I. Innovative Social and Economic Development of the City of Kazan: Embracing Diversity

BASIC CITY DATA

• Population size: 1,243,500
  

• Population growth rate (%): 0.95
  

• Surface area (sq.km): 614.20
  

• Population density (people/sq.km): 2025.00

• GDP per capita (USD): 9500.00
  

• Main source of prosperity: Industry

ABSTRACT

Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, is probably Russia’s most multicultural and multi-ethnic city. Kazan is also a multi-religious city with mosques standing side by side with Orthodox cathedrals. The government and citizens highly appreciate this ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity and try to sustain and safeguard it as the city's cultural heritage.

For instance, such programs as “Implementation of the state national policy in the Republic of Tatarstan for 2014-2020” and “Preservation, study and development of the state languages and other languages in the Republic of Tatarstan for 2014-2020” ensure the preservation of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional harmony, the preservation and development of the Tatar, Russian and other languages.

An important initiative in this area is The House of Friendship of Nations that was created with the aim to instill and develop friendly relations between multinational associations of the city and the region. Since 2005, the House of Friendship of Nations is a state institution interacting with 200 national cultural associations representing 36 ethnicities. The House of Friendship of Nations has a unique information web portal, consisting of 36 independent sites of the national cultural associations. Each site it is possible to speak in the native language of every representative of a given ethnic diaspora. This is the first internet project of this kind in Russia.

Introduced in 2012, the new 5-floor building includes offices of the national communities, a library, an information center, an editorial office for the journal "Our home - Tatarstan", a conference room, a concert hall, and a museum.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The regional program “Implementation of the state national policy in the Republic of Tatarstan for 2014-2020” program aims at developing and supporting all ethnic minorities living at the region, preserving of inter-ethnic and inter-confessional peace and harmony, consolidating the all-Russian civil identity and implementation of successful socio-cultural adaptation and integration of migrants.

“The Strategy of Social and Economic Development of Kazan until 2030” emphasizes the importance of safeguarding the cultural and religious diversity of the city of Kazan.

ORIGINS

With representatives of more than 115 nationalities, Kazan is one of the most multinational cities of Russia. Historically, ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity in the city of Kazan has created positive ethno-confessional relations among its citizens. Throughout centuries of a common residence, stable traits of good-neighborliness, religious tolerance, inter-ethnic harmony, friendship and cooperation between people living in Kazan have been formed.

The current state of relations between ethnic groups in the city of Kazan is generally characterized by a solid stability, the spirit of peaceful coexistence among cultures and the cooperation of representatives of different nationalities and religions.

The Municipal program for strengthening civil harmony is adopted every five years, in order to create a favorable atmosphere to maintain inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony in the city of Kazan. These programs are aimed at the implementation of a balanced national policy in Kazan, the preservation of the state languages and other languages of the citizens, shaping an attitude of tolerance and civil unity.

The social effects of the implementation of Program are to maintain social stability, inter-ethnic and inter-faith peace and harmony, cultural identity and to meet the social and cultural needs of Kazan citizens, and expresses the following:

• increasing the effectiveness of the use of ethnocultural potential;

• preventing ethnic and religious conflicts;

• provision of the necessary conditions for the preservation of interfaith harmony and civil unity;

• shaping an attitude of tolerance and preventing xenophobia in society; 

• provision of the necessary conditions for the preservation and development of the language and culture of the citizens;

• implementing a system of measures to enhance the social and cultural adaptation and integration of migrants.
  

The House of Friendship of Nations initiative supported by the Municipal program for strengthening civil harmony definitely involves the partnership between government and local ethnic, cultural, and religious communities. The stable environment in the field of inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations in Kazan is ensured not only by the good traditions of coherence and harmony among people, but also by the comprehensive work of the representatives of the House of Friendship of Nations, the religious organizations, ethnic diasporas, the law enforcement agencies, and all levels of government.

As a state institution, the House of Friendship of Nations is financially supported by the local and regional authorities. Moreover, significant nonfinancial contributions in its numerous activities and events are made by national cultural associations and ethnic diasporas.

