SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH AS A PLANNING INSTRUMENT ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE CHEREMUSHKI DISTRICT OF ODESSA

Abstract

The article discusses issues related to the monitoring of public opinion in pre-project studies on the further development of the Cheremushki district in the city of Odessa. These studies were carried out as part of the international project “Unloved Heritage of a Socialist City?”, in the period from 2016 to 2019. The project was attended by Germany, Ukraine, Russia. The first and second stages of the project were devoted to the study of the German experience in renovation and a research workshop in the city of Odessa. The third stage is the creation of an office to familiarize residents of Cheremushki with pre-project research and monitoring public opinion. The article describes the results of a survey and two discussion round tables on the development and problems of the area; the authors noted the importance of taking into account the results of a sociological survey when conducting pre-design decisions. As a result of the discussion of the first round table, the participants came to the following conclusions: the residents of the region are indifferent to the adjacent territories, believing that these are housing and communal services tasks; their interests end outside their apartments; it is necessary to find methods to activate local residents and involve them in the management of their local territories; the solution may be to create a model quarter on Cheremushki as an example of successful renovation, thereby attracting residents to self-government and the desire to change something; a sociological survey of residents and their acquaintance with research developments on the topic of the development of Cheremushki will favorably affect not only future design decisions, but also the thoughts of residents themselves about the fate of their habitat. Analysis of the survey, the second round table and monitoring the opinions of residents led to the following conclusions: at the moment, investors are not interested in investing in the development of the Cheremushki region; there is no detailed plan for the development of the district at the official level, the city authorities support point and chaotic development; German experience as tracing paper cannot be transferred to Ukrainian realities; the district is inhabited by people of different social levels who have different levels of understanding in the ongoing processes, but most of them favor the preservation of basic architectural and urban planning decisions and the modernization of houses on Cheremushki; there are activists of the region and specialists interested in developing Cheremushki along the path of modernization and comprehensive renovation, using the experience of architectural and urban planning solutions in other countries, for example, Germany, but legal, economic and state support is needed; in conditions of extensive development of the city, it is advisable to use and develop existing territories.