By order of the Chita City Administration and with the financial support of the Baikal Mining Company, the Moscow Urban Center is starting to develop the concept of the “Square near the Udokan Cinema” — a city square near the main cinema site in Chita and the Regional Drama Theater.
Designing will be started after preparation and public discussion of the concept of a new public space. The first stage of the improvement works will be completed by the opening of the Drama Theater after the reconstruction. According to Yulia Shabala, Deputy General Director of the Baikal Mining Company, the goal of the «Square near the Udokan Cinema» project is to create a new area that would meet modern ideas about a comfortable urban environment. She has noted that one of the company’s proposals is to erect a monument in memory of Soviet geologists on the square, including a sculptural image of the discoverer of the Udokan deposit, Elizaveta Burova.
Moreover, this idea can be implemented with the support of the residents of Chita. On December 10, a survey will start on the website www.newparkchita, which will allow collecting the wishes and expectations of Chita residents regarding the new urban area, its functional content. The organizers see it as their main task — to learn firsthand how this territory is traditionally used, «what problems it has, and also to understand what objects the townspeople need the most in this territory.»
Translated by ILYA MIKHIN