INNOVATIVE ASPECTS

The initiative should be considered as evolutionary. Kazan has a centuries-old experience of coexistence of multiple ethnicities, cultures, and religions. These long-standing good traditions of coherence and harmony among peoples ensured the stable environment in the field of inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations in Kazan.

The initiative of the creation of the House of Friendship of Nations at the city of Kazan primarily helps to implement local policies in the cultural sector. From the “Sustainable Development Goals” perspective the initiative helps to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable by safeguard cultural heritage and promoting understanding.

The initiative did not have substantial obstacles or did not face any resistance. Financial support to implement the initiative was primarily provided by the local and regional government throughout municipal and regional programs. Up until 2012, the House of Friendship of Nations was located in an old mansion building in the city center. Thanks to financial support from the local and regional government, in 2012, it has relocated to a new 5-floor building includes offices of the national communities, a library, an information center, an editorial office for the journal "Our home - Tatarstan", a conference room, a concert hall, and a museum.

DESIRED CHANGE OR OUTCOME 

With a local government support, the House of Friendship of Nations holds festivals which reflect the diversity of cultures and peculiarities of the ethnic traditions. National holidays, such as the Ukrainian popular Holiday "Ivan Kupala", Udmurt Holiday "Gyron Bydton", Chuvash Holiday "Uyav", the Mari Holiday "Semyk", the spring Holiday of the Turkic peoples "Nauruz", the Russian national Holiday "Maslenitsa", the Tatar folk Holiday "Sabantuy", Krjashen Holidays "Nadrugan", "Petrov Day", Folklore festival "Karavon", Russian Folklore and ethnographic festival "Kuzminki", Republican festival "Mosaic of Cultures", International open student competition for beauty and talent of the “Pearl of peace”, the International Festival of National Rites "Millennium of Cultures" and many others are organized every year.

With representatives of more than 115 nationalities, Kazan is one of the most multinational cities of Russia. All these people live in Kazan in peace and harmony.

Today, in Kazan, there are 180 religious organizations: 83 - Islamic, 49 - Orthodox, 2 - the Old Believer Church, 1 - Catholic, 2 - Lutheran, 1- the Armenian Apostolic Church, 38 - Protestant, 1 - Jewish, 1- Bach, 1 - Hare and 1 - Buddhist. In 2009, there were 155 religious communities and organizations in Kazan.

Peaceful coexistence of several religions and ethnicities in Kazan results in the increased amount of marriages by people from different ethnicities and religions. For the last 10 years, the number of such cross marriages exceeded 25,000.

Supported by the local government, annually the House of Friendship of Nations organizes the International Festival of National Rites "Millennium of Cultures". The national and cultural associations of the city of Kazan, as well as amateur national and folk music and dance groups willingly participate in the festival and demonstrate their cultures and traditions. The performances are made by Russians, Tatars, Kryashens, Jews, Mordvins, Chuvashes, Mari, Udmurts, Tajiks, Greeks, Africans, Koreans, Chechens, Arabs, Buryats, Azeris, Hindus, Vietnamese, Afghans, and others.

The aim of the International Festival of National Rites “Millennium of Cultures” is to form a tolerant attitude to the views, beliefs, spiritual and aesthetic values of the various ethnic groups living in the city of Kazan and at the Republic of Tatarstan, to popularize their distinctive national cultures. At the Festival, participants present to the audience national rites or some of their fragments, which absorbs the national culture of each ethnicity: its culture, origins, language, costume, and, of course, its spirit. 

Every year, there are more than 200 participants that take part in this bright and colorful event.

The International Festival of National Rites “Millennium of Cultures" shows how important it is to expand the boundaries of interethnic dialogue in today's world. The Festival allowed to expand the facets of the inter-ethnic dialog formation and to realize a unique opportunity - just in one place to see and get acquainted with the peculiarities of folk rites and traditions of the multinational city with a rich culture of representatives of different nationalities. The festival clearly demonstrated the tremulous attitude of different peoples to the traditions of their ancestors.

The initiative to promote ethnocultural events, revitalization of national traditions, strengthening of inter-ethnic relations, and preservation of languages helps to retain cultural diversity, and the same time prevents of ethnic and religious conflicts. Multicultural events provide the necessary conditions for the preservation of interfaith harmony and civil unity, shape an attitude of tolerance and prevent xenophobia in society. Such initiatives also strengthen the links between local government and community.

