Abstract: In Japanese cities, public spaces perform multiple functions, including recreational, transportation, social, and protective and evacuation functions. For vulnerable groups, including people experiencing homelessness, these spaces may also serve as locations for short- or long-term occupancy. This study aims to identify spatial and microclimatic characteristics of public spaces that may provide more favorable conditions for vulnerable groups during periods of extreme seasonal temperatures, with particular attention to their relationship with the summer use of public spaces by people experiencing homelessness. The study identifies potential informal climate shelters, defined as public spaces without officially designated climate-shelter status that are used by vulnerable groups and characterized by relatively lower thermal exposure. The research combines a review of international literature on homelessness, public space, climate adaptation, and spatial exclusion with field observations, spatial analysis of the Shinjuku urban environment, and land surface temperature (LST) analysis. Fieldwork included observations of locations used by people experiencing homelessness and localized measurements of air temperature and relative humidity. The results indicate that several spaces with recurrent presence of people experiencing homelessness correspond spatially to areas with relatively lower land surface temperatures, suggesting their potential function as informal climate shelters. However, this spatial correspondence indicates a possible climate-adaptive function rather than a causal relationship between microclimatic conditions and location choice. The scientific novelty lies in integrating public-space design, urban microclimate, and spatial inclusion of vulnerable groups potentially sensitive to microclimatic changes. Based on the findings, recommendations are proposed to enhance urban climate resilience and spatial inclusion through shaded and weather-protected areas and routes, access to drinking water and sanitary infrastructure, safe and barrier-free circulation, flexible use of public space, opportunities for rest, minimization of hostile and restrictive design elements, and preservation of accessible public spaces for diverse user groups.

Keywords: public spaces, informal climate shelters, inclusive design, spatial justice, homelessness, Japan, urban design, urban climate, land surface temperature (LST), microclimate

Abstract: Intensive urbanization and the demographic growth of cities, combined with the increasing complexity of the labor application system and the rising demand for accessible sports facilities, make the problem of developing sports infrastructure at labor application sites relevant. The subject of the study is the spatial-territorial and functional location and nature of sports infrastructure at large industrial enterprises in Leningrad, aimed at determining the spatial relationship of sports infrastructure with labor application sites. An evolutionary analysis of the structural and spatial patterns of sports infrastructure placement in relation to its development within the structure of the industrial complex and the overall urban structure, starting from the 1920s to the present day, has been conducted to identify the general issues concerning the use of sports facilities in production under the current conditions of urban development in Saint Petersburg. For the analysis of structural and spatial patterns of sports in relation to its urban planning placement within the industrial complex from the 1920s to the 1980s, urban planning documents on the development of Leningrad, mapping and reference documents on sports infrastructure, and the development of Leningrad's industry and the specific factories examined in the study were utilized. The novelty of the research results lies in tracking changes in the nature and role of sports facilities and their territorial accessibility to enterprises (the main places of labor application). As a result of the study, the stages of development of sports infrastructure at enterprises were identified using the example of five Leningrad factories, and the issues regarding their placement in the context of modern development in Petersburg were defined. Conclusions were drawn about the loss of spatial correspondence between elements of sports infrastructure and the planning placement of enterprises, as centers of labor application, within the structure of the city. The developed state of sports infrastructure at enterprises has been determined as focused objects of specialized sports, along with the factors that defined this development: uneven distribution of labor resources within the overall system of labor application in the city; intensive development of residential areas and a decreasing number of working enterprises; and the close interconnection between the nature and quantity of sports facilities with the sports organizations of enterprises.

Keywords: evolution of territorial development, sports facilities, industrial enterprises, the system of places of labor resources, largest cities, Leningrad, urban planning development, urban planning, mass sport, Leningrad factories

Abstract: The article presents an authorial model for integrating the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century urban estate as an environmental core into the contemporary structure of a historic regional city. Using Tambov as a case study, the urban estate is considered not only as a cultural heritage object but also as a historically formed spatial and cultural unit in which architectural form, plot structure, landscape, pedestrian routes, public functions and historical memory are interrelated. The methodology combines the environmental approach, E. I. Petrovskaya’s triune environmental code method, comprehensive graphic and morphological analysis, and analysis of attraction centres and actual pedestrian activity in relation to two- and five-minute walking catchments around estate sites. Three types of urban estates are identified according to their role in the urban environment: silhouette-forming, accent and background, together with corresponding levels of pedestrian routes: citywide, district and local. The concepts of environmental core, environmental impulse and framework of environmental impulses are defined. The impulse mechanism combines local environmental regulation, a multifunctional programme and route connectivity. The Tambov case demonstrates how overlapping zones of influence around estate nodes and pedestrian routes can shift the focus from individual heritage objects to an urban-planning strategy for valorising the historic centre. As a research hypothesis, heritage valorisation is considered a precondition for developing a pedestrian-oriented urban environment, local entrepreneurship and human-capital retention. The proposed model requires further calibration for historic cities with different morphology, relief and cultural traditions.

