State of grey and green infrastructure in urban landscape sites of Moscow

DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2025-3-31-212-227

View or download the article (Rus)

About the Authors

Olga A. Illarionova

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography,
1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russia,
E-mail: heatherpaw95@gmail.com

Elena I. Mazurenko

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography,
1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow, 119991, Russia,
E-mail: elena@mazurenko.ru

Abstract

The study aims to assess the contribution of technogenic (grey infrastructure) and soil and vegetation cover (green infrastructure) to the formation of a comfortable environment in the southern part of Moscow. The relevance of the work is due to the lack of large-scale studies integrating the analysis of landscape sites taking into account technogenic transformations, despite their role as an urban environment. The work tested a comprehensive methodology combining the identification of landscape locations with an assessment of the state of their components, which allows us to identify the relationship between the morphology of development, the functionality of green areas and the comfort of living. The object of study was a 50 km2 polygon covering geomorphologically and urbanistically heterogeneous territories of the Central, Southern and South-Western districts of Moscow. The methods included a desk stage (analysis of remote sensing data, cartographic sources, including the Copernicus-10 digital elevation model and the General Plan of Moscow) and field studies with a point assessment of the characteristics of gray and green infrastructure. The results showed that the northern part of the polygon (floodplain terraces of the Moscow River) is characterized by an average degree of greenery with a relatively high quality of gray infrastructure, but the courtyards suffer from a deficit of green areas. The central zone (aquatic-glacial plains) demonstrates contrasts: new buildings have modern gray infrastructure, but minimal greenery, while the areas of Stalinist development combine the average quality of both components. The southern part (moraine plains) is distinguished by a high proportion of green spaces, but their condition is deteriorating due to litter and conflicts with man-made objects. It was found that old buildings (Khrushchev, Brezhnev) support more stable ecosystems due to self-seeding vegetation, while modern neighborhoods have predominantly decorative landscaping with a low environment-forming function and a high proportion of sealed surfaces of courtyard spaces.

Keywords

urban landscape, comfortable environment, green infrastructure, grey infrastructure

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For citation: Illarionova O.A., Mazurenko E.I. State of grey and green infrastructure in urban landscape sites of Moscow. InterCarto. InterGIS. Moscow: MSU, Faculty of Geography, 2025. V. 31. Part 3. P. 212–227. DOI: 10.35595/2414-9179-2025-3-31-212-227 (in Russian)