Baku needs a uniform urban policy

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- Do you think it is right to do a great job in town planning without a general plan? Is it possible later to streamline all this?

-The concept of the general plan or the documents of the General Development Plan for the use of territories took place in the former Soviet Union. In developed countries, the use of the general plan has been suspended since about the 1960s. Planning has never been effective, because, as in basic cases, business and local authorities for the development of cities come to a common agreement, rejecting the ideas of urban planners. If you pay attention, you will see that in the West the ideas proposed by architects and city planners are different. In reality, cities are built under the dictation of the business. In most cases, a business (this is called a developer) thinking about new areas for residential and commercial real estate, is guided only by business interests, not public ones. It is possible to discuss this and write about it for a long time. However, in view of the fact that under the Soviet Union there was no private property, the administrative apparatus of the state determined the planning of territories both at the state and local levels. However, this planning was never perfect. In the 1950s, a political decision was made on the decision of Khrushchev in the Soviet Union to speed up housing construction, which showed how important planning documents were. For example, during the construction boom in Baku in the 1950s and 1960s, no planning documents were taken into account. Basically, new housing arrays were built on the basis of local master plans. All over the world, it is precisely such general plans that are envisaged for small territories. Time scale plans left behind. Currently, the most used general plans prepared for small areas.

- Earlier, the topic of the master plan was several times on the agenda. Even President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to prepare a master plan in June of this year, however, after a considerable time, the master plan is still not ready. Why is its preparation delayed? Is it because it is more convenient to work, or are there other reasons? What hinders the preparation of the general plan?

-Last time the general plan of Baku was prepared in 1987, however, it turned out to be impossible to implement its provisions. The reason is the political and economic situation in the 1990s. Only in the mid-2000s did they begin to think about a document on the new planning of the capital. At that time, with the financial support of the World Bank, the planning document prepared for about 6 years as a strategic development plan was subsequently changed and it was prepared in the form of a territorial development plan. The document submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers in 2013 was not approved. In June of this year, the presidential decree in connection with the master plan would have buried a project that was already done in low quality and cost for $ 6 million. There is no information about the upcoming general plan, we only know that international companies have already begun work to prepare this plan. At present, it can be considered that the time for the preparation of any document, called the general plan of Baku, has passed. Because the development of tourism and restructuring in the city require a different approach. For example, general plans proposed by the restructuring plan, strategic development plan, or "developer". It even has a sample - residential areas located in social housing areas are built on the basis of such small general plans.

- In September, the president signed a decree on additional measures to improve urban planning. According to the decree, local executive authorities give permission for construction only after the conclusion of the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture. Do you think it should be so? Who prepares and implements a culture of urban planning in foreign countries? What is there in this area in developed countries that we do not have? Will it be possible in the future to prevent the consequences created during construction work in the absence of the general plan?

-In general, I believe that it is necessary to consider the issue of the master plan fundamentally. In the post-Soviet space, the first comprehensive strategic planning document was prepared in St. Petersburg. In the years of the rise of democracy and the market economy in Russia, this document was prepared. Residents of the city, civil society, experts and local authorities took part in its preparation. As a result, a good document was prepared that became one of the models until 2010 of successful development of the city. There are other examples of good experience. For a long time, permission to conduct construction in Tbilisi was issued by a structure that was based on a single decision of the architects. As far as I know, recently the situation in this structure has been politicized, and in Tbilisi there has been unplanned construction in recent years. If I may say so, local government structures are very weak in making planning decisions, they have no power to influence political decisions, they are very dependent on business interests. Another reason is the lack of civic participation and non-participation of the city"s population in decision-making. The issuance of a construction permit in Baku by the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture has more political reasons. The construction boom in the capital is already behind, in the construction sector regress, at the same time, the government itself began to engage in construction activities. The project, proposed social housing, is actually an affordable housing project. In many cases, the central executive will, in connection with the implementation of this program, make plans for the use of land. The executive power of Baku now has greater powers in connection with the construction than before and creates a single mechanism that can change the property form. It seems that the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture will be transferred to some of the controlling functions of the Emergencies Ministry, the State Property Committee. In the future, it is possible that all the powers to authorize construction in Azerbaijan will be transferred to the State Committee for Urban Planning and Architecture. Several years ago we proposed the creation of a single planning structure for the territories of Baku and Absheron. Such structures exist in all major millionaire cities worldwide. Another addition may consist in the creation of a deliberative structure consisting of architects and planners in Baku in the future. At present, I do not see the need to create such a structure, since there are serious problems in the matter of professional personnel in the field of urban planning and architecture.