‘Seeing Moscow Ranked First among the Cities of BRICS Countries Is Pleasant, but Not Surprising’
An international consortium of research organisations from China, India, and Russia, including HSE University’s Faculty of Urban and Regional Development represented by experts from the Vysokovsky Graduate School of Urban Studies and Planning and the Centre for Social Research and Technological Innovation (CITY), is developing an index of technological and spatial urban development (the Urban & Innovation Environment Index). Recently, a list of the top 10 largest cities of the BRICS countries was published on the project’s website. The Russian capital took the first place in the ranking, followed by Beijing, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, and Guangzhou.
‘Seeing Moscow in first place among the cities of the BRICS countries in the ranking is pleasant, but not surprising,’ said Evgeny Mikhaylenko, Dean of HSE University’s Faculty of Urban and Regional Development and Director of CITY. ‘Step by step over recent years, the city authorities have been implementing a strategy to improve the comfort of the urban environment, develop polycentricity, and create points of attraction for residents throughout the city. The members of the consortium highlighted Moscow’s efforts to modernise public transport infrastructure, increase the accessibility and variety of functions for residents, and grow the scientific and cultural potential of the city. To assess the scale of the changes, it is enough to recall such projects as the Moscow Central Ring and Moscow Central Diameter, the construction of the Big Circle Line, the replacement of traditional buses with electric buses, and the development of river transport.’ The development of innovative infrastructure, particularly digital social services, delivery and mobility services, plays a big role in calculating the index, explained Evgeny Mikhaylenko. The city’s support for high-tech industries and the active implementation of digital projects also made a significant contribution to Moscow’s leadership, he concluded.
The project’s consortium includes:
South China University of Technology (People’s Republic of China)
Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences (People’s Republic of China)
The Faculty of Urban and Regional Development in partnership with the GeoData Centre of HSE University’s Faculty of Geography and Geoinformation Technology (Russia)
O.P. Jindal Global University (India)
The Guangdong – CIS International Technology Cooperation Union (PRC) coordinates the joint work. The consortium continues to add new research teams, and the project’s initiators have set themselves the task of making the index an internationally recognised tool for assessing urban development and environmental comfort for residents.
The key idea of the index is to show how a city’s innovative and balanced spatial development allows its residents to save time. The index is based on a unique methodology that allows for working with both statistics and open spatial data and satellite imagery. This way, it is not the nominal availability of a particular service that is taken into account, but its objective accessibility for citizens.
The tool makes it possible to conduct a comprehensive assessment of urban development at the intersection of spatial and innovative technology factors. It identifies and visualises imbalances and gaps in these areas of urban development.
The consortium team presented the index methodology and the results of assessing the largest cities of the BRICS countries at the BRICS International Innovation Forum in Moscow’s Zaryadye. The session was moderated by Kirill Puzanov, Associate Professor at HSE University’s Graduate School of Urban Studies and Planning. The index was presented by Xu Huanyu (Guangdong – CIS International Technology Cooperation Union) and Yu Feng (South China University of Technology), and discussed by Nicholas You (Guangzhou Institute for Urban Innovation) and Anusha Kesarkar (Observer Research Foundation, India). The participants discussed the objectivity of the proposed methodology and the applicability of the developed tools for solving urban development problems, noting that the index is timely and useful for city administrations.
The consortium’s plans for 2023 are to analyse the key indicators for the 100 largest cities in the world, and then subject the 30 leading cities to a more detailed analysis to form a final rating. The full version of the ranking for cities around the world will be released in December 2023.
See also:
‘It Is Hard to Imagine High-Level Interpretation Being Entrusted to a Machine’
In 2024, Russia chairs BRICS, an international organisation comprising nine countries. Throughout the year, dozens of forums, working group meetings, and BRICS sessions took place across various Russian cities. As an interpreter, Ksenia Prosyukova, Associate Professor at the HSE School of Foreign Languages and Candidate of Science (PhD) in Pedagogy, participated in several BRICS events. In an interview, she discussed the personal responsibility of working at high-level events, the challenges and prospects of her profession, and how HSE University trains in-demand translators.
BRICS Representatives Discuss the Development of Statistics in Member Countries
The significance of statistics in today’s digital age has reached a new level. Many decisions at government and business levels are based on data analysis. However, there is a mixed perception of official statistics, which negatively affects trust in public policies. The heads of BRICS statistical agencies discussed this issue and ways to address it at a forum in Kazan, where a representative from HSE University also participated in the event.
‘Geographical Distance No Longer a Problem’: ISSEK Fosters Cooperation with Think Tanks in BRICS Countries
In September, the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge hosted an international working meeting with representatives from Brazilian, Egyptian, and Indian think tanks. The participants discussed opportunities for cooperation, including joint surveys, comparative studies, databases, and publications on foresight, technology, and innovation. It was also decided to draft a multilateral agreement to establish the BRICS Foresight Association.
HSE Experts Take Part in the First International Workshop on Technological Sustainability of BRICS
On September 19–20, Skoltech hosted the First International Workshop on Technological Sustainability of BRICS: University-Industry Partnerships, organised jointly with HSE University Human Capital Multidisciplinary Research Center. The meeting was held as part of the BRICS working group on technology foresight and science and technology studies.
HSE Researchers to Develop BRICS Exchange System Together with Chinese Experts
HSE University International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre and the Competition Policy and Assessment Centre founded by the State Administration for Market Regulation of China signed a cooperation agreement. The parties agreed to come up with proposals for the development of exchange trade in goods and raw materials between Russia, China, and the BRICS countries.
‘What Makes BRICS Effective Is Its Diversity’: HSE University Representatives Begin Work at EEF
HSE University Vice Rector Victoria Panova spoke at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF 2024) that began in Vladivostok. The topic of her speech was the expansion of BRICS.
'Staying Open to New Challenges and Opportunities Is Crucial'
The Tenth BRICS Youth Summit was held in Ulyanovsk from July 22 to 26. The event was attended by more than 200 early-career professionals from Brazil, India, China, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Russian regions. Participants gathered to discuss current global issues and explore opportunities for youth collaboration. Students of HSE University who attended the Youth Summit shared their impressions with HSE University Life.
HSE University Launches Consortium of BRICS Law Schools
The HSE Faculty of Law hosted an online meeting with law schools and expert centres from BRICS countries. The purpose of the event was to join efforts to advance legal science and practice for the benefit of the organization. To this end, at the initiative of the Dean of the Faculty of Law Vadim Vinogradov, a Consortium of BRICS Law Schools was established, comprising representatives of leading higher education institutions from a number of countries.
‘At HSE University I Had the Opportunity to Meet the Best Academics’
In April 2024, HSE School of International Regional Studies of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs organised a round table ‘Russia and the Most Influential Countries of the Global South: Comparing Approaches to the New International Political and Economic-Financial Order’. Seyedmohammad Seyedi Asl, Research Fellow at the School of International Regional Studies, spoke to HSE News Service on his report ‘Global South, BRICS, and Iran's Foreign Policy’ presented at the round table, his research interests and impressions of working at HSE University, and living in Moscow.
‘We Work to Create a More Prosperous, Fair, and Safe World’
On July 3–4, 2024, the IX BRICS Civil Forum was held in Moscow for the first time since the association was expanded by five new countries in January 2024. Participants emphasised the importance of personal interaction between public figures, civil activists, as well as the work they do to strengthen and enrich friendly relations between BRICS countries, based on mutual respect. The forum was organised by the BRICS Expert Council–Russia, which is established at the HSE University.