To see the invisible: In search of local identity of Yasenevo area in Moscow

  • Suraya Amatovna Alarushkina HSE University s.shilykova@gmail.com
  • Andrey Andreevich Borisov HSE University andrew.a.borisow@gmail.com ORCID ID 0000-0002-3354-734X
  • Anna Aleksandrovna Voronina HSE University voronina.anna.aleksandrovna@mail.ru
  • Polina Igorevna Gladun HSE University gladun.polina@gmail.com
  • Evgeny Leonidovich Grishunov HSE University evgenygrishunov@gmail.com
  • Saida Gumarovna Ziatdinova HSE University iamsaida.sz@gmail.com
  • Maria Giyayevna Kveladze HSE University mari.universe@gmail.com
  • Denis Nikolayevich Kiryukhin HSE University dnkiryukhin@yandex.ru
  • Ivan Igorevich Mitin HSE University imitin@hse.ru ORCID ID 0000-0002-6859-3047
    Elibrary Author_id 167296
    ResearchID A-6421-2016
  • Alexander Alexandrovich Mikhaylov HSE University pecrovizon@mail.ru
  • Varvara Alexandrovna Molodtsova HSE University varjamol@gmail.com
  • Alsu Khaysyarovna Fatekhova HSE University afatehova@gmail.com
How to Cite
Alarushkina S.A., Borisov A.A., Voronina A.A., Gladun P.I., Grishunov E.L., Ziatdinova S.G., Kveladze M.G., Kiryukhin D.N., Mitin I.I., Mikhaylov A.A., Molodtsova V.A., Fatekhova A.K. To see the invisible: In search of local identity of Yasenevo area in Moscow. Interaction. Interview. Interpretation. 2019. Vol. 11. No. 20. P. 133-163. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/inter.2019.20.7 (in Russ.).

Abstract

The article presents the results of complex cultural geographical research of Yasenevo area in Moscow. The research was aimed at revealing an interconnected system of unique spatial representations of this typical distant urban residential area. The methods and approaches of urban planning analysis, statistical method of ‘regional syndrome’, historical and fiction texts’ analysis and semi-structured in-depth interviews were combined together for data collection within the framework of the project, with one of the mental mapping methods (image-geographical maps) used to present the results of the study. As a result Yasenevo is represented as a ‘green’ area due to Bitsevsky park surrounding it and various small gardens and groves in the yards. It is important to mention, Yasenevo is a compact and clearly isolated area, separated by the green areas from the surroundings. It has a specific urban planning and architectural structure dating back to Soviet modernism with peculiar semicircular buildings and streets, spacious avenues and green areas inside the separated cozy quarters (‘states’). Yasenevo is imagined as a ‘young’ area. However this vision co-exists with the historical heritage of preserved and ruined former noble estates and Soviet modernism blocks. Those unique features of Yasenevo are regarded as the basics of currently only partial local identity formation, on the one hand, and as the identifiers of potential organic (identity-based) place branding, on the other hand.
Keywords:
local identity, uniqueness, urban residential area, place branding, cultural geography, Moscow

Author Biographies

Suraya Amatovna Alarushkina, HSE University
Alumna of Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism, Faculty of Urban and RegionalDevelopment, HSE University
Andrey Andreevich Borisov, HSE University
Researcher at the Faculty of Urban and Regional Development, HSE University
Anna Aleksandrovna Voronina, HSE University
Alumna of Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism, Faculty of Urban and RegionalDevelopment, HSE University
Polina Igorevna Gladun, HSE University
Alumna of Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism, Faculty of Urban and RegionalDevelopment, HSE University
Evgeny Leonidovich Grishunov, HSE University
Masters student of Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism, Faculty of Urban and RegionalDevelopment, HSE University
Saida Gumarovna Ziatdinova, HSE University
Masters student of Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism, Faculty of Urban and RegionalDevelopment, HSE University
Maria Giyayevna Kveladze, HSE University
Alumna of Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism, Faculty of Urban and RegionalDevelopment, HSE University
Denis Nikolayevich Kiryukhin, HSE University
Alumnus of the Faculty of Social Sciences, HSE University
Ivan Igorevich Mitin, HSE University
Candidate of Sciences in Geography, Associate Professor of Vysokovsky GraduateSchool of Urbanism, Faculty of Urban and Regional Development, HSE University
Alexander Alexandrovich Mikhaylov, HSE University
Masters student of Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism, Faculty of Urban and RegionalDevelopment, HSE University
Varvara Alexandrovna Molodtsova, HSE University
Researcher at the Faculty of Urban and Regional Development, HSE University
Alsu Khaysyarovna Fatekhova, HSE University
Alumna of Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urbanism, Faculty of Urban and RegionalDevelopment, HSE University

