Vilnius residents have voiced their opinion in a survey conducted by the market and public opinion research company Spinter Tyrimai. The survey was commissioned by Darnaus Miesto Laboratorija (Sustainable City Laboratory), a company established by Darnu Group. Darnaus Miesto Laboratorija provides competencies for creating a sustainable environment. The survey was aimed at assessing how satisfied Vilnius residents are with their residential areas and to find out what factors determine this satisfaction.
Public transport rated high, while environment needs to be spruced up
When asked to name the things that are most important to them personally when deciding on the quality of a residential area, as many as 80% of survey respondents indicated public transport. 67% named safety, and 59% mentioned a tidy and clean environment. Green areas (54%), the supply of services in a residential area (49%), parking spaces and the level of noise (48%) are also important for Vilnius residents.
In the opinion of the survey participants, most of these criteria are fulfilled in Vilnius, which was evidenced by the relatively good assessment of the quality criteria of residential areas. Other best-rated criteria of individual residential areas included convenient public transport (the overall average was 7.83 points out of 10 possible), the supply of services (7.74 points), and safety (7.24 points).
The most problematic issue that was essential for a majority of residential areas was parking conditions that received the lowest rating (average 4.54 points).
The residents of the capital said that not all residential areas of Vilnius were able to ensure that the most important criteria were fulfilled in full.
Old Town (average 9.19 points), Žirmūnai (8.51), Naujamiestis (8.47), Lazdynai (8.35) and Antakalnis (8.25) were among the best-rated residential areas. Residents of these neighbourhoods rated the public transport criteria quite favourably; however, their opinions differed on other measures.
Residents of Žirmūnai (6.85 points) and Naujamiestis (6.83 points) were not particularly satisfied with the orderliness and cleanliness of their residential areas, while the residents of Žirmūnai quite poorly rated the criteria of safety (6.91 points) and green spaces (6.70 points).
Standard solutions for solving multiple issues
Architect Martynas Marozas says that many of these criteria are interrelated, so one of the most effective ways to solve the problem of safety in a particular area involves covering many other issues.
"If our goal is to create a truly safe environment, we must ensure that people can use public spaces whenever they need and want. So that instead of going to the centre for certain commodities, you can get those services in your area – go to the cinema, the shopping mall, etc. This is possible when cities do not have separate spaces for living or working, but create a lot of attraction centres that include everything," says M. Marozas.
In his opinion, such residential areas create a mixed service environment in which various groups of people can meet their needs – from those looking for cultural activities to those who want to exercise or have their hair done. Such residential areas create conditions for people to live, work or have fun. In addition, the more multifunctional an area is, the more time people spend there and make more efficient use of the infrastructure created.
"To ensure this, we have to solve all issues of the infrastructure. In the evening residents could use the parking spaces that are used by office workers during the day. And when we have separate areas, then for half a day, parking spaces are empty in one place of the city and missing in another. Therefore, we must understand that everything is interconnected," M. Marozas points out.
Architect and urban planning innovator Donatas Baltrušaitis says that public transport, well-developed services, tidy environment, a balanced amount of green areas – all these components provide a vibrant area full of both residents and working people, while an additional criterion – a sense of safety – is the result of all other characteristics.
"Multifunctionality allows an individual to enjoy and meet different needs, whether they want to play sports, go to work, or are looking for cultural activities. It is important that you could find as many choices as possible in one place, so that you do not have to drive from, say, Balsiai to the Old Town. Even international planning documents promote the idea that people should be able to combine work and life within a short distance," M. Baltrušaitis suggests.
According to Mantas Umbrasas, the director of asset management at Darnu Group, this concept is the most effective way to reconcile the interests of citizens with different needs.
"Vilnius has historically succeeded to realise this concept, and one of the successful examples of its implementation is the Paupys district that we are currently developing. A hundred years ago you could find everything in Paupys: from artisans or entertainment organisers to apartment buildings or parks with ponds.
The principle of the modern-day multifunctional residential area solves a number of urban issues – from the reduction of traffic flows to the growth of interconnections between communities. And the efficient use of public infrastructure undoubtedly benefits all – city developers as well as tax-paying citizens," emphasises M. Umbrasas.
Services should be planned based on needs
Experts agree that urban planning solutions require quality and rational planning. According to M. Baltrušaitis, it is necessary to ensure accessible transit of people from one space to another and high-quality green spaces as they allow people to effectively relax from the stress caused by the city.
"Vilnius is a widely spread city, so developed public transport, as well as conditions for walking or cycling, are essential. There should not necessarily be a bus stop right at the doorstep, but the general concept must be to ensure easy access to all places," says M. Umbrasas.
In his words, more diverse services should be provided in the so-called sleeping areas.
"But there is another problem – this concept may not work due to particular social groups living in a specific residential area. Sleeping areas are mainly occupied by older adults or young people who rent a flat and do not stay in those areas for long periods. It would be quite simple to plan and arrange services in the same way everywhere so that there is diversity, but we need to take into account the factor of social groups and consider their needs," notes M. Baltrušaitis.
He says that, compared to other cities, Vilnius should not complain about problems of cleanliness or environmental management. "Even though there are different complaints all the time, such as rubbish containers standing in the wrong place or something else, in general, the system is working pretty well," assures M. Baltrušaitis.
1,006 residents of the capital took part in the survey of Spinter Tyrimai about their satisfaction with their residential areas.
