These seem to be common problems for modernist urbanism in general.

[@gutly]

Very nice observation. The problems you count are exactly the same with my experience here in Turkmenistan.

[@Robert-eq5qt]

An honoust and informative review

[@artursilva6072]

great video!

[@danielsolthe]

Having to drive to buy everything is a normal day event in America if you don't live in a huge city like New York or LA. Fascinating video. Good work!

[@peppigue]

i haven't been there, but i thought LA was all about driving...

[@UncleJoeLITE]

I really enjoyed that & learned a lot. Thanks from [poorly] planned Canberra.

[@EulaliaDaisy]

I think a large reason that these faults really happened is because the Soviets largely focused on needs rather than needs AND wants. This is a big fault of the Soviets in general, they focused largely on heavy industry until the latter years - which was effective on getting the country on its feet, but should've been addressed much earlier than it was - which caused, with lack of a better word, jealousy of Western consumerist products. This just goes to show how much that really sucks the pros out of a great idea. Do I like consumerism? No, but we must understand its importance in day-to-day life - something that the early Soviet planners didn't understand.

[@MrPrevedmedved]

I agree, consumer goods and simple services may not affect country economy as much as heavy industry, but greatly affect quality of life. Even through Belarus is pretty poor by European standards, for me it's sound insane that my parents couldn't buy jeans or foreign music, had no access to contractors or car services. Sure, I can't afford latest and greatest, but there are a lot of high quality used stuff that is imported. Especially things like clothing, car parts, tech and entertainment. Something my parents could only dream of at the time. And I'm not talking about food. Soviet Union was limited in its climate zones so not only that excludes a lot of fruits from diet, it's also means most of the vegetables weren't available year round, something that is possible because of climate in southern hemisphere. So yeah, quality of life consists of many small elements, sometimes that is impossible to plan.

[@Juan-fv4sg]

loved this video. Essentially the soviets built dense car dependant suburbs. I wonder though if anyone has tried to build small infill commercial space within the abundant green space? I'm talking about stand alone buildings sprinkled throughout the micro districts.

[@MrPrevedmedved]

There are a lot of great renovation projects, that transformed such neighbourhood into something more modern. The best examples can be found in Germany, where it is common practice to add elevators and balconies to GDR-era buildings, close backyard for cars and fill it with gathering places, bicycle parkings, sports facilities and convenience stores.

[@annasolovyeva1013]

Convenience stores are often added in Russia, it's not that impossible, but needs demand and violates some of the Soviet building standards.

[@MrPrevedmedved]

@@annasolovyeva1013 Yes, Soviet era neighbourhoods has bees renovated everywhere, including Russia, just not on the same scale as Germany.

[@annasolovyeva1013]

@@MrPrevedmedved it's not even renovating It's just a convenience store network putting relatively small convenience store bulidings in empty places. Or "densifyung" when towers with flats on top and commercial on the bottom occupy the emptyness Not in Belarus though.

[@invertedparadox8440]

Прекрасное видео с точки зрения реального жильца советского города. А по поводу коммерческих зон - первое, что приходит в голову, это перепланировка первых этажей под магазины и японские рестораны. Получается такой советский mixed use zoning. Подобное применено почти на всех главных улицах советских районов у нас в Перми. Не вижу причин почему такое не применить и в микрорайонах ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@iraklimaglakelidze7469]

В общем то логичное решение, но улиц таких мало, кроме того плотность насиления часто препядствует появлению мсего разноабразия сервисов. Я сам живу в таком микрорайоне, в Тбилиси, где к всему, добавляется специфика рельефа, которым часто пренебрегали. И да окружная дорого/улица/каркас по градостроительский не обеспечивает меня японским ресторанам, приходиться ехать в центр, либо в мол.

