Conference article

The aim of EcoGrad; a research project conducted by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland; was to develop a concept for the design of appropriate ecological neighborhoods for the city of St. Petersburg; Russia. A criteria list for ecological residential areas was developed together with local partners. Some differing aspects between Finnish and Russian criteria are pointed out in this paper. These are among others the attitude towards high-tech solutions; the norms regarding placement of services; and the lack of well functioning service concepts for operation and maintenance of facilities. Three pilot cases were also studied. A rough plan was made for the pilot areas including placement of buildings and services and transport solutions. Different scenarios for energy consumption and production systems were modeled and compared. Also emissions during the entire life cycle of the energy production processes were calculated with Global Emission Model for Integrated Systems (GEMIS). One of these pilot cases is described in this paper. During the project a questionnaire for residents in St. Petersburg was also made. It showed; among others; a poor willingness to pay for renewable energy and good indoor air. One of the major findings was a lack of policies and knowledge for certain renewable energy technologies and improved energy efficiency of buildings.

City planning; Russia; Energy-efficiency