Review: The subject of this research is the border territories between the two countries – Russia and China. Currently, in southern region of the Far East and on the territory of Northeast of China in the border zone, structurally are determined several promising directions. In terms of the various strategic goals of implementation of the state programs, they mutually complement each other. These directions have a high likelihood of realization and can provide conjoint development of the border settlement systems. This is because in all of them can be clearly traced the particular historical patterns, which are substantiated mostly by a special development mode of the border area. The author applies the factor analysis for determination of the main priority vectors in development of border territories, considering not only current, but also historical trends and peculiarities of urban development and populating of the border territory of two countries. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that the author is first to systemically consider the China’s and Russia’s programs of territorial development (“Open city”, “Russian districts”, law on “Far Eastern Hectare”, law on “Territories of Advanced Socio-economic Development” (Russia)), which implementation leads to another functional and structural transformation of urban layouts in the border area.

Keywords: the area, territory, evolution, system, settlement, city, development, program, transformation, location

Review: The object of this research is the project competitions held in Saint Petersburg since the foundation of the city until the present day. The creative professional competitions in the sphere of architecture, urban planning, monumental art and landscape-environmental design pursuing the best solution of a specific project task are referred to the area of project competitions. The authors examine the evolution of the practice of implementation of competitive method in Saint Petersburg; and determine the most distinctive types of project tasks solved using the competitive method at various stages of city’s development. The competitions are analyzed in accordance with the following aspects: type of design object, format of its social affiliation (individual, collective, public), location within the city-planning pattern (central, peripheral, suburban zones) and relatively to water objects. The main conclusions consist in the evolution trends of the relevant city-planning objectives, determined on the basis of changes of the prevailing themes ad locations of the objects of competitive designing. The analysis of evolution of competitive practice is conducted in accordance with the five historical stages of spatial development of Saint Petersburg, characterizes by the diverse sociopolitical circumstances, peculiarities of urban development policy, and level if institutialization of the practice of holding the project competitions.

Keywords: decision-making methods, professional competition, urban planning policy, spatial development, Saint-Petersburg, architecture, urban planning, competition, landscape architecture, monumental art

Keywords: history of gardens of Tobolsk, city parks, city gardens, garden renovation, Botanical Garden, "Yermakovo pole", green architecture, cultural and historical heritage, Tobolsk, landscape design