The Urban General Planning of Izmail in the Second Half of the 1940’S – 1960’s

Abstract

The research is based on the analysis of general plans and archival documents on the urban development of Izmail. The processes of planning, building and reconstruction of the urban space in the post-war period have been investigated. The author considers urban planning documents as an important historical source that contains, in addition to graphic materials, detailed information on geography, history, industrial development, sociocultural activities and population composition of Izmail. It was found that the urban boundaries of Izmail significantly increased during the urbanization period. The author highlights the characteristic features of the urban planning by the Soviet authorities, housing construction and the development of infrastructure. At the same time, special attention is paid to the characterization of changes in the urban public and symbolic space, which were caused by the processes of Sovietization. Using the sources from the Izmail Archive, the author analyzes the results of implementation of general plans for the urban development, characterizes the issues of individual housing construction, names of streets and urban beautification. The materials of the article help to understand the characteristic features of urban construction in the Soviet Union border areas, which were annexed after the World War II, as well as the local features of the housing program in the 1960s.