The Image of “City for Life” in Students’ Representation in Yekaterinburg

About the authors:

Natalya L. Antonova, Dr. Sci. (Soc.), Professor, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin (Yekaterinburg); n-tata@mail.ru

Olga I. Pimenova, Cand. Sci. (Soc.), Associate Professor, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin (Yekaterinburg); narabote.ya@yandex.ru

Sofia B. Abramova, Cand. Sci. (Soc.), Associate Professor, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin (Yekaterinburg); sofia_abramova@mail.ru

Abstract:

This article analyzes whether young inhabitants of Yekaterinburg (Russia) consider it a “city for life”. In their view, this image of a friendly urban environment entails that the city offers career opportunities and can satisfy their cultural and social interests.

The authors have surveyed 200 students of Yekaterinburg in 2017. The results have shown that they perceive a “city for life” as a territory for realization of their professional interests, for reproduction and development of their social ties, and for improvement of their material status. According to the students, a comfortable city infrastructure should include parks and green zones, which serve as a public space and become a “communicative landscape” for social interactions. Students put a special emphasis on the quality and availability of the transport system, which is essential for the ideal city but does not correspond to the actual situation of Yekaterinburg as a million-plus megapolis. Students also describe Yekaterinburg as a city, which allows them to realize their consumer interests (the city of shopping malls), and pursue diverse leisure activities (the city of entertainment). There is a contradiction between the ideal “city for life”, which satisfies the aspirations of its inhabitants for professional and financial growth and their need in social contacts, on the one hand, and, on the other, the real city which is mostly centered around consumer practices. The results of the survey have demonstrated that in the city, there is currently no demand for students' potential although they are the most active and creative social group; they are not involved in the decision-making.

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