Rural Architectural and Planning Forms as a Source of Diversity for Urban Environment (Case Study of Moscow)

Abstract Inclusion of specific rural architectural and planning forms in the urban structure of Moscow is analysed. As a theoretical background, theories of Garden-Cities (Howard, 1902), Rural-urban continuum (Sorokin, Zimmerman, 1929), Slow city (Mayer, Knox, 2009) are considered. Inclusion of rural architectural and planning forms is analysed for different structural elements of Moscow’s urban environment – public spaces, industrial areas, residential areas, street and road network. Authors argue that once included into the structure of the city, rural planning and architectural forms do not disappear, but after the termination of the implementation of their parent species and ways of life, which are really related to agriculture and other “non-urban” activities, they are transformed for integration into urban life and the environment, contributing to an increase in their diversity. This pattern can be traced consistently, at least, from the XVIII century.