SOCIAL ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE URBAN PHYSICAL-ENVIRONMENT - CITIES OF SIBERIA

Sociological polls and expert studies were used to differentiate urban land attractiveness in residential and non-residential districts in S iberian cities of Russia. The research indicates that social attractiv eness of the urban physical environment does not accurately represent genuine qualities of this environment. Attractiveness reflects the com bination of at least three main environmental and social determinants: 1) average level of urban development; 2) range of city environmental qualities, and 3) social composition of city population. There are al so significant differences between environmental priorities of the gen eral city population, and the professional values and priorities of ex perts and city officials traditionally implemented in the process of p rofessional decision-making. A system of indices (the Index of Prestig e, the Residents' Evaluation Index, the Business Attractiveness Index) are proposed for use during the transition from a planned to a market economy, for both long-term planning and urban land appraisal.