Development of the public space of a mono-functional town (on the example of the town of Novoyavorivsk, Ukraine)

Abstract

Abstract On the example of the town of Novoyavorivsk, the transformation of public spaces in resource-dependent towns, which were formed as residential quarters with service infrastructure for workers of industrial plants in the second half of the 20th century, was considered. In the 1990s, the transition to a market economy and the reduction of enterprises caused the stagnation of towns that had only one town-forming function. Founded on the basis of the Soviet ideological paradigm which had strict planning and construction norms, these towns are trying to be transformed into multifunctional towns. Changes in the functional and spatial structure of public spaces are the most dynamic. That is why the issue of modernizing of the functional-spatial structure of a monofunctional tows and determining the direction of development of their public centers and public space arises. This study analyzes the compliance of public spaces, which were formed for the few functions of the “town for sleeping”, to the modern conditions of a significant increase in the number of commercial functions. The conducted investigation of the development of the resource-oriented town of Novoyavorivsk made it possible to reveal the foundations of ideologically determined modernist formation. The scientific novelty of this work consists in establishing of the peculiarities of the functioning of public spaces in the town of Novoyavorivsk, which were formed under the conditions of the Soviet socio-economic model, which is no longer in force today. Problems of the quality of public space of monofunctional towns of the Soviet period as a rule have several common features, including morphological, social, visual, perceptual and functional dimensions. The practical value of this study lies in the improvement of the methodology for the analysis of urban areas. The main results of the work consist in obtaining of the information about the object of research, based on the results of a comparative analysis of field research data and urban planning documentation, and spreading of the identified patterns to other towns and cities.