NNGASU students' projects will be implemented in three public spaces in the region.

      01 November 2025 17:11 Society

      Three public spaces in Nizhny Novgorod will be improved according to master plans that will be developed by students of the Nizhny Novgorod State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (NNGASU) taking into account the opinions of Nizhny Novgorod residents.

      Over five months, 65 future architects, designers and builders will develop three KRT master plans for the Moskovsky District, Kstovo and the center of Nizhny Novgorod. The work will take place within the framework of the federal youth urbanism competition-accelerator “Pro_goroda,” which has started in Nizhny Novgorod. The organizers are the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the National Association of Consulting Engineers in Construction (NAIKS) and the “City University 2.0” project.

      “The competition is designed to teach students to collaborate on complex projects that require knowledge in housing construction, landscaping, transport and communal infrastructure. Future specialists will learn how each of these areas interacts, how we build projects by weaving them into the fabric of the city, and how work with residents is organized,” said Maria Sinichich, Director of the Department of Comprehensive Territorial Development at the Russian Ministry of Construction.

      The ceremonial opening of the “Pro_goroda” competition-accelerator took place on the NNGASU campus. The event was attended by Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Ivan Kargin, Minister of Urban Development and Agglomeration Development of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Darya Shunaeva, Rector of NNGASU Dmitry Shchegolev, representatives of the region’s largest developers and industry experts.

      “The ‘Pro_goroda’ project is truly relevant and modern: there is currently a presidential directive on the development of master plans, and young specialists who approach master planning in new ways. For many this is a first try, so we will not be strict, but we hope to see works worthy of public attention and to take something new from each team,” said Ivan Kargin.

      Three territories were chosen for the development of the improvement master plans: Alekseevskaya (Alekseevskaya St., Zvezdinka and Studenaya), Kuybysheva (Kuybysheva St., Morisa Toreza and Narodnaya) and Kstovo (Captain Rachkov Ave. and Magistralnaya St.). Their total area is 74.7 hectares. The best projects will be handed over to potential investors and authorities for further implementation.

      “Modern higher education is becoming increasingly practice-oriented: students are taught to work on real projects and to develop solutions applicable both in professional practice and in the work of government bodies and developers. This produces trained specialists capable of solving complex interdisciplinary tasks and finding a common language with different project stakeholders — a sociologist and a lawyer, an architect and an economist. I hope the participants will receive their first ‘baptism by fire’ and present great projects that we can adopt,” said Darya Shunaeva.

      The competition will allow students to apply theoretical knowledge in real projects, work with active market professionals and create their first serious portfolios.

      “Our university traditionally trains personnel for Russia’s construction sector. Participation in such a project becomes a crucial stage in the professional development of students in relevant fields. They gain invaluable experience working with real objects and understanding the full responsibility for creating a comfortable urban environment,” said Dmitry Shchegolev.

      Participants were told about the city model and important principles of master planning by Sviatoslav Murunov, methodologist of the startup for creating “Cities 2.0,” urbanist and social engineer. He also presented interim results of a sociological survey of Nizhny Novgorod residents. Data collection on how residents envision the city’s future development is ongoing.

      Recall that the implementation of the federal youth urbanism competition-accelerator “Pro_goroda” aligns with the goals and objectives of the federal “Professionalitet” program of the national project “Youth and Children.” It is also aimed at the comprehensive development of territories and the training of highly qualified specialists for the urban development sector of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

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