I have been living in a tough and vivid megalopolis atmosphere for about 4 years (I entered the University in St.Petersburg 4 years ago). Heavy traffic, rapid urbanization, different cultures overlaps, the hosting of global events make everyone feel the impact of… globalization – a trendy concept for the time being. Globalization puts a lot of issues at stake (for instance, it can be the city identity crisis or challenges brought about by people migrations) and gives a number of opportunities that I am going to discuss below.
The bridges over the Neva River are the symbols of St.Petersburg. They are drawn at night
I believe that globalization happens in St.Petersburg is closely related to the creation of a unique city identity and the global publicity of the city. Every day I notice the changes that my city experiences. It becomes more open, more flexible, much more creative, tends to move towards a green city concept and the idea of iSPb.
Well, what do you know about St.Petersburg? If we take Twitter or Instagram as one of the best and quickest platforms for ideas and moments sharing, the obvious and frequently used hash tags on St.Petersburg will be the words related to its culture or tourism: #Russian literature, #ballet, #Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, #Hermitage, #Peterhof, #theater, #romantic, #city-port, #the Neva River, #bridges, #white nights, etc. In whole, it is a general list of city associations (and in some cases I would argue that they are the historical stereotypes). I was bearing this set of perceptions in my mind when I came here. But let’s get acquainted. It is St.Petersburg and it is much more sophisticated, gripping and globally exposed than you have thought.
The Trinity Cathedral, the centre of St.Petersburg.
First of all it should be said that St.Petersburg is the most populated city in the Baltic Sea region. In 2013 it was tagged as the best tourist choice in Russia and listed in the 25 best global destinations by TripAdvisor.
Moreover, St.Petersburg was chosen for hosting G-20 Summit in 2013. It will be one of the host cities for 2018 FIFA World Cup. Big events make the city be relevant and trendy for the world and put itself under the focus of the global mass media. By the way, did you know that there will be the DreamWorks Park in the future? And that the film “St.Petersburg, I Love You” (a sequel of sorts to the similar films starring Paris, New York, etc.) is planned to be shot this year? There is no doubt, the publicity of the city is gradually increasing.
St.Petersburg always endures global trends and influence of globalization. It happens to have the most popular hipster subculture in Russia with its own vintage shops, creative cafes and independent lifestyle. The eco-movement is seemed to be a part of an incomprehensible atmosphere of the city. I increasingly face passers-by with catchy tribal print totes filled with organic food. This has become a truly new trend in St.Petersburg, mainly in Russia.
As regards the issue of urban planning, the city can be divided into 3 main parts – the historic skeleton of amazing architecture, the abandoned industrial areas and the suburbs of the city. The historic heart of the city cannot meet alone the demands of modern tourists and citizens. People want to experience something new and even exotic. The necessity of the re-development projects for abandoned architectural and industrial constructions and their inclusion into the city environment in a form of designing creative areas have been recognized by the locals. Now we can call this tendency as “creative urban tourism”, “graffiti tourism”, or even “slum tourism”. It is extremely interesting to explore the city using new, creative and modern tracks. Once I visited the abandoned factory and to be honest it was nothing but extremely adventurous!
The graffiti picture on the wall of the dwelling-house
Putting tourism aside, it is necessary to mention that now it starts to pursue a target to become a science, IT or intelligent city (sounds like iSPb brand). There is a great amount of free Wi-Fi spots (though only in the malls, subway stations, cafes), but the city is likely to follow Moscow example where the central park has been transformed into a big free Internet zone. Quite a feasible task for St.Petersburg.
I presume the city is increasingly becoming comfortable for its citizens and tourists, attractive and modern for the global community. I am happy to participate in this process!
If you would like to share with your cities experiences in the globalization process, just comment on below! Maybe you have some interesting projects to tell about.
Images: Semen Leonov, Anton Scarka