LEARNING ASPECTS 

The world today faces many problems representing challenges related to conflicts on national and confessional grounds. However in Kazan, that is rightfully considered to be one of Russia's largest ethnocultural centers, 115 ethnicities and nationalities live in peace and harmony. The city believes that the experience can be extended to any other city or country. It is essential to promote the satisfaction of the ethnocultural needs of citizens, which are based on the long-standing traditions of mutual respect and good-neighborliness. 

The House of Friendship of Nations project implemented in Kazan instills and develops friendly relations between multinational associations of the city can be described as a best practice that can be replicated by other localities. Kazan believes that it is necessary to create friendly relationships with people of different cultures and religions. Cultural and religious diversity is the city's heritage: we are different, but we are together - this is our strength!

Thus, the city is glad to participate in the Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovations to share the experience and help others to enhance inter-ethnic and inter-religious peace and harmony.

RELEVANCE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 

• Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages

• Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable education and promote life-long learning opportunities for all

• Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

• Target 3: Participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management

• Target 4: Safeguard cultural and natural heritage

• Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions for all

II. Innovative Social and Economic Development of The City of Kazan: Environmental Development

BASIC CITY DATA

• Population size: 1,243,500
  

• Population growth rate (%): 0.95
  

• Surface area (sq.km): 614.20
  

• Population density (people/sq.km): 2025.00

• GDP per capita (USD): 9500.00
  

• Main source of prosperity: Industry

ABSTRACT

Provision of public amenities and urban landscaping are important components in developing an urban environment that can create comfort and increase the quality of life of citizens. Today, the environmental development is one of the priorities of the local authorities of the city of Kazan. This is also in line with the “Sustainable Development Goal” to ensure universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces and protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.

The “Environmental Development” project is a multi-faceted project that includes a number of areas: the development of green spaces, the reconstruction of public parks and gardens, the landscaping of the city's territories, the effective environmental management and more.

Today, Kazan is a clean, comfortable, and beautiful city. This was achieved thanks to an active policy that allowed Kazan to improve both external appearance and the city's ecology. The "Environmental Development" initiative includes several programs that were successfully implemented in Kazan -"Green Record", "Blossoming Kazan", "Public Parks and Gardens", and more. Kazan is one of the first cities in Russia to introduce innovative “green standards” that determine the higher environmental requirements in the construction of buildings, architectural planning, and territorial development.

In 2016, thanks to the active work of the city leaders and citizens to improve the city’s ecology, Kazan rose by 38 positions up and took the 7th place in the ecological rating of major Russian cities (in 2012 the city was on the 45thplace).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION 

The initiative was implemented within the framework of the “Strategy of Social and Economic Development of Kazan until 2030”. Within the Strategy, a number of municipal programs aimed at significantly improving the quality of the urban environment have been implemented in the city. Recently, the following projects have been carried out: the “Green Record"(a mass planting of trees, that has increased the level of urban greening from medium to high), the “Blossoming Kazan" (the flower decoration competition that gave the city holistic and attractive appearance of a blossoming metropolis), the “Public Parks and Gardens” (the project that allowed to create new parks and gardens and reconstruct the existing ones).

ORIGINS

Before the project implementation, the city of Kazan faced the following challenges:

• The city was on the 45th position in the ecological rating of the biggest Russian cities.

• High level of air pollution in the city due to the increased number of vehicles and a high concentration of industrial companies;

• Unsatisfactory level of urban greening and landscaping;

• Insufficient number of modern and landscaped parks and gardens;

• Lack of well well-developed riverwalks and embankments;

• The imperfect system of industrial and household waste collection and utilization;

• The absence of an effective garbage recycling infrastructure.

