A drop of water from the river Tom

Recently, the author of a working visit on the remarkable city of Tomsk. During the trip was a lot of opportunities to see how the city itself, and to discuss with various people, including senior positions, the problems of its development. As a result, there was an acute sense of deja vu. Because Tomsk is very similar to Peter, only smaller. And in the small of the same problems which are felt more acutely. Tomsk was founded about the same historical period, the beginning of industrialization, and that St. Petersburg, in 1604. Like Peter, by its structure, it is a typical "European city" of the traditional phases of development. The main thing in it - it's historic center, a concentration of cultural and social life. Flavor of the situation makes it that Tomsk - a city of universities, there is a high density of students in the general population, and the entire University fraternity compact living, working and studying in the same historical center. The core of the city, as elsewhere, is surrounded by industrial zones and sleeping bags. Large internal dilemma for Tomsk is a choice of format: whether to build up the sleeping areas on the perimeter of the field, or develop at the expense of compact pereosvoeniya center. Fields build up high-rises easier in some cases even more profitable. Unlike Peter, in Tomsk, such projects are not called pretentious words "integrated development" and to be honest about the traditional Neighbourhood Building. Indeed, why invent new words, if there is no difference between the phenomena? The apotheosis of the dispute is a proposal to make the center is proud to university campuses, placing them somewhere beyond the river. And the river Tom, in a beautifully located city, will be wider, Neva times, commercials, in two. The climate there is much more severe, and Siberian. As poor students will move to places of learning - one more question, much easier to make the center university as a whole. But the university community in Tomsk, in contrast to St. Petersburg, is a real social and political force. And it reasoned objection to such, anything, to be honest, apart from building benefits are not motivated action. So city officials seem to have to seriously consider the alternative - to develop and pereosvaivat historic center. But in St. Petersburg social force capable to stop the senseless construction fields of flats under the guise of integrated development, as we know, has not yet been found. The development of the historic center of Tomsk seriously hampered features of old buildings. The problem is that it is there, in large part, made of wood. Beautiful house in a few chopped floors, richly carved, pleasing to the eye and itchy for photographers scattered around the city center. And just randomly restored, without any tourist or urban logic. Some especially attractive cottages are located in areas where walking after dusk is better not to go. It is clear that in the dot reconstruction of the historic center of Tomsk can invest any money, but no effect. Because the point reconstruction done without an understanding of how these beautiful houses built in the emerging post-industrial urban environment, in trade, development of entertainment, catering to the modern high-quality housing, finally. Answers may be multiple, not the worst - it's copying the European experience of conservation residential historic homes. Inside the historic neighborhoods normally built supermarkets, and the facade of the house you can build a business center (but expensive). Sane alternative would be to create a sort of "reserve" fleet of old buildings, which prohibits any activity adversely affecting the historic landscape. The main thing - to set a strategy. By the way, St. Petersburg is also a concern. An extra touch to the portrait of the old city of Tomsk - a ramshackle slums and domushki, located just around the corner from the main shopping streets. And domushki - fully manned, but here until the owners of their condition and the views of others, it seems, do not care. One would begin to phase out bear downtown slums, making it a versatile modern, in the best sense, an area with a strong tourism component. But this means a complete reversal strategy of urban space, away from buildings surrounding fields. This means the compactification of the city. At the same time - a lot of work to create rules to developers in an effort to make the fair more profit per square meter of land, do not spoil the landscape of the old city. Easier and more pleasant to hold ohranitelskuyu position. Foaming at the mouth require preservation of historical heritage, even at great cost and fragmentation of urban space. Turn a blind eye on the land occupied by dilapidated buildings, because these areas pereosvoenie complicated and expensive, easier to build a new neighborhood of uniform social apartment blocks. Turned into a museum town, forgetting that the museum is inconvenient to live and work. A cumulative problem somehow resolved themselves, like their neighbors the bottom of this bowl, dripping tap or wallpaper falling off in the apartment. If you do not think about the bad, it does not happen, right? And then someone comes and silence will correct it. In St. Petersburg, as you know, ohranitelskaya position is dominant. In its favor can come up with a lot of arguments: the developers are not yet sufficiently skilled, and with the quality of architecture we have a problem, and the price of land in the center and periphery, in principle, is not comparable. But with the launch of a few years ago the project of building a skyscraper office, "Gazprom", the debate began rotate. And now turn to the reconstruction of areas inside the historic center for Peter is far from being science fiction. Although the bitter fruits of mass building under the guise of integrated development, we will reap more than a dozen years in Tomsk, however, the office of "Gazprom" is already there, and is quite modest building. But there are other large companies, capable of such a gamble to revitalize the city. Pull it out of the swamp and turn it into a regional cultural and educational center that would exist in conjunction with once-hated rival Novosibirsk. And even if the players from the business is not there, there are universities, firmly convinced of the fact that in the historical center of the street and something to teach. Creating a comfortable urban environment for higher education - is quite serious, not shameful strategic goal for the city. One way or another, the reasons for the qualitative development of the city center itself will create. So for the Tomsk I generally calm. But for Peter - not yet.