Urban planning policy of the local government in the city of Stavropol (Togliatti) in the 1950-ies and 1960-ies

The relevance of the study lies in the need to determine the ways that the city authorities resorted to solve problems related to cultural and household provision and resettlement of new residents, in conditions of lack of funds and tight deadlines for the construction of new industrial facilities and logistics centers. The purpose of this article is to analyze the urban planning policy carried out on the territory of the city of Stavropol (Togliatti) in the 1950-ies and 1960-ies, when the city was experiencing accelerated industrial construction and faced a large influx of new residents. To achieve the purpose of the study, the following tasks are set: to identify the standards of provision of population with living space and social and cultural institutions; to show the dynamics of qualitative changes in housing construction; to analyze ways of interaction between the government and the population on urban improvement and improving the quality of life. The scientific novelty of the study is due to the insufficient study of the issues that determine the principles of functioning of socio-economic relations that affect the quality of life of Soviet citizens. The source base of the study consists of documents from the Togliatti archive. The research is carried out by using historical-comparative, historical-genetic and statistical methods. As a result of the work done, the following conclusions were drawn that the urban development of the city of Stavropol (Togliatti) in the study period was conducted without taking into account the needs of the population. The living conditions of the urban population left much to be desired for several reasons: the pace of housing construction did not keep pace with the rapid growth of the population, and therefore there was high crowding and lack of urban amenities; the authorities solved issues related to the placement of the population and the creation of living conditions on a residual basis, when unresolved problems led to an increase in discontent. In the 1960-ies, the city authorities identified the shortcomings of urban development through interaction with the population. The authorities organized campaigns to collect citizens’ appeals. Citizens’ appeals served as an incentive to increase the number of shops and social and cultural facilities in the city.