RG: And what kind of development, Alexander, you can plan? Development is money, and many cities do not have enough income to cover current expenses.
Alexander Vysokinskiy: the larger the system, the longer should be the planning horizon because any system has its period of inertia and expand. And, of course, no strategic plans of development of cities is impossible today. But I will not say that is more important than the plan itself or properly organized the process of its development. Given the fact that the presence of the strategy became mandatory, there consulting firms that are able to make a beautiful document. But it will be non-native for the city, and thus very controversial that will work efficiently, because development should not only involve the expert Council of the administration, but also the expert advice of community members, academics, and business representatives.
We can plan anything, but when on-site business not comfortable, there will be no money. If in the process of strategy development entrepreneurs fought for these or other approaches, it won’t be their document. The same and with the public. She would always say: all the money of the development on schools and kindergartens! Business to insist that all the money in infrastructure development. You need to look for and find a balance.
Today we think about the creation of another expert of the Council of the media. It specialists-media specialists must determine how to effectively inform citizens, involve them in the process of developing the strategy.
This approach – participation in the development of a strategic plan for all stakeholders to make the document public consent. And perhaps most importantly.
Another important point. Strategy development – the process of universal education. It is not seminars and lectures. This is when people hear each other and learn from each other. In the beginning of the development of our plan visiting urbanists, said: “the development strategy of the heating systems of large cities, individual heat in every home – your boiler”. Refuse from centralised heat sources: the network is expensive and crimping!.. The meeting was attended by one of the leaders of Sverdlovenergo, he said, “Listen up, youngsters! The heat resource, which we sell, is a derivative of our electricity generation. Electricity you will not be for each house to work out, have to buy. So, today we cover their costs by selling you both heat and electricity. If you decide to do its heat, its costs, we will still include the payment of: electricity will become more expensive.” Professional quickly explained why the proposal is absurd. And all parties have come to understand the relationship in the city a little deeper than the PRthe era.
So it was at each meeting: one of the experts explained on the fingers, those things can not be done. Many people who participated in that process – then they were 25-30 years old, now working in administration as heads of different level. But then they formed: they wrote the plan, he argued, to gain knowledge. The experience of Yekaterinburg says: the strategy only works when it has developed themselves.
RG: whether it is Possible by the development of a strategy to make the partners, the subjects of the Federation?
AB: Definitely. Moreover, exclusion from the process-representatives of state structures will lead to the fact that your plan will be like a donut in space: a bagel is, and there’s nothing. Today, the main financial source for the development of municipalities – still budget funds. If you take the cost structure of every municipality, except for Moscow and St. Petersburg, where everything is very different, 85-90 percent of the budget current expenditures: salary, utilities, repairs… That is the maintenance of life, it has nothing to do with development. And, for example, the construction of a Convention center or hospital, many schools and kindergartens, and especially when in the city implemented major Federal actions: the holding of meetings of leaders of countries international competitions – all this is not done without the participation of the state budget. But, on the other hand, and without them can not be.
the Initiative must come from the city, but when you come for funding to the regional and to the Federal government, you have to understand what you want and why a joint project may be of interest to colleagues: it needs to be built into their goals and objectives.
the Strategic plan as a periodic table: there are cells that while money may not be, but we know for sure: the element is, they need to do. And the result will come. In 2003, few people believed that in Ekaterinburg will host the SCO and BRICS, will feature the best regional airport. When we argued that we need to build a million square metres of housing per year, inexperienced builders said, “We build 300 thousand. The Soviet record was 830 thousand meters. What’s a million?!” But last year built one million three hundred but a million came out in 2007. And it was the result of decisions that were made in 90-e years.
the city responded to the main question: either to remain an industrial city, to become a multifunctional center. Arkady Mikhailovich Chernetsky (head of Ekaterinburg from 1992 to 2010. – Approx. ed.) said that the industry remained a mainstay of the economy, but necessary wholesale-retail trade, logistics, communications, construction, Finance, communications, and Convention events. You need to grow a number of sectors of the economy. And they are grown. Today the city is based on many otraslag. This is the effect of the implementation of the strategy. If not, we lose our purpose, we begin to expend resources in vain.
RG: we understand that now in Ekaterinburg strategic planning is brought to the level of the district. Why?
AB: Today, all the state administration is working on a sectoral basis. Budget from the Federal to the city is planned in sectors: education, culture, physical education, health, transport… But the problem is that people do not live in sectors and territories. Man, of course, curious to hear about the trillions that stand out, say, in Oncology. But most interested in how the clinic operates around the corner, how accessible is medical care in his district. Similarly with education, culture, road network…
Each of the seven administrative units of Yekaterinburg is the third largest city in Sverdlovsk region. We have areas from 150 to 300 thousand people. On the territory of the districts have their own centres have developed their own systems of education, health. When you have developed a strategy for the industry, and then through projects not out of the territory is a mistake. Strategy development is a way to overcome the shortcomings of the sectoral approach, to think of integrated development of the territory. About it today loudly did not speak, but Yekaterinburg started this work. And this is very important. You can, for example, to equip the Central part of the city, but people should not have to go to the center by car or public transport just to walk. He needs to get out of the house and to have the opportunity at hand.
RG: What’s underrated or overrated city, when you develop strategies?
AB: Strategy is the goal. There should be clearly formulated three characteristics. The first is achievable. We must be honest with ourselves: an achievable goal that we set for ourselves, or not? The second goal needs to be measurable. You have to understand that we want to get five years, ten, fifteen. Measurement is the development of indicators of socio-economic development. And the third parameter is measurable in time, to understand not only what the volume you want to achieve, but when. Now, meet the managers who for whatever reasons pretend that they don’t know about these three parameters and, therefore, underestimate them. Definitely underestimate the resource interaction with Federal and regional authorities. And overrated, typically the factors that can really affect the economy. I understand that many of the decisions that are made today will not work in 5-7 years. But what? How to understand this? Someone should sit around and ask: how will we measure and in what time frame?
RG: What ideas the Association upholds today?
AB: the First thing we’re working on the appearance state of the methodology “Industry area”. The city is always territory. We need to have an integrated approach to the development of the territory. Second – the understanding of agglomeration and how they should line up. And, of course, the main problem is the financial security of the municipalities. Is an indicator of budgetary security of the budget of the territory is divided by the number of the population. In Ekaterinburg it is slightly more than 30 thousand it is not the poor of the cities: some 20 thousand. In Moscow about two hundred. Cost structure in any city are the same. And if Ekaterinburg, for example, six times less is spent on landscaping, as many times it will be worse.
the Association proposes to impose a minimum rate budget provision, which guarantees the state. This will help the cities to independently solve many problems. For example, if in Ekaterinburg fiscal capacity will be in the amount of 50 thousand rubles per person, we will construct a second metro line, schools.
Alexander Vysokinskiy, the head of Yekaterinburg.
born in the city of Sverdlovsk.
studying at the Ural Academy of public service with specialty “state and municipal management”. Candidate of economic Sciences (1999).
working in various positions in the Centre for the promotion of entrepreneurship of the Sverdlovsk region.
working in various positions in the city administration – from the head of Department to the Chairman of the Committee on the economy.
Deputy head of Yekaterinburg Deputy head of administration of Ekaterinburg.
Deputy Governor of the Sverdlovsk region.
the head of Yekaterinburg.
