BRICS’ urban challenges: non-foresighted spatial development perspectives

Moscow Institute of Architecture (State Academy) 107031 Moscow, Rozhdestvenka street, 11/4, Russia

^* Corresponding author: iouri.moisseev@gmail.com

Abstract

Urbanization has taken on an unprecedented scale and pace of environmental transformation, and the process is likely to be continuing and accelerating. The growing scarcity of development resources urges searching for a way out. Previous development paradigms, which offered solutions to many urban problems by revitalizing market forces, have also proven problematic. True, they laid the foundation for globalization, which stimulated the development of technologies, large-scale activation of production sites and the activation of trade. Indeed, globalization has borne tangible benefits, but not for everyone. Striking differences are observed both at the interregional level and within regions and cities. The situation was aggravated by the fact that little attention was paid to the issues of macroeconomic forecasting and territorial planning. On the contrary, the entire decentralization policy pursued by international development institutions left all this without due attention. All this makes us take a fresh look at the tasks of planning and forecasting, focusing on the issues of territorial foresight and regional planning. The need to mobilize appropriate actions is argued in the article using the example of the BRICS.