The primary goal of the initiative was to create comfortable, safe, favorable environment for citizens of Kazan throughout:

• Creation of comfortable environment for the development of human capital;

• Ensuring access of citizens to safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces;

• Promotion of the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems;

• Provision of urban amenities. Construction and reconstruction of parks, public gardens, and other green recreation spaces;

• Construction and major repairment of facilities of social and cultural infrastructure (schools, kindergartens, hospitals, health centers, community centers, theaters, museums);

• Construction, expansion and reconditioning of roads;

• Construction of new residential areas in Kazan;

• Development of public and private partnership projects in the area of environmental development;

• Promotion of social responsibility of companies and citizens.
  

Public-private and public-community partnerships are promising mechanisms for solving the problems of efficiency of using budgetary funds and increasing the quality and volume of public services.

In the implementation of the "Environmental Development" initiative, an important role was played by the Environmental council chaired by the Mayor of the city. The council was formed in 2012 and brought together leading independent experts in this field, environmental scientists, and departments responsible for the city development. 

The partnerships were also used in the implementation of many urban development, landscaping, and greening programs. In the "Green Record" project, together with citizens more than 150,000 trees and 66,000 bushes were planted in the city, more than half a million square meters of new lawns were laid.  The annual "Blossoming Kazan" flower competition gave the city over three years 22 million flowers. The "Blossoming Kazan" involves professional groups, local enterprises, non-commercial organizations, schools, and ordinary citizens.

In Kazan, active interaction between public and private sectors in the planning of the city's development was the impetus for several city projects. Large enterprises, experts, environmentalists, specialists in the field of urban planning, as well as public organizations joined the work on the greening and landscaping of the city.

Successful and effective implementation of the "Environmental Development" initiative is carried out, first of all, through the implementation of planned activities in the municipal, regional and federal programs, which allocate the budgetary funds for the implementation of activities. 

As noted previously, the city actively uses the public-private and public-community partnerships to attract additional funds and carry out its ambitious plans. A vivid example of the involvement of the private sector in implementing social projects of the city is the "Public parks and gardens" project. In total, more than $13.5 million were allocated from the regional budget of the Republic of Tatarstan for the implementation of the program in Kazan. 

To improve public spacing and carry out urban amenities provision, boards of trustees for park and square were created. They were chosen out of companies and firms that took them under patronage. They played a huge role in urban recreational zone renovation and development. Thus, with the sponsorship of socially responsible enterprises and organizations, $22 million of funds were invested in the reconstruction of public parks and gardens.

INNOVATIVE ASPECTS

The "Environmental Development” initiative can be considered to be evolutionary since the problem of the ecological development of Kazan is being solved gradually over time. The starting point for the initiative was the fact that 2013 was declared a “Year of environmental protection and ecological culture” in Russia and in the Republic of Tatarstan. Regional authorities set the task for the authorities of Kazan to develop and start implementing programs for the restoration and development of public parks and gardens, involving citizens and enterprises in urban greening and landscaping work. Since then the number of municipal programs followed one another.

Kazan was the first among the municipalities to initiate this innovation. The successful experience of Kazan was taken as a basis for the adoption of similar programs at the regional and federal level. Since 2017, they are being implemented throughout Russia within a priority federal project "Building a Comfortable Urban Environment", in which Kazan serves as a platform for transferring experience and best practices to other regions and municipalities of the country. The experience of Kazan is unique since the problem of city greening and infrastructure renovation has been addressed in an innovative way that involved authorities, citizens, industrial enterprises, SMEs, universities, and youth.

Kazan was one of the first cities in Russia to introduce "green standards” that determine the higher environmental requirements in the construction of buildings, architectural planning, and territorial development. For instance, in preparation for the FIFA-2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, the Kazan Arena stadium was the first stadium to receive a certificate of compliance with the green building standards under the Russian system of environmental certification "RUSO". This confirms that the Kazan Arena stadium innovative approaches to energy conservation, resource saving, waste management, consistent with international principles of sustainable development.

The "Environmental Development" initiative did not have substantial obstacles or did not face any resistance. Financial support to implement the initiative was primarily provided by the local and regional government throughout municipal and regional programs. Throughout the mechanisms of public-private and public-community partnerships, the initiative received support from citizens and local enterprises of the city of Kazan.

