The creation of a unified light master plan for the capital, according to professional’s mention, can cost 100-150 million rubles. However, its implementation can have a good effect on the urban environment.

It seems that modern Moscow already has everything in terms of infrastructure. No, not all. For example, the capital city does not have a unified light master plan – a strategic spatial planning document that describes the city in the future. Its main goal is to create a harmonious connection between lighting of all types: architectural, landscape, utilitarian, festive and advertising. Moreover, the document necessarily considers energy efficiency technologies and integration into the “Smart City” concept.

Of course, the development of such a master plan requires money: for cities like Moscow or St. Petersburg it is 100-150 million rubles, for other ones it is less, say professionals. On the other hand, the result is an increase in the level of safety, optimization of electricity costs, the creation of a comfortable, stylistically unified space, which entails a more efficient use of territories in the evening, an increase of tourist flow, a decrease in the outflow of population, and so on. But, as the founder of the QPRO lighting design bureau Alexei Burykin notes, for now it is just a talk.

Alexey Burykin
founder of QPRO lighting design bureau:

“This work has been done in Moscow already several times. There have been attempts to implement it, but there was no talk of creating a lighting master plan for Moscow. There have been attempts to create the concept of a unified light environment, but one must understand that this is just an analysis and work on architectural and facade lighting and landscaping. I can say, as an example of work with Perm, last year the federal authorities allocated funds in the amount of 20 million rubles to develop a lighting master plan for the central part of the city. Now in several cities this issue is being raised, including Tyumen, Cheboksary, but it would probably be wrong to say that in some of the cities this issue has advanced much further than anywhere else”.

In accordance to expert’s opinion, if the transition from words to deeds does take place, then ideally – with the active participation of professionals and citizens. The urban development strategy without them, will, of course, be bright, but dead.