Ilsur Metshin holds a meeting on the landscaping of Kazan

Kazan contractors in landscaping will be trained how to properly carry out landscaping. The decision was made by Ilsur Metshin at a meeting with the participation of the City Development Institute and key contracting organizations.

Alexander Matyukha, an expert of the City Development Institute, was the first to address the participants of the meeting. He spoke about the experience of working with green spaces and noted the importance of proper maintenance of trees, shrubs and other plants.

He said that a guidance manual is being developed for employees of contracting organizations that are engaged in landscaping the city. It will describe the regulations for landscaping, planting, as well as protection at landscaping and construction sites.

A.Matyukha sees the solution to the problem of improper maintenance of green spaces in the development of a map that will quickly find out the characteristics of a particular tree: crown width, bark thickness, as well as a root system. There is such an experience already– for example it was implemented in New York, as well as partially in St. Petersburg.

Earlier, the Executive Committee of the city received appeals from citizens who disagree with the methods of pruning trees. The Mayor of Kazan at one of the staff meetings instructed to study out each case and conduct training for contractors.

Metshin turned to the expert and stressed the importance of training specialists in this field. “We invited everyone involved in this work today. Our employees have professional skills, but everyone is responsible for a specific site. We understand that Kazan is a green city, but we also acknowledge our growth points and how to prolong the life of green spaces,”- the head of the city commented.

Anzhela Belova, chief architect of the projects of the conceptual development sector at the City Development Institute, told Metshin about the present garage cooperatives and proposed changes to this environment.

“I personally visited these sites at different times – in summer, in winter, in the afternoon or in the evening. It is necessary to conduct a separate study on this issue, since garages are very diverse – somewhere there are stray dogs or cars and landfills. In some garages residents are engaged in entrepreneurial activities. As statistics show, 35% is used for warehousing, 45% for car storage, 15% are engaged in commercial activities, and 5% of garages are empty,”- the architect said.

Belova suggested making garages an area that would be comfortable to visit. In particular, to change and revitalize them by new color solutions, light points, shape or other criteria.

“Each garage has its own peculiarity, it is important for us to understand how to transform their appearance. Of course, each city has its own current demand, and tomorrow another one is possible and such a project that will allow them to adapt to the time. It is possible to supply them with various shops, cafes or a food court area,”- she said.

There is no such experience in Russia today, so Kazan can be a pioneer in this matter, the architect believes.

The Mayor noted that the issue of modernization of garage cooperatives is not included in the top priorities list, but it plays an important role in the urban environment.

“When we find out what specific purposes garages are used for, what kind of craft residents are engaged there, we will understand where to move. First we need to handle it,”- Metshin said.