DESIRED CHANGE OR OUTCOME 

The "Environmental Development" initiative has allowed reducing the anthropogenic burden on the environment, to build new public parks and gardens, to create prerequisites for the city's transition to sustainable ecological development, to create comfortable and safe conditions for the life of the citizens and to develop a high level of ecological culture.

In the last 10 years, the city has initiated and implemented numerous public transportation projects, always taking into account citizens’ interests and opinions. Within almost 6 months, the city replaced 25,000 small and inconvenient buses, new 1,300 high and medium capacity low-floor buses with the engine "Euro-4" ecological standard were purchased. Transition to a more environmentally friendly engine standard Euro-5 is planned in the nearest future. Citizens move around the city using new comfortable red-colored buses.

As a result, the public transport capacity increased by almost 1.5 times and the harmful emissions from transport decreased by 2 times.

Today, citizens are served by 4 types of intercity passenger transport: buses, trams, trolleybuses, and metro. Kazan is the only city in Russia in which all buses, trolleys, metro and 68% of trams have low-floor access, to ensure the accessibility for the elderly and disabled people. Kazan is the first city in Russia that has an automated supervisory control system to monitor public transportation regularity. An adaptive traffic control system ensures the rational distribution of traffic depending on its intensity. It increased the capacity of the road network by 15-20% and increased the average traffic speed by 25%.

Kazan is the second city after Moscow, to fully introduce the municipal street parking system, including a control system with photo and video fixation.

Only 5 years ago Kazan could not demonstrate any outstanding results in urban landscaping and greening. Thanks to the “Ecological development” initiative Kazan managed to achieve significant results, which allowed to improve the ecology of the city. As a result, according to environmental rating, in 5 years Kazan has moved up from 45th to 7th place, and entered the list of Russia’s most environmentally friendly cities.

Since 2012, within the “Green record” project more than 150,000 trees and 66,000 bushes were planted in Kazan. More than 500,000 square meters of new lawns were laid.

For the past four years, within the “Parks and public gardens” project the city has updated and newly created 52 parks. As a result, the number of parks and gardens has increased to 138, their total area increased from 240 to 354 hectares. Socially responsible private and public enterprises of Kazan oversee and support 25 parks. As a result, park attendance has increased by 10 times. Parks and public gardens hold hundreds of cultural and recreational activities.

In 2016, thanks to an annual flower decoration competition “Blossoming Kazan” about 6.5 million flowers were planted, 13.5 flower pots and vases hung out in the streets, 49,000 square meters of flower beds were decorated - it is comparable to the size of 7 football fields.

For the first time in the city’s history, well-developed riverwalks were created. These riverwalks were designed according to the latest trends and citizens’ opinions - separate bicycle paths, sports equipment rentals, children playgrounds, bookcrossing, and more.

It was possible to make a breakthrough thanks to the actions of the city team, close and effective cooperation with the regional and federal authorities, innovative ideas in choosing development approaches in the area of environmental development, actively attracting financing through public-private partnership mechanisms, and consistently building dialogue with citizens and involving them into solving the urban problems.

Recently, environmental problems and aesthetic design of the urban environment have come to the forefront. The implementation of the projects within the "Environmental Development" initiative framework had a positive impact on the image of the entire city of Kazan, making it more attractive, recognizable and environmentally friendly for citizens, tourists and investors. Thanks to the initiative, Kazan climbed 38 positions up and took the 7th place in the environmental rating of the major cities of Russia. Over the past few years, Kazan has changed a lot and has become a modern city that is making sure steps on the way to global cities.

LEARNING ASPECTS 

The successful experience of Kazan in ecological and environmental development can be useful for any city that wants to create necessary conditions for an ecological, healthy, comfortable and comfortable life for its citizens. Thus, other cities can learn a lot from the “Environmental Development” initiative. The success of the initiatives in the field of ecology depends on the effective interaction between local authorities and urban community (organizations, businesses, businesses, schools, universities, citizens). Today, ecological development of the city is one of the priorities of urban development for Kazan. Kazan will continue to work in this direction and would be glad to share its experience with other cities.

