Shaping ecosystem services in Russia: Sustainability concerns over Saint Petersburg waterfront transformation

This research argues for a multi-stakeholder approach to be a possible Ecosystem Services (ES) provider in urban waterfront areas of Saint Petersburg, Russia.

This research aims to give more insights into the ES provision in the context where the mechanism is not formally established. The research's main question is: To what extent do stakeholders' interventions stimulate the provision of ecosystem services within waterfront transformation developments in Saint Petersburg?

The literature review unpacks the meaning of sustainable waterfront transformation and provides a basis for its understanding. The role of urban waterfront with its multiple functions is argued to be crucial for adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Besides, within the contextual peculiarities, these areas showed to be central for diverse socio-cultural activities, including creative interventions and place-making processes. The types of benefits citizens acquire through these multifunctional areas were systemized with the internationally established ES framework. Using this framework, the waterfront socio-environmental benefits and their provision level were assessed in particular transformations. Therefore, to answer the question, the research (1) explores how sustainable is the provision of ES on waterfronts of Saint Petersburg, (2) identifies strategies for the ongoing waterfront revitalization, (3) reveals institutional constraints for ES implementation, (4) examines the influence of diverse stakeholders on waterfront developments.

The research is qualitative in nature with methods including (1) expert interviews, (2) focus group discussions (FGDs), and (3) secondary data analysis. The interview respondents are sampled following their expertise in waterfront development. FGDs are conducted with the users of the developed areas. Secondary data appeared to be essential due to the novelty of the topic for the study's context and a lack of quantitative databases on Russian ES.

The research finds that stakeholders' interventions played a substantial role in providing recreational and cultural ES on the waterfront areas, enchasing new activities and cultural values. However, a weak role of regulative functions puts certain concerns over the environmental safety of the city. This finding reveals the need to explore the demand for this type of service and its role in city development. The research assumes that 'soft' adaptation measures incorporated in future waterfront developments would facilitate more sustainable city growth. These measures could be achieved through network governance processes and relevant stakeholders in place, such as city ecologists and water-related experts. However, to ensure these networks' creation, the city government has to develop a legislative basis for information exchange. Especially relevant for public space production and urban waterfronts, the process of public participation similarly has to be regulated to make it a commonly-used practice. In general, the study outlines certain gaps in state and city regulation and provides some recommendations for further improvements.