[@billbobert]

It sounds like most of the issues are not actually the soviet architectures fault. Better public transport fixes most issues

[@slyadam4]

This is one of the things that I Ioved about living in Ukraine for many years. I hate the layout of the blocks/houses in the US

[@catalinpetrescu8488]

In Bucharest they did build some commercial spaces on the ground floor of some buildings, albeit only on large boulevards. They also had the incredible idea to add parking lots there for maximum number of people coming in /s They also ensured some commercial spaces at a relatively short distance, that later became reused for all sorts of things, including restaurants. In addition, they also built some infill commercial spaces, like seen on 15:30 but kinda cozyer in a place near me. There you've got a craft beer shop, a barber, two fast-food small restaurants, one selling burgers, others kebap, etc. In your situation, the latter option I think that would be the most feasible in order to make your district more appealing. Sort of what you can see on the right side of the sidewalk at 15:30. Also, the block's yards can be repurposed as parks, with new alleyways and benches being drawn on them.

[@niculaelaurentiu1201]

In Romania we have communist buildings that have on the first floor of the building! My neighborhood is really great in terms of this, it's just that we are not very developed in general. I think my city is a really good mix of traditional and communist style buildings.

[@ComCommie]

A big reason why the soviet urban planning doesn't work anymore is something you alluded to in your video already, the fact that it was soviet. It was built so that people could work and do everything locally which isn't viable in a capitalist society. I agree that there are certainly mishaps like the lack of pedestrian facilities, but a lot of the problems would also be fixed if it was still functioning under socialism

[@tomyu4906]

Now I get it it why "Soviet Superblock" doesn't work.... Just wonder why it work for Barcelona ?

[@carkawalakhatulistiwa]

Mikrodistric is aredy Superblok Because it prohibits Truck and high speeds road . But low density and lack of number of shops Making it less effective for commercial activities And this microdistrict is 50%(ruang terbuka hijau) forest . Soviet live in an apartment in the middle of the forest. Each building is 50 meters separated by trees

[@exelenttee]

Completely not true regarding lack of restaurants and other infrastructure. Even as you mentioned yourself in the beginning - commercial space was integrated into the district. There were plenty of shops, restaurants, gyms and so on on the first floors of the buildings (as planned in the beginning) or in dedicated buildings nearby.

[@greasher926]

I think the major issue mentioned in the video is that large supermarkets have become more popular than the small local convenience stores, and there is no space in the micro districts to place such a large shopping center, so they just get built on the outskirts of town, pretty much a reversal of urban planning in North America where the shopping centers are placed at the center of town and residential on the outskirts. As per the video the remedy would be to have the shopping center form the base of the micro district and then place residential towers on top.

[@Musje-pv9du]

I feel like the main issues you point out are bcs capitalism doesn't work with housing planned in a socialist era. so the problem is capitalism and not necessarily the planning of the city

[@abissuminvocat]

In general, residential buildings, in my opinion, should not exceed 9 floors ideally. Or 16 max. High altitude is contraindicated for the human psyche and contributes to the development of suicidal moods. Cities like Singapore or Hong Kong are completely man-made environments that destroy people. A person needs to be in contact with the natural environment at least from time to time, otherwise it is guaranteed to lead to constant stress. The same thing, when viewed from the ground, tall buildings oppress and crush. Architecture should be proportionate to man and natural objects.

[@Whatshisname346]

Also there’s cost. In modern construction, using modern fire and accessibility regulations you’d never be able to build that high without more stairwells and lift shafts. You need to build in redundancy and ensure stairwells are wide enough as a means of escape and to access with fire appliances. It then becomes a lot more expensive because you’re eating into floor space. It’s why most modern apartment blocks are kept at the more human 5-7 storey height and the real ‘high rise’ stuff is only done in cities with high land costs or for ‘prestige’ purposes.

[@devurien]

Polotsk / Połock is a Polish-Lithuanian city.

[@Filon2137Potocki]

The Commonwealth's polotsk was completely destroyed during the napoleonic wars and there are zero traces of that time in the city