Olga Brednikova and Oksana Zaporozhets, eds. Mikrourbanizm: Gorod v detaliakh. Sbornik statei. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 2014

Abstract

Over the past few years Russian cities, and in particular Moscow, have been changing in a new direction. More emphasis has been put on the development of public space, parks have been refurbished, embankments made accessible, temporary cultural spaces have sprung up in many interstices, urban interventions and activism from various groups have become more visible and engaging of local communities, and what was hitherto unimaginable appears to have become possible—bicycling in the megacity. All in all, this most recent urban development is coinciding with an increased awareness and interest in all things urban in Russia. However, these changes are rarely reflected in academic publications. Microurbanism: The City in Details is a refreshing Russian publication on urban studies in Russia that attempts to fill this gap. Editors Olga Brednikova and Oksana Zaporozhets have surveyed Russian publications and contemporary urban-studies discourses within and outside academia and have selected the articles in this book to fit an innovative approach to studying the city that puts its dwellers and visitors in focus.