Massive Moscow riverfront regeneration project gets go-ahead

Moscow’s riverfront will be dramatically transformed to create one of the largest public spaces in Europe by 2017.

Russian architecture practice Project Meganom were announced as winners of the redevelopment project at the IV annual Moscow Urban Forum last week. Their masterplan shows a series of green embankments along the Moscow river intended to create around 120 kilometres of new parks, walking routes, footbridges and cycle tracks. Currently, only 33 kilometres of shoreline has cycle and pedestrian access. A series of ports along the river and a new ferry line will establish a new, high-speed waterborne route through the city.

The announcement comes after Moscow was named last month one of the least liveable major cities in the world, ranking 62nd out of 64 in the international Global Liveable Cities Index survey. According to architect Alfonso Vergara, one of the members of the international jury that awarded the contest to Project Meganom, the scheme has the potential to dramatically improve Moscow’s international standing. If successfully realised, he said, the Russian capital “can be a referent for other megacities in the world.”