Research context
In small single-industry towns such as Severodvinsk, the lack of open geoinformation tools makes it difficult to analyze urban development and plan its future growth. This makes it important to develop accessible and intuitive GIS tools that can help both specialists and residents assess the structure of the housing stock.
Severodvinsk is a young, developing single-industry town that is of great importance both for the region and for the country. The city is therefore striving to create and maintain a decent and comfortable urban environment. This requires the constant introduction of new approaches and stable monitoring, including in the field of urban planning.
Problem statement
There are no open tools for visual analysis of residential buildings by age in Severodvinsk’s urban planning practice. All information is presented only in tabular form, which complicates the assessment of spatial patterns, the analysis of building density, and the planning of future development.
Tools and technologies
- QGIS
- KML
- Leaflet.js
- Leaflet-Omnivore
- OpenStreetMap
- Excel
Data sources
- Ministry of Construction, Housing and Communal Services
- Construction site passports
- OpenStreetMap
Methodology
The data were exported into Excel, where residential objects were compiled into summary tables by decade. As a result, a new database was formed, cleaned of statistical outliers.
Key findings
Number of residential buildings by decade
| Decade | Buildings |
|---|
| 1930s | 85 |
| 1940s | 86 |
| 1950s | 140 |
| 1960s | 291 |
| 1970s | 229 |
| 1980s | 203 |
| 1990s | 87 |
| 2000s | 10 |
| 2010s | 24 |
Figures come from the summary database described in Methodology, so they differ from the number of shapes drawn on the map. The 2020s layer (2020–2024) is shown on the map only and isn’t part of these tables.
Total floor area by decade, m²
| Decade | Total floor area, m² |
|---|
| 1930s | 66,018 |
| 1940s | 125,611 |
| 1950s | 341,204 |
| 1960s | 932,464 |
| 1970s | 1,080,620 |
| 1980s | 1,175,544 |
| 1990s | 406,422 |
| 2000s | 19,276 |
| 2010s | 54,504 |
| Total, 1930s–2010s | 4,201,663 |
|---|
Construction patterns
Peak construction periods. The peak construction periods in Severodvinsk occurred between 1970–1979 and 1980–1989 (in terms of total floor area, m²). This was driven by the active development of standard five-storey prefabricated panel and brick apartment buildings.
Leading period by building count. In terms of the number of buildings constructed, the leading period was 1960–1969. This is explained by the specifics of Severodvinsk’s early development, which mainly consisted of low-rise wooden houses, aside from the four- and five-storey stone “Stalin-era buildings” intended for the city’s nomenklatura and intelligentsia.
Current housing stock
4.8MTotal floor area, m²
23.6m² per person
94%Private ownership
4.8M m² is the floor area of the whole current housing stock. The decade table above (1930s–2010s) adds up to 4.2M m².
Building height
- Low-rise residential buildings (up to 4 storeys): 10% of total area
- Mid-rise residential buildings (5–8 storeys): 64%
- High-rise residential buildings (9+ storeys): 26%
Ownership
- Private ownership: 94%
- Municipal ownership: 5%
- State ownership: 1%
Challenges
Most residential buildings located in the old part of the city were commissioned in the 1940s–1970s. Prolonged operation without timely capital repairs has led to significant physical deterioration of the housing stock.
Mark Kostarev, appendix to bachelor’s thesis, 2024–2025 academic year.