Systems Analysis for Substantiating Spatial Planning Parameters of Preschool and General Education Sites in Residential Development Areas

This study examines the spatial planning parameters of sites for preschool and general education facilities in residential development areas. The parameters are considered in relation to the residential areas that generate educational demand, actual pedestrian accessibility, and land-resource constraints. The aim is to apply systems analysis to their substantiation in order to formulate the research problem and working hypothesis. The methodological framework combines Yu. V. Alekseev’s basic model with Method 2, which assesses and accounts for the components and types of object (II) – settlement territories at the level of the Earth’s biosphere surface. Object (II) is the object of study, whereas object (I), comprising existing and proposed buildings and structures, is treated as a constraint. Objects (III) and (IV) fall outside the scope of the study. The evidence base comprises planning practice for siting preschool and school facilities in residential areas, Russian and international studies of educational environments and accessibility, and regulatory, technical, and methodological documents. The study identifies a specific function of object (II): public territory allocated to preschool and general education sites in relation to the residential territory that generates educational demand. Four components of the problem situation are established: overlap of actual pedestrian catchment areas, educational demand generated outside the project boundaries, divergence between normative and actual accessibility, and scarcity of land resources. Considering these components jointly makes it possible to formulate the research problem and a working hypothesis that stable relationships exist between them and the initial site parameters—capacity, planning type, and site area.