In 2013 the Moscow Institute for Social and Cultural Programmes (the MISCP) launched its research project “The Mechanics of Moscow” during the course of which seven key elements of urban life and their contributions to the quality of the social environment of the Moscow megalopolis were investigated:
This research was conducted throughout all of the 146 Moscow districts in two separate phases: one in 2013 and the second in 2015. The statistical and sociological data that was gathered reflects the current state of these districts based on various parameters.
This website holds sociological data based on all seven of the key elements of urban life mentioned above. The combined analysis of this sociological and statistical data is also available in the documents “Parameters of Urban Environment Development” and “Types of Urban Environment”.
The city of Moscow is rapidly changing. However, very few attempts have been made to systematically analyze the nature of these changes and their effect on the everyday lives of Muscovites. The main obstacle to such an analysis is the poor quality of existing databases, which often give a patchy view of the situation, lacking in detail. Much of the currently available data is based solely on large administrative areas such as the South-West Area, which has a population of 1.3 million people – a population size which exceeds that of 99% of Russia’s cities. The data collected from such a large area is usually too unwieldy to provide an accurate reflection of the inner diversity and processes that make up the social mechanics of the city.
The essential question that our project “The Mechanics of Moscow” asks is: ‘What is the relationship between the urban environment and the life style of it’s inhabitants?’ This search for a paradigm that defines the life of a megalopolis, has led to an increased focus on studying the city district by district, rather than at the administrative area level, for the reasons mentioned above.
The methodology used in this research serves the purpose of the project as a whole - to provide sociological data that is representative of each individual district of the city separately. This means that the collected data is required to reflect the inhabitants’ perception of urban life and their evaluation of their daily issues and problems. The unit of analysis of the “The Mechanics of Moscow” therefore, is not a city as a whole, or an administrative area, but the smaller more detailed sample of individual districts.
The total sample volume for each phase of the research was 12 000 respondents
Questionnaire based surveys were carried out in each district with between 80-120 residents surveyed depending on the size and population level of the district. The respondents from each district were chosen through the use of a sequence of standard sociological methods to ensure a representative sample of the views and opinions of each district. The respondents were contacted by telephone, and the telephone numbers for each district were generated on a random basis as per the standard models for generating accurate sampling data from general complex of elements. Depending on the availability of certain respondent groups, age and gender quotas were introduced.
A set of sociological data that reflects residents’ evaluation of the infrastructure and amenities in their district. The utility costs, the state of communal areas — all these factors have a direct impact on the satisfaction of residents with the fabric of daily life in Moscow.
Analysis of this database can answer questions like:
A set of sociological data that reflects how safe Muscovites consider their district to be. The desire to spend time in their home district is directly linked to the feeling of safety. Citizens prefer to spend more time in places where they feel safe, and as a result urban amenities (stores, cafes, cultural establishments etc) in these areas are used more frequently. Conversely, residents spend much less time in districts where residents feel discomfort because of potential threats to their security.
Analysis of this database can answer questions like:
A set of sociological data that reflects how residents evaluate the cultural life of their district. Cultural offerings make the urban environment more comfortable and diverse, giving citizens a wide range of options for spending their leisure time. After average salary level and real estate prices, the opportunity for cultural enrichment is the third main reason for people to migrate to a given urban area.
Analysis of this database can answer questions like:
A set of sociological data that reflects how citizens see the quality of pre school, school and extra curricular education services in Moscow. Differences in quality of available education are an often cited reason for families with children to relocate.
Analysis of this database can answer questions like:
A set of sociological data showing how Moscow citizens evaluate the quality of medical services in their district. For the majority of people, health and education are two highly important parts of life. Public health questions are therefore often hotly debated.
Analysis of this database can answer questions like:
A set of sociological data that reflects how Muscovites evaluate the current state of the natural environment in their district. Fresh air, quiet areas and non-polluted spaces — are all limited resources. Research shows that citizens use this criteria more than any other when choosing where to live in Moscow.
Analysis of this database can answer questions like:
A set of sociological data that reflects how residents of various Moscow districts evaluate the state of the transport system. The issues of traffic jams, lack of parking, and disruptions in the public transport system all affect the rhythm of urban life, and the speed and comfort of moving around the city. The importance of public and private transport provision is a factor that all Muscovites have to take into account when choosing where to go for the weekend or which school to send their children to.
Analysis of this database can answer questions like:
A city’s districts differ from one another in the levels of development of various aspects of urban life. Some of them are safer, others are better maintained and in others residents can benefit from various local cultural leisure amenities etc. To compare the city’s districts in these and other aspects we conducted a mathematical analysis of data and identified parameters of urban environment development that characterize Moscow – unified indexes that describe the distinctive features of each individual district. This document presents a description of the methodology used to gather and analyze data, as well as maps of Moscow districts illustrating the selected parameters.
Moscow is one of the biggest cities in the world, and like all major cities is not homogeneous but consists of a patchwork of highly differentiated areas – ‘types’ of urban environment. Residents of these varied districts live different lives, with different infrastructures to take advantage of, different socio-cultural conditions etc. This document presents a description of a methodology developed to identify types of urban environment, and also maps and specifications of each of the nine types.