References

Baranskij N.N. (1980) O svjazi javlenij v jekonomicheskoj geografii [On the connections of phenomena in economic geography]. In: V.A. Anuchin et al. (eds) Izbrannye trudy: Stanovlenie sovetskoj jekonomicheskoj geografii [Selected works. The establishment of Soviet economic geography]. M.: Mysl'. P. 160–172. (In Russ.)



Belopolsky Ya., Gromchenko K. (1972) Yasenevo. Planirovka I zastrojka novogo krupnogo zhilogo rajona [Yasenevo. Planning and construction of a big residential area]. Stroitel'stvo i arhitektura Moskvy [Construction and Architecture of Moscow]. No. 10. P. 10–13. (In Russ.)



Cresswell T. (2015) Place: An introduction. 2nd ed. Malden, Oxford: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.



Druzhinin A.G., Streletskiy V.N. (2015) «Kul'turnaja sostavljajushhaja» obshhestvennoj geografii v sovremennoj Rossii: genezis, osobennosti i prioritetnye napravlenija razvitija [“Cultural branch” of human geography in contemporary Russia: genesis, main peculiarities and priorities of development]. Izvestiya RAN. Ser. geogr. [Proceedings of Russian Academy of Sciences. Series Geography]. No. 1. P. 5–20. (In Russ.)



Ehrkamp P. (2010) Identity, Geography and. In: B. Warf (ed) SAGE Encyclopedia of Geography. Thousand Oaks, L., New Delhi, Singapore: SAGE. URL: http://sk.sagepub.com/reference/geography/n608.xml (accessed: 01 November 2019). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412939591.n608



Entrikin J.N. (1991) The Betweenness of Place. Towards a Geography of Modernity. Houndmills, L.: MacMillan Education Ltd. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-21086-2



Fedotova N.G., Vasil'eva N.Yu. (2017) Simvolicheskij kapital Velikogo Novgoroda v diskurse social'nyh media [Symbolic capital of Veliky Novgorod in the social media discourse]. Znak: Problemnoe Pole Mediaobrazovanija [Sign: the problematic field of media]. No. 2 (24). P. 119–127. (In Russ.)



Hart J.F. (1982) The Highest Form of the Geographer’s Art. Annals of the Association of American Geographers. Vol. 72. No. 1. P. 1–29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8306.1982.tb01380.x



Ionov I.N. (1982) Yasenevo. M. (In Russ.)



Jarratt D., Phelan K., Wain D., Jale S. (2019) Developing a Sense of Place: Toolkit: Identifying Destination Uniqueness. Tourism and Hospitality Research. Vol. 19. No. 4. P. 408–421. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1467358418768678



Jeans D.N. (1979) Some Literary Examples of Humanistic Descriptions of Place. Australian geographer. Vol. 14. No. 4. P. 207–214. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00049187908702764



Kaganskiy V.L., Novikov A.V. (1989) Novyj metod vydelenija sushhestvennyh priznakov dlja razrabotki regional'nyh klassifikacij [A new method for revealing substantial elements for regional classifications]. Izvestiya AN SSSR. Ser. geogr. [Proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Series Geography]. No. 1. P. 112–119. (In Russ.)



Kalutskov V.N., Mitin I.I. (eds) (2018) Regiony i goroda Rossii: Atlas mental'nyh kart [Regions and cities of Russia. Atlas of mental maps]. M. (In Russ.)



Karamzin N.M. (1816) Istorija gosudarstva Rossijskogo [The History of Russian state]. Vol. 3. SPb. (In Russ.)



