EASTERN COLOUR ON A EUROPEAN PATTERN

Back in 2008 the Azerbaijani government adopted a decision to start work on a project entitled "Greater Baku Regional Development Plan" (GBRDP), which would set the process of town planning onto a scientifically-based, rational, effective and coordinated channel. According to the authors' concept, the aim of the project, which was designed for the period up to 2030 and beyond, was to organize and regulate the urban infrastructure and also to prevent impromptu building which had begun to spread in the capital.

The process of the development of the project consists of four stages: the collation and analysis of data; the drawing up of a basic plan for the development of the region; the formation of a plan for the development of Greater Baku on a scale 1:25000; and the formation of a land-use plan for Baku itself. As we write the planners have completed the third stage of its preparation and the document prepared on the basis of this work is being discussed by the relevant structures. Generally speaking, the final version of the GBRDP should be approved before the end of this year.

A strategic document

"It is not surprising that with a lack of legislative acts, proper mechanisms and regulations about town planning, building and development, impromptu and uncontrolled processes have occurred in Baku in the past 10-15 years. According to our figures, in the 20 years since our independence was restored, over 15,000 hectares of land on the Abseron Peninsula have been occupied by uncontrolled settlements known as "jerry-building". Right up to the coming into force of the Town-Planning and Building Code of 1 January 2013 the legal framework in this sphere had not been developed. But now, in possession of not just a code, but also a specific plan of development, we must cling to an adopted and developed town-planning policy and control land-use in a serious manner," says the head of the "Plan for the Regional Development of Greater Baku" project, Novruz Eldarli.

The GBRDP was designed to help local government bodies to develop a new work strategy. In accordance with the new code, part of the town planning work has been handed over to local government bodies and town councils. They now have the powers to draw up detailed plans, on the basis of which specific planning should be carried out.

"GBRDP is a strategic, conceptual layout, not a detailed plan: in other words, local governments will have to be guided by them when making more detailed planning of separate areas of the city," Eldarli points out. Thus, he says, one of the Plan's main purposes is to enlighten local executive bodies and to create within them relevant structures so that in the future they can administer the development of the city in full measure. At this stage one of the most important tasks at local level is to train competent staff and introduce contemporaneous standards of land-use in order to implement town-planning policy on the basis of the adopted and approved GBRDP. "This year we are adopting a general plan, and in the next three years detailed plans for the development of the relevant areas in the city of Baku must be prepared at a local level," the manager of the project added.

No bottle-necks or hold-ups!

It is no secret that one of Baku's basic problems today is gridlocked traffic, and that is why the organization of the town-planning process, with due regard to the measures for resolving this question, is extremely important. The development and modernization of public transport, broadening its network, improving its quality and comfort and improving access to it forms the general line of the GBRDP.

There are currently about 700,000 families in the capital with over one million cars. Every family in Baku has more than one car, and there are over 300 for every 1,000 people. In Novruz Eldarli's opinion, this is quite a high figure, because against the background of a growth in population and the number of vehicle owners the downtown area of the city is not getting any bigger. Furthermore, the historic central part of Baku was planned and laid out in 1910 without regard for use by private transport. A great many streets and thoroughfares, including some main roads, are cul-de-sacs, whereas with proper transport planning a road should have an outlet and lead to a main road.

"There are clearly not enough roads in Baku. The ratio of the traffic area to the overall area of the city is in our case one of the lowest in the world. Large-scale work on road building both in the heart of the city and beyond its limits is now underway. This is gratifying, but it should not stop there. We must strive not so much to extend roads, which is basically wrong, as to increase their number in order to create alternative, parallel routes. That is why the project also provides for the development of a road and street network in Baku," Eldarli says.

However, experts believe that it is virtually impossible to overload the central part of the city with town-planning decisions. "About 40-50 years ago European cities were faced with the same problems. They came to the conclusion that these problems would be eliminated by re-planning streets and roads. In this instance only administrative measures are suitable," the head of the project notes. One possible way of solving the problem of the centre of Baku, he believes, is to restrict the entry of private transport. However, this will be impossible without the parallel development of public transport, expanding its network and improving its quality and comfort.

GBRDP proposes the introduction of new types of public transport - express trams, a skytrain, metrobuses, and so on, and not just within the city limits. Among other things, the building of new lines is being planned from Baku to Heydar Aliyev International Airport. Sumqayit and the settlement of Alat. The creators of these initiatives also believe it is expedient to introduce commuter trains.

"The daily use of cars should be disadvantageous for distances up to 20km. The car should become a means of travel for medium and long distances (25 km and over)," he stresses.

The housing question

Housing remains another serious problem of the city. According to the estimates of the people behind the GBRDP, in order to improve the living conditions of residents in the capital about 10,000 apartments need to be built annually, whilst the developers are handing over only 6-6,500 apartments of commercial housing alone every year.

The planners believe the main way to solve the problem is to start the construction of council housing, of which there is nothing in Azerbaijan at the moment. Such houses could be located along one of the future main routes of transport communications, i.e. Sumqayit-Xirdalan-Lokbatan-Alat, and also in areas which are being made vacant following the reconstruction of Baku's industrial areas.

According to the project, by 2030 the volume of housing in the capital should be increased to 25 sq m per capita compared with the current 17. According to the plan, in that time the amount of housing in the capital should grow by 30m sq m and reach 65m sq m.

The final version of the GBRDP should also reflect proposals to regenerate the historic quarters of the city, to preserve individual buildings and transform their functional purpose. The historic part of the city is understood to be the area between the passenger ship terminal, the Bay of Baku, Azneft Square, Narimanov Prospekti, Fizuli Street and the railway station. The restoration and expansion of this area will offer visitors to the capital new tourist routes.

"Being eastern in spirit, Baku, in its form, architecture and planning decisions corresponds more to European cities, and in this way is unique. Such an amazing combination is a great thing to have, which must be preserved for future generations - in the same way as our ancestors were able to bring this atmosphere and this colour to our time. Today, when we speak about Baku, we think, first and foremost, of its historical part which is virtually the face of the city and creates that image for which the capital of Azerbaijan is renowned. In this context the preservation of our historical heritage, and not just of individual buildings, but also of whole streets, quarters and squares - i.e. everything that goes to make up the structure of 'old Baku' - is topical and important," the head of the project believes.

In addition, for the first time in the history of the capital's town planning, ecological issues will be considered in the GBRDP with a special section in the project providing for a comprehensive strategic assessment of the ecological state of the land, air and water of the Caspian in the whole of Greater Baku.

One does not have to be a scientist or an expert to see how polluted the Bay of Baku is or how serious is the situation with the industrial areas around the city. In the light of the prospects for the development of Baku and its suburbs these factors emphasize the importance of ecologists taking part in it.

"In the past 10-15 years there has been virtually no recycling of waste in Baku. According to our experts' assessments, there are 133 waste disposal sites in Baku where solid waste is sent, and 128 of them are illegal and uncontrolled. More than half the effluent from the sewage network is not treated - it is simply dumped into the Caspian or into inland lakes. Of the 560m cu m of waste water that is formed 373m cu m is dumped untreated into the sea. Furthermore, the oilfields form a halo around Baku. They have been operating for such a long time that the soil is now in a very poor condition from an ecological point of view," Novruz Eldarli says.

In short, the people behind the project have tried to cover all the vital issues facing Baku today. The main thing is that the conceptual approach of the GBRDP gives hope that very soon, thanks to the specific demands of the detailed plans that have been drawn up, the town-planning development of the capital will become an even further-reaching, but fully controlled process.