Econintersect: A new government center away from the Kremlin will be built as part of a plan to convert the highly congested “old city” into a more distributed four-city cluster in what is now forest land surrounding the existing city of Moscow. One of the three new city centers will be where the Russian government will relocate. The new four cluster city will be double the size of the existing Moscow. The plan accepted for development was produced by an international consortium operating under the name “Capital Cities Planning Group.”
The plans will address the city center traffic pattern problems and congestion which has produced some of the worst traffic jams in the world. New housing facilities will be placed in the old city while the government facilities will be built on the periphery of the new expanded Moscow footprint. No mention was made of what will become of the Kremlin. Perhaps a museum?
The new city will be an ecological showplace and may even achieve a zero carbon footprint. From Gizmag:
“The proposed physical form builds on the natural system of waterways, lakes, forests and meadows as the foundation for a green infrastructure network to support the development of a zero carbon city,” said a statement released by the group.
Below are a few of the illustrations that accompanied the announcement. Many more are available at Gizmag.
Sources:
- New Moscow: Plans afoot to double the size of Russia’s capital (James Holloway, Gizmag, 14 September 2012)
- Moscow (Capital Cities Planning Group)