RELEVANCE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 

• Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages

• Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

• Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

• Target 3: Participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management

• Target 7: Universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces, in particular of women, children older persons and persons with disabilities

• Target 8: Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas

• Target 9: Improving resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters and implement holistic disaster risk management

• Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

• Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

III. Innovative Social and Economic Development of The City of Kazan: Healthy City

BASIC CITY DATA

• Population size: 1,243,500
  

• Population growth rate (%): 0.95
  

• Surface area (sq.km): 614.20
  

• Population density (people/sq.km): 2025.00

• GDP per capita (USD): 9500.00
  

• Main source of prosperity: Industry

ABSTRACT

Well-being and healthy lifestyle should be important priorities for modern men and women. The presence of an urban environment that supports and encourages such healthy lifestyle can become a competitive advantage of a city. This is also in line with the “Sustainable Development Goal” to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages.

The “Healthy Kazan” initiative is a complex project aimed at promoting sports and increasing the well-being of citizens. It includes a number of areas: healthy food for children, campaigns for abandoning bad habits, popularizing a healthy lifestyle among citizens, creating sports culture, building sports facilities, modernizing healthcare facilities and much more.

According to the “Strategy of Social and Economic Development of Kazan until 2030” Kazan is a territory of health, a city convenient for living with active, responsible and creative citizens, open government and safe urban environment. The main emphasis is made on shaping the healthy lifestyle. The main goal of the project is to turn Kazan into a “health territory” by year 2030, in accordance with the best quality of life standards and criteria of the World Health Organization.

The “Healthy Kazan” project is one of four “image projects” of the “Strategy of Social and Economic Development of Kazan until 2030”. Promoting healthy lifestyle among the citizens of Kazan is an innovative initiative that already allows us to evaluate its results. One of the main achievements is an improvement in city demographics: since 2009 the number ofbirths exceeded the number of deaths and natural population growth has been achieved. The increase is both due to fertility growth and reduction in mortality rate. The life expectancy of the citizens has increased and reached 75 years, which is above the national average. Moreover, today every third Kazan citizen actively and regularly participates in sports and recreational activities - about 40% of citizens.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION 

The “Healthy Kazan” project is implemented within the framework of the “Strategy of Social and Economic Development of Kazan until 2030”. Kazan has also implemented the municipal “Five-Year Health Plan” program, the main results of which can be assessed by the number of newly constructed and reconstructed sports facilities in the city. Since 2006, Kazan implements the municipal program “Organization of a healthy diet and the introduction of modern technologies for the production and transportation of ready-to-eat breakfasts to the educational institutions of Kazan".

ORIGINS

Before the project implementation the city of Kazan faced the following challenges:

• The healthy lifestyle was not effectively promoted among the citizens. 

• Only one out of seven people (or 13.1% of the total population of Kazan) regularly participated in sports and recreational activities;

• Rapid and massive industrial development during the Soviet period left Kazan with many environmental problems. 

• The city observed an increase in the number of diseases.

• The lack of places for sports in urban courtyards, the lack of an accessible environment for people with disabilities.

• Municipal schools with an imperfect nutritional system for children;

• Medical services lagged behind the European quality standards, most hospitals used obsolete equipment.
  

Thus, the main purpose of the “Healthy Kazan” project implementation was to tackle with all these challenges. At the same time, the goal was to comprehensively improve the quality of life and health of the citizens of Kazan. Therefore, the city has chosen a comprehensive approach: construction of new sports facilities and infrastructure (embankments, bicycle parkings, bicycle lines), modernization of the healthcare system, improvement of the children's nutrition system, attracting the population to physical activities and sports by promoting a healthy lifestyle among citizens at public places and throughout mass media.

Due to the difficult demographic situation, the key goals of development were in the field of medicine, health protection, the environment, and the nutrition system:

• protection of human health - the birth of healthy children and improving the health of children and teenagers;

• creation of a system for detecting early diseases, preventing relapses;

• improvement of preventive measures for social diseases;

• provision of the citizens of Kazan with places for sports and motivation for a healthy lifestyle;

• creation of an accessible environment for people with disabilities;

• formation of a favorable urban environment;

• creation of favorable conditions for increasing the number of marriages and the birth of second and subsequent children;

• improvement of the organization of food service and increasing the hot meal coverage in urban schools;

• improvement of the healthcare system, creation of affordable and high-quality medical care;
  

The main goal of the “Healthy Kazan” project is to create an accessible and comfortable urban environment for all categories of citizens to increase the motivation of people for sports and a healthy lifestyle.

