Learning to Use ‘Public Space’: Urban Space in Post-Soviet St. Petersburg

Abstract

The article discusses the post-socialist developments of urban public space in St. Petersburg, Russia. The city with a historic center protected by the UNESCO World Heritage status in combination with the Soviet legacy of lack of public participation is facing the problem of public space development. There are two controversial concepts of urban space represented in the public discourse that are analyzed in the article: the concept of a 'museum city' and the 'city for people'. The historic context of transformation (the Soviet period of the strict divide of public and private, and the post- socialist era of individualization and the decay of the public) is used to explain the current debate and difficulties of building an inclusive and tolerant model of public space in St. Petersburg.