Kavaratzis M., Ashworth G. (2010) Place Branding: Where Do We Stand. In: G. Ashworth, M. Kavaratzis (eds) Towards Effective Place Brand Management. Northampton: Edward Elgar. P. 1–14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849806398.00007



Kavaratzis M., Hatch M.J. (2013) The Dynamics of Place Brands: An Identity-Based Approach to Place Branding Theory. Marketing Theory. Vol. 13 (1). P. 69–86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593112467268



Korableva G.B., Merenkov A.V. (eds) (2015) Social'noe prostranstvo sovremennogo goroda [The social space of the modern city]. Yekaterinburg: Ural University Press. (In Russ.)



Korobko M.Yu. (2005) Moskva usadebnaja: Putevoditel' [Noble estates’ Moscow. A guide]. M.: Moskvovedenie; Moskovskieuchebniki. (In Russ.)



Korobko M.Yu. (2013) Usad'ba Yasenevo: Istoriko-kraevedcheskij ocherk [Yasenevo noble estate. A historical study]. Moskovskij zhurnal [Moscow magazine]. No. 3 (267). P. 63–86. (In Russ.)



Korobko M.Yu. (2014) Usad'ba Jasenevo [Yasenevo noble estate]. M.: Veche. (In Russ.)



Kuchkin V.A. (1989) Skol'ko sohranilos' duhovnyh gramot Ivana Kality? [How many Ivan Kalita’s testaments are preserved?]. In: Kuchkin V.A. (ed) Istochnikovedenie otechestvennoj istorii [Source studies in Russian history]. M.: Nauka. P. 206–225. (In Russ.)



Lebedeva N.A., Mitin I.I. (2019) Ot goroda k ekzopolisu? Gorodskoj kul'turnyj landshaft v gumanitarnoj i kriticheskoj geografii [From city towards exopolis? Urban cultural landscape in critical geography & geohumanities]. Chelovek: Obraz i sushhnost'. Gumanitarnye aspekty [Human being: Image and essence. Humanitarian aspects]. No. 1 (36). P. 197–220. (In Russ.)



Mitin I. (2018) Constructing Urban Cultural Landscapes & Living in the Palimpsests: A Case of Moscow City (Russia) Distant Residential Areas. BELGEO. No. 4. P. 1–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/belgeo.28126



Mitin I.I. (2007) Metodikakompleksnojkul'turno-geograficheskoj kharakteristiki territorii [Methods of complex cultural geographical characteristics of territory]: Dissertation thesis. M.: Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University. (In Russ.)



Mitin I.I. (2011a) Kul'turnaja geografija v SSSR i postsovetskoj Rossii: istorija (vos)stanovlenija i faktory samobytnosti [Cultural geography in the USSR and post-Soviet Russia: The history of development and main traits of originality]. Mezhdunarodnyj zhurnal issledovanij kul'tury [International Journal of Cultural Research]. No. 4 (5). P. 19–25. (In Russ.)



Mitin I.I. (2011b) Na puti k voobrazhaemoj geografii: dva povorota, tri prostranstva [On the way to imaginary geography: Two turns, three spaces]. Topos. No. 1. P. 62–73. (In Russ.)



Mitin I.I. (2012) Gumanitarnaja geografija: Problemy terminologii i (samo)identifikacii v rossijskom i mezhdunarodnom kontekstah [GeoHumanities: terminology & (self-)identity problems in Russian & international contexts]. Kul'turnaya i gumanitarnaya geografiya [Cultural Geography & GeoHumanities]. Vol. 1. No. 1. P. 1–10. (In Russ.).



Mitin I.I. (2017) Mental'nye karty goroda: istorija ponjatija i raznoobrazie podhodov [Urban mental maps: History of the term and the diversity of approaches]. Gorodskie issledovaniya i praktiki [Urban Studies and Practices]. Vol. 2. No. 3. P. 64–79. (In Russ.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.17323/usp23201764-79



Mlechko L.E. (2015) “Simvolicheskij capital” goroda Volgograda v analize territorial'noj identichnosti [Symbolic capital of Volgograd city in the analysis of territorial identity]. Forum:



Gumanitarnye i Ekonomicheskie Nauki [Forum: The Humanities and Economics]. No. 2 (5). P. 51–60. (In Russ.)



Nagibin Yu.M. (1996) Dnevnik [Diary]. M.: Knizhnyj sad. (In Russ.)



Paterson J.H. (1974) Writing Regional Geography: Problems and Progress in the Anglo-American Realm. Progress in Geography. Vol. 6. P. 1–26.



