Cheremkhovo the urban regeneration and revival of the city

Cheremkhovo the urban regeneration and revival of the city is the thirty-six article on projects from practice. The city is located on a hill of the Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo Land, on river Cheremshanka, about 20 km west of the Angara River. In the near zones of Cheremkhovo, there are areas of coal mines (mined and operating), and agricultural and forest lands. Within the city boundaries, you can find waste heaps – traces of former coal mining. The city of Cheremkhovo includes a central residential area and a dozen separate settlements-small districts formed at various enterprises, mines, quarries, and open-pit mines, many of which were subsequently closed. These settlements are 4-12 km away from the city center, and the villages are mostly one-story with individual wooden buildings and barracks-type houses. These types of homes and densities existed at the beginning of the Cheremkhovo city formation. The central part of the city is a geographic pivot point that stretches along the Trans-Siberian railway for almost 12 km, built up with both wooden one-story and stone multi-story well-maintained houses. See Figure 1, a Google map of the city’s location in Russia.

At the beginning of 1880 when the coal mining industry began the city gained strong economic status and several mines were established, lots of houses were erected, hostels were rented for workers of mines and the city witnessed a shift in population from other cities. However, in the 1980s, Cheremkhovo began to lose its former glory. This was due to the development of new cities – Bratsk, Angarsk, Ust-Ilimsk. In the post-Soviet period, the city went through a difficult time.

The three main elements that supported the development and regeneration of this city were the city was on an urban transport corridor, the large number of forests and agricultural land, and the big mining deposits of coal in the city and its boundary.

The various changes in the city mayor individuals led to a successful person, V.A. Semenov, the city witnessed a socio-economic development in various areas adding to the success of the previous years.

Though the city of Cheremkhovo is not directly connected to the urban corridor of the Ulan-Ude-Ulaanbaatar-Beijing-Tianjin the railway and highway are connected to this urban corridor see Figure 2, the Ulan-Ude urban corridor.

Since the introduction of the perestroika by the USSR president and the communist party in the late 1980s several changes to the political economy were introduced. The movement from the communist closed system to more of a market liberal dimension was established. The Russian, Chinese, and Mongolian regional policies united to one goal to develop the regions and their economy and the province’s settlements. The construction of the urban corridor has improved the area’s urban regeneration projects because it provided many jobs related to foreign trade, services, and businesses that flourished.  

By the early 1990s, the authorities saw the formation of a complex made up of companies within the industry that would support the region’s economy and contribute to the development and urban regeneration projects. Nearly all the basic subsectors necessary to supply the population: the meat, dairy, bakery, confectionery, distillery, brewery, tea, and salt subsectors. Several Irkutsk companies including a meat factory, an oil and fat factory, a distillery and brewery, a tea-packing factory, and a salt factory in Usolye. Two large pig farms were constructed in the region and in this year nine other companies joined the industry of farming that employed more than 20,000 people. The production of the area reached 7% of the region’s production.

The late newly elected Cheremkhovo mayors had a direct influence on the revival not only of the city’s urban fabric through the urban regeneration projects but also the rise of the coal and mining industry. These three elements had a direct impact on the urban regeneration projects in the city. The Russian regulation and law of 185-FZ and under the changes of the political economy obligated people to do major regeneration to homes and buildings in the regions. See Figure 3, the damaged buildings and homes in Cheremkhovo before urban regeneration.

The newly elected mayors were the main players in the urban regeneration projects in the city as well as the new urban development. The projects included the renewal of former residential buildings and the building of new residential buildings for the shifted population. See Figure 4, the new residential buildings in Cheremkhovo.

The new urban regeneration projects include the public space, urban landscape, and public art in open space development in the city. The city witnessed various new water fountains in various areas of the city in a modern design and within open gardens and landscapes. See Figure 5, fountains, public art, and landscape urban regeneration in the city.

The city witnessed several urban regeneration projects like the renovation of former kindergartens and schools and, the building of new music schools, and sports facilities all over the city. See Figure 6, children polyclinic reconstruction and opened in 2011.

The city officials managed to attract inward investment to the region and to develop two industries, the city’s strength, the first urban regeneration project was the construction of the metallurgical plant. This plant introduced the city development of mechanical engineering and material engineering through the production of materials of steel, aluminum, and others that are used in mechanical engineering production. The final phase of this project employed 800 people. See Figure 7, the metallurgical plant in Cheremkhovo.

The second urban regeneration project was the Insulation factory which was built on the former cardboard and roofing materials factory in the region. The city planned to move on from the mining industry to multi-type industry production and trade. The city through its officials attracted also investors to build plants to manufacture mechanical products for the chemical and oil industry. See Figure 8, the insulation factory plant in the city.