Page 51 - International Standards to Shape Smart Sustainable Cities: The Case of Moscow

Implementing ITU-T International Standards to shape Smart Sustainable Cities - The case of Moscow

4.3. Dimension # 2: Environment

The second dimension of the U4SSC KPIs is related to environmental sustainability and the
environmental impact of a city (e.g. air quality indicators), as well as the impact of various factors
concerning citizens’ livability (e.g. accessibility to adequate green space). The KPIs also look at
the use of ICTs in monitoring various aspects of the city’s environmental performance and
ensuring the efficiency of utility networks.

Moscow has recognized the importance of sustainability-related activities in its Smart Moscow
2030 strategy. For example, Moscow has implemented ICTs to monitor air quality, assist in
compliance with international quality standards, and improve its water distribution network
efficiency.
The recent key environmental smart sustainable initiatives in Moscow are explored as follows.

Green spaces and smart lighting

Green areas are important to the sustainability of a city. The benefits of green spaces include:
capturing pollutants, reducing the “heat island” effect and providing recreational spaces. Green
spaces can include parks, gardens, recreational areas, natural areas and other open green areas.
Moscow has developed several green initiatives, in order to create a sustainable, people-friendly
urban environment for its inhabitants. In 2016, the city established 49 new parks. This was
followed, in 2017, by an ambitious plan to upgrade more than 30 existing parks and establish
more than 50 new park areas, including the Khodynskoye Pole Park, an art park at the ZIL
industrial zone, the Mikhalkovo Estate, and the Brateyevskaya flood-plain. The city’s My Street
programme (see section 4.2) enhanced 61 streets in 2016, planting some 13 000 trees and
55 000 shrubs. Lime-tree alleys that were cut down on Tverskaya Street in the 1990s now thrive
again, and trees have also been planted along the Garden Ring.
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The “Million Trees” programme, which started in 2013, is the largest landscaping programme
in the city. The purpose of the programme is to decorate the courtyards of residential buildings
with greenery. Muscovites can choose the courtyard they wish to plant trees, along with the
types and varieties of plants via Active Citizen or by applying at the district council. In 2015, the
programme was extended to the territory of social institutions. Since the implementation of the
Million Trees Programme, 94 400 trees and more than 2 million shrubs have been planted.
Overall, the city has improved 437 public parks and nature areas since 2011. “We are focusing
on the improvement of ‘green’ areas”, Deputy Moscow Mayor, Pyotr Biryukov, noted in January
2017. “It should be said for comparison’s sake that 130 ‘green’ areas were established in 2010,
and that this number was 455 last year (in 2016),” he added.

57 https://www.mos.ru/city/projects/mln-derevyev/

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