The beneficiaries of the project are both citizens of Kazan and local authorities. Any city needs a physically developed and healthy population. Kazan is no exception. Innovative solutions that were developed through the interaction of local authorities and the citizens were translated into municipal and regional programs in the areas of sports, healthcare, nutrition, and the environment. In addition, it is important to note the awareness-building effort by local authorities to promote preventive measures and services.

In addition to the efficiently functioning mechanism of the public-community partnership, Kazan is actively developing public-private partnerships in modernizing public healthcare institutions and improving urban landscaping and greening. A demonstrative example is a concession agreement for the “Dialysis Clinic" and “Reconstruction of the Fedoseevsky protective dam” projects.

The Dialysis Clinic successfully operates in the market of medical services, and provides free dialysis assistance to patients with chronic renal insufficiency. “Reconstruction of the Fedoseevsky protective dam” project is aimed at improving the coastal territory of the river Kazanka for recreation and leisure. Thanks to the project, for the first time in the city’s history well-developed riverwalks were created. These riverwalks were designed according to the latest trends and citizens’ opinions - separate bicycle paths, sports equipment rentals, children playgrounds, bookcrossing, and more.

Successful and effective implementation of the “Healthy Kazan” initiative is carried out, first of all, through the implementation of the planned activities in the municipal, regional and federal programs, which allocate the budgetary funds for the implementation of activities. As noted previously, the city actively uses the public-private and public-community partnerships to carry out its ambitious plans. In addition to financial resources, Kazan has important personnel and managerial resources.

Moreover, major international events held in Kazan, make a significant contribution to the development of urban infrastructure by attracting federal funding and subsidies. For instance, n Kazan, the sports infrastructure has significantly renewed hanks to XXVII World Summer Universiade in 2013, the FINA World Championships in Water Sports in 2015, the Confederations Cup in 2017, and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in 2018. Today, the legacy of these sporting events, including sports infrastructure, works for the benefit of the citizens.

INNOVATIVE ASPECTS

In the development of a healthy urban environment, Kazan has followed the evolutionary path. For a long time, the residents of Kazan had a low interest in a healthy lifestyle and sport. Only 13.1% of the total population of Kazan regularly participated in sports and recreational activities.

Today, every third citizen of Kazan is actively and regularly engaged in physical activities and sports, which is 40% of the city population. In addition, the urban sports infrastructure was unsatisfactory, and the promotion of a healthy lifestyle among the population was inadequate.

The local authorities had to admit these problems and take gradual steps towards their resolution. Gradually Kazan has begun to develop municipal programs and participate in regional, federal and international programs in the field of sports, healthcare, nutrition system, and urban infrastructure development. The changes that took place in Kazan have a cumulative character and favorably affect the development of a healthy urban environment.

At the same time, one of the proven recipes on the way to significant changes, the development of urban infrastructure and improving the quality of life of Kazan citizens is the attraction of large mega-events to the city. Thanks to attracting large international sports competitions to the city, Kazan has secured the status of a sports capital of Russia.

Innovative solutions in the development of a healthy urban environment and the future development of this field are reflected in the “Strategy of Social and Economic Development of Kazan until 2030”.

According to the Strategy, by year 2030 Kazan is a territory of health, a city convenient for living, a city of active, responsible and creative citizens, a city with open government and safe urban environment. The main goal of the project is to turn Kazan into a “health territory” by year 2030, in accordance with the best quality of life standards and criteria of the World Health Organization. An important objective is to bring the share of citizens systematically engaged in physical activities and sports to 50%, to extend the period of active longevity, and to increase the life expectancy to 76 years. The “Healthy Kazan” project isone of “image project” of the “Strategy of Social and Economic Development of Kazan until 2030”.

At the initial stage of the “Healthy Kazan” project, it was difficult to convince the citizens that not only designated social policy of local authorities but also their personal interest in healthy lifestyle contributes to the increase of the overall health level of population. New forms of promoting healthy lifestyles allowed people to pay attention to their own health.

