Within the framework of the business program of the Russian-German Forum, which takes place at the exhibition and congress complex (ECC) "Expograd Yug", 6 discussion sites were organized on the key areas of inter-municipal cooperation between the cities of Russia and Germany. Evgeny Pervyshov opened the meeting of the working group on "Practical experience and prospects for inter-municipal cooperation".
"Yesterday we solemnly opened the German-Russian Forum, and today we turn to its practical part to discuss existing problems and current solutions in the areas of housing and utilities, the application of utility providing technologies and the improvement of energy efficiency. These issues are relevant to Krasnodar. We are ready to share our experiences, but above all, we are interested in learning from the experience that our colleagues have already accumulated," said Evgeny Pervyshov.
The meeting of the working group was attended by the President of the German-Russian Forum, the former Prime Minister of the federal state of Brandenburg Matthias Platzeck, the former Oberburgermeister of Cologne, the German-Russian Forum municipal porgrammes coordinator Jürgen Roters. The discussion moderator was the Director-General of the сity managing company "GUK-Krasnodar" Ludmila Golovchenko.
During the discussion, participants pinpointed the current trends in the development of Russian and German cities and what hands-on assistance could be given to each other. First of all, in the field of housing services and utilities, development of transport infrastructure, introduction of utility providing technologies, etc.
"Our city is experiencing the consequences of the turbulent development and active housing construction of recent years. Citizens of Krasnodar make new demands on the quality of the urban environment and the level of comfort in life. We need modern professional solutions in the areas of housing services and utilities, transport infrastructure, urban land improvement and organization of public spaces. We clearly understand that the further development of the city is directly connected to the introduction of new technologies in various branches of the economy. And first of all this is about essential services," said Evgeny Pervyshov.
A number of projects in this area have already been implemented. In particular, as noted by Mayor of Krasnodar, this year the capital of Kuban is involved in a large federal project to create a comfortable urban environment — 5 green areas, such as garden squares and boulevards and 8 large residential estates. So this is not about single yards, but the whole quarters. And for the first time, residents will be involved in this work.
Matthias Platzeck shared his observations and experience in the development of German cities, described the related problems and ways to solve them.
"I know that there's nothing more complicated than organizing the lives of the city residents so that everyone is happy and comfortable. But there's nothing more interesting then that. Every city where I have been, I see with a mayor's eyes: If the paving slab is fine, the parks are good. If so, it's a luxury. In the case of Krasnodar, as in other cities, I drew attention to the organization of transport. Your city is growing. But it's important to grow up so that in 20 years you won't regret this growth. Every quarter of the city must be so planned to be convenient for a life," said Matthias Platzeck.
The Chairman of the Board of the German-Russian Forum also added that the experience of German cities shows that the provision of utility services should be concentrated in the hands of municipalities, i.e. the city should own resource supplying organizations by a minimum of 51%, in other words, they should be controlled by the city authorities. A number of German cities are already reviewing forms of ownership to bring back the privatized municipal networks. Matthias Platzeck recommended Mayor of Krasnodar to take a note of this moment.
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