Relph E. (1976) Place and Placelessness. L.: Pion Limited.



Slapovskiy A.I. (2009) 100 let spustja. Pis'ma nerozhdennomu synu [100 years after. The letters to an unborn son]. Volga. No. 3. URL: https://magazines.gorky.media/volga/2009/3/100-let-spustya.html (accessed: 05 November 2019) (In Russ.)



Southworth M., Ruggeri D. (2011) Beyond Placelessness: Place Identity and the Global City. In: T. Banerjee, A. Loukaitou-Sideris (eds) Companion to urban design. L., NY: Routledge. P. 511–525. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203844434.ch37



Strelnikova A. (2018) Old and New Residents of Former Industrial Neighborhood: Differences and Identities. NRU Higher School of Economics. Series SOC "Sociology". 2018. No. WP BRP 84/SOC/2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3301264



Ter-Ghazaryan D.K. (2013) “Civilizing the City Center”: Symbolic Spaces and Narratives of the Nation in Yerevan’s Post-Soviet Landscape. Nationalities Papers. Vol. 41. No. 4. P. 570–589. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2013.802766



Tuan Y.-F. (1974) Space and Place: Humanistic Perspective. Progress in geography. Vol. 6. P. 211–252.



Tuan Y.-F. (2002) Space and Place. The Perspective of Experience. 9th ed. Minneapolis, L.: University of Minnesota Press.



Vandyshev M.N., Veselkova N.V., Pryamikova E.V. (2018) Mesta pamjati i simvolicheskij kapital territorij v mental'nyh kartah gorozhan [Les lieux de mémoire and symbolic capital of territories in mental maps of town-dwellers]. Zhurnal sociologii i social'noj antropologii [The Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology]. Vol. 16. No. 3. P. 101–111. (In Russ.)



Vanke A.V., Polukhina E.V. (2018) Territorial'naja identichnost' v industrial'nyh rajonah: kul'turnye praktiki zavodskih rabochih i dejatelej sovremennogo iskusstva [Territorial identities in industrial neighborhoods: Cultural practices of factory workers and contemporary art communities]. Laboratorium: zhurnal social'nyh issledovanij [Laboratorium: Russian Review of Social Research]. Vol. 3. No. 10. P. 4–34. (In Russ.) DOI: https://doi.org/10.25285/2078-1938-2018-10-3-4-34



Veselkova N.V., Pryamikova E.V., Vandyshev M.N. (2016) Mesta pamjati v molodyh gorodah [Les lieux de mémoire in the young cities]. Yekaterinburg: Ural University Press. (In Russ.)



Warnaby G., Medway D. (2013) What about the ‘Place’ in Place Marketing? Marketing Theory. Vol. 13 (3). P. 345–363. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1470593113492992



Zamyatin D.N. (2007) Obrazno-geograficheskaja karta (karta geograficheskih obrazov) [Image-geographical map (a map of geographical images)]. In: D.N. Zamyatin (ed) Gumanitarnaya geografiya [GeoHumanities]. Issue 4. M.: Heritage Institute. P. 322–325. (In Russ.)



Zamyatin D.N. (2013) Geokul'turnyj brending territorii: konceptual'nye osnovy [Geo-cultural branding of territories: the conceptual grounds]. Labirint. Zhurnal social'no-gumanitarnyh issledovanij [Labyrinth. Journal of Philosophy and Social Sciences]. No. 5. P. 11–23. (In Russ.)



Zamyatina N.Yu., Mitin I.I. (2007) Gumanitarnaya geografiya [GeoHumanities]. In: Bol'shaya Rossijskaya enciklopediya [The Big Russian Encyclopedia]. Vol. 8. M.: BRE. P. 151. (In Russ.)
Citation Formats
Other cite formats:

APA
Alarushkina, S. A., Borisov, A. A., Voronina, A. A., Gladun, P. I., Grishunov, E. L., Ziatdinova, S. G., Kveladze, M. G., Kiryukhin, D. N., Mitin, I. I., Mikhaylov, A. A., Molodtsova, V. A., & Fatekhova, A. K. (2019). To see the invisible: In search of local identity of Yasenevo area in Moscow. Interaction. Interview. Interpretation, 11(20), 133-163. https://doi.org/10.19181/inter.2019.20.7
Section
Field work research