Keywords: urban estate, historic city, environmental code, environmental core, environmental impulse, urban framework, heritage valorisation, walkable environment, multifunctionality, human capital

Abstract: The article examines an author-developed model for implementing the Russian architectural code through city architectural codes. The Russian architectural code is defined here neither as a uniform historical style nor as a catalogue of national decorative motifs, but as a multi-level system of cultural and spatial continuity. The national level establishes principles and invariants of environmental quality; the city level interprets them through local history, landscape, morphology, scale, materiality and everyday practices; and the territorial level turns them into verifiable rules for a specific place. It examines the transition from value principles to differentiated regulations, recommendations, and criteria for evaluating architectural solutions across morphological zones. The research combines systems and multi-level approaches, a comparative review of urban morphology and regulatory approaches to architectural and urban design, historical and morphological analysis, cartographic and legal-source analysis, case-study logic and normative mapping. The city is proposed as a necessary mediator between nationwide meanings and individual architectural decisions. The basic unit of translation is not a style but a morphological zone with identified carriers, invariants and an appropriate continuity regime. Comparability between city codes is achieved through a common data and decision structure rather than through visual standardisation. A city architectural code does not replace land-use and development rules, urban-planning regulations, architectural and urban-design appearance requirements, planning documentation or design briefs. Instead, it produces evidence-based proposals that may become binding only after their incorporation into an appropriate instrument by a competent authority. The methodological framework consists of seven parallel workstreams and seven development stages; the sequence “evidence — carrier — invariant — morphological zone — continuity regime — rule — pilot — monitoring”; seven modes of intervention in urban fabric; a provenance register for each rule; and a correspondence matrix linking each rule to possible statutory and procedural instruments.

Keywords: russian architectural code, city architectural code, cultural-spatial continuity, urban morphology, morphological zoning, architectural identity, land-use and development rules, architectural and urban-design appearance, regulatory integration, architectural environment

Abstract: This article explores methods for redesigning the interiors of historic buildings for modern retail and hospitality applications. Currently, many historical and architectural heritage sites within modern cities are perceived as economically ineffective due to their incompatibility with modern technological requirements. Against this backdrop, the search for ways to adaptively utilize them and seamlessly integrate them into the modern "experience economy" is particularly relevant. This study incorporates a comprehensive environmental approach that allows for the integration of authentic historic interiors into the context of modern commercial spaces without losing their cultural value. The article provides a theoretical justification for the transition from a strict conservation paradigm to the concept of adaptive use, as well as principles for developing continuous retail scenarios in historic environments. The primary research method is an analysis of practical cases and renovation projects for historic neighborhoods and buildings in China (at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels). The study identified key techniques used in working with historic interiors, including comprehensive reconstruction of entire blocks, renovation of interior spaces while preserving the architectural envelope, the creation of atrium spaces in place of courtyards, and targeted interventions in the historical context by repurposing the ground floors of individual buildings. The study demonstrated that the restoration and subsequent repurposing of historic buildings for commercial use is an important part of modern urban planning and urban design, requiring consideration of numerous architectural, engineering, and cultural aspects. The article describes methods and approaches that can address a number of key issues related to the integration of historical heritage into the modern urban economy. It presents design techniques for interiors that meet the requirements of the modern retail and hospitality industries while preserving the authentic historical fabric and "spirit of place."

Keywords: design, interior, heritage, adaptive use, restoration, reconstruction, renovation, revitalization, environment, China

Abstract: This study examines the spatial planning parameters of sites for preschool and general education facilities in residential development areas. The parameters are considered in relation to the residential areas that generate educational demand, actual pedestrian accessibility, and land-resource constraints. The aim is to apply systems analysis to their substantiation in order to formulate the research problem and working hypothesis. The methodological framework combines Yu. V. Alekseev’s basic model with Method 2, which assesses and accounts for the components and types of object (II)—settlement territories at the level of the Earth’s biosphere surface. Object (II) is the object of study, whereas object (I), comprising existing and proposed buildings and structures, is treated as a constraint. Objects (III) and (IV) fall outside the scope of the study. The evidence base comprises planning practice for siting preschool and school facilities in residential areas, Russian and international studies of educational environments and accessibility, and regulatory, technical, and methodological documents. The study identifies a specific function of object (II): public territory allocated to preschool and general education sites in relation to the residential territory that generates educational demand. Four components of the problem situation are established: overlap of actual pedestrian catchment areas, educational demand generated outside the project boundaries, divergence between normative and actual accessibility, and scarcity of land resources. Considering these components jointly makes it possible to formulate the research problem and a working hypothesis that stable relationships exist between them and the initial site parameters—capacity, planning type, and site area.

Keywords: systems analysis, object II, residential development areas, preschool education, general education, educational demand, actual pedestrian accessibility, catchment-area overlap, research problem, working hypothesis