In addition, there were difficulties in finding funding for the modernization of the healthcare system, the organization of the children nutrition system, and the construction of sports facilities and urban infrastructure. Participation in regional, federal and international programs, as well as the city's initiative in attracting major sporting events were solution to the funding problems.

DESIRED CHANGE OR OUTCOME 

One of the main achievements is an improvement in city demographics: since 2009 the number of births exceeded the number of deaths and natural population growth has been achieved. The increase is both due to fertility growth and reduction in mortality rate. The life expectancy of the citizens has increased and reached 75 years, which is above the nationalaverage. 

Today every third Kazan citizen actively and regularly participates in sports, exercise and recreational activities - about 40% of residents.

Annually there are new interesting forms of promotion of healthy lifestyle as well as forming negative attitude of youth to alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

Over the last 15 years, the birth rate has increased almost by 3 times. In the last 15 years, the number of registered marriages more than doubled. Last year, about 11,000 marriages were registered in Kazan. Since 2005, the city population has grown by about 120,000 people and by now has reached 1,232,000.

Today, the number of sports facilities Kazan is 2027 units (in 2006 - 1369 units), including 15 stadiums, 12 indoor ice arenas, 54 swimming pools, 378 sports halls, and 942 playgrounds. In preparation for The XXVII World summer Universiade of 2013, 31 new sports facilities have been introduced and 19 existing facilities have been repaired and reconstructed.

Thanks to the unique technological solutions, all facilities meet the requirements of international sports federations. These facilities are considered to be one of the best not only in Russia, but also in Europe. Today these sports facilities serve an excellent base for training of national teams in many kinds of sports. The medical center of the Universiade Village today functions as students’ hospital and provides medical care to students of 27 higher education institutions of Kazan with total number of about 70,000 people.

On Sundays, the Universiade facilities such as swimming pools, sports halls, and ice rinks are open to the citizens of Kazan at no charge. The monthly number of such visitors exceeds 30,000 people. Due to the developed infrastructure, every third citizen is actively engaged in sports and physical activities (450,000 people or 40% of all citizens). For the last 10 years, the number has increased almost by 3 times.

The city emphasizes the importance of outdoor sports. For instance, with the support of the Mayor’s office every year the city hold “Golden Puck” ice hockey and “Leather Ball” football competitions. The latest outdoor sports events are "Ironstar" triathlon and Kazan athletics marathon. The number of people willing to participate in these events increases from year to year.

It was possible to make a breakthrough thanks to the actions of the city team, close and effective cooperation with the regional and federal authorities, innovative ideas in choosing development approaches in the area of improving citizens' health, actively attracting financing by through international events, consistently building dialogue with citizens and involving them into solving the urban problems.

The implementation of measures of municipal and regional programs, the construction of sports facilities and improvement of the urban environment, the initiatives to attract major international events to the city, and the active promotion of a healthy lifestyle among the population have a positive impact on the image of Kazan, making it more attractive for citizens and recognizable for visitors of the city. Thanks to the attraction of major international sports competitions to the city, Kazan has secured the status of a sports capital of Russia. The experience of Kazan can be useful for many Russian and foreign cities that feel the need for a physically developed and healthy population.

LEARNING ASPECTS 

Today, Kazan is a city that rightfully holds a status of the Russia’s Sports Capital. The Kazan's experience in improving the quality of life and promoting the healthy lifestyle can be useful to other cities that have demographic, healthcare, and environmental problems. These problems are relevant not only for cities in the post-Soviet countries, but also in many other developing countries.

Kazan's experience in the development of a healthy urban environment can be extended to any other city or country. As suggested by the “Healthy Kazan” initiative, it is important to meet the needs of citizens in physical activities and sports by developing adequate and favorable urban infrastructure. Attracting major international sports events can be a key for many cities that lack adequate financial resources to realize their goals by means of attracting external financial resources and better utilizing the public-private partnership mechanisms.

RELEVANCE TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 

• Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages

• Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

• Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

• Target 2: Access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all

• Target 3: Participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management

• Target 8: Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas

• Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns