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Arctic institute to expand master planning training to Far East, Arctic

The program is aimed at improving skills of specialists in strategic planning and management of settlements in extreme climate conditions

VLADIVOSTOK, September 9. /TASS/. Yakutia's Arctic State Institute of Culture and Arts will begin training the Far East and Arctic students under the "Master planning and territory management in circumpolar climate" in 2025, the institute's President Sargylana Ignateva told TASS.

The institute has been implementing the program in cooperation with the Universal University and the Moscow School of Architecture since 2023. The first stage was for interdisciplinary teams from Yakutia.

"The program is aimed at improving skills of specialists in strategic planning and management of settlements in extreme climate conditions. The program develops flexible skills and leadership qualities necessary for work in interdisciplinary teams. In 2025, we will start selecting representatives of municipalities from the Far East and Arctic, who will take the course," the institute's president said.

Specialists for regional development

This year, the program participants are working on master plans for Yakutia's 11 municipalities. "Interdisciplinary teams of municipal employees, architects, economists, sociologists, managers of various levels are working to develop small towns and villages. They will have to work on development and implementation of master plans. The developed projects should launch a big cycle of work to transform and develop settlements," she continued.

The training's goal is to satisfy the demand in middle-level personnel in development and implementation of the master plans. "Russian President Vladimir Putin has told the government to develop and approve standard indicators for development of backbone settlements with a population under 250,000 people. At the same time, their development needs to mind the climate and geographical features. In this sense, our program is aimed at satisfying the demand for management teams to develop cities and villages, taking into account the polar climate," the institute's president said.

The program's leader, Irina Alekseeva, an architect, an expert in urban and regional development, stressed master plans should include development of a comfortable environment, infrastructures, ecology and economy. "Many people think master plans are aimed only at landscaping. However, quite a lot is connected with long-term planning of social and economic development. The fact is - there are many contradictions in old urban planning documentation and old socio-economic development programs. Master planning helps cities, small villages, and towns to develop their potential financially and economically. And first of all, it is a development tool," she said in conclusion.

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