To make an IUD project the best, first answer the question: who do we build it for?
The answer is simple: for people. It is obvious, but not all developers even think about it.
A neighborhood for people is a place where it is comfortable to relax, work, study, communicate. A place where people live in harmony.
Focus on the convenience and desires of people makes an IUD project the best.

It becomes a trend. Thus, contests such as Urban Awards began to appear to assess the environment created by developers, particularly in terms of the comfort of residents.

We, as experts in the integrated development ideology, study the parameters which help a housing project win Urban Awards. Based on them, we have prepared 5 tips on how to make your IUD project the best.

At the end of the article, you will find a bonus: we will explain how to make the residents of your residential neighborhood happy in just one sentence.

Tip No. 1. Create transport and pedestrian communications
Do you remember that residential neighborhoods are designed for people? This is a key principle.

How to implement:

• Courtyards without cars: safety and interests of people.
  Arrange playgrounds, areas for recreation, natural landscapes – everything except cars.
  A courtyard is a special place in the neighborhood. It is a kind of a personal park for residents of the building. A place where the interests of neighbors intersect and the forgotten neighborliness is being revived today.
  Let's think about something more than a car "close at hand"!

The courtyard without parking at River Park Neighborhood (Rechnikov Invest, Moscow), a participant of Urban Awards 2017

• Looped cycling and pedestrian paths. Everyone has been dissatisfied with traffic jams, parking lots, and the environment. Let people in a residential neighborhood be able to ride a bike or just walk. Various paths connecting the courtyards with each other are quite popular.

On the left: Skandinavsky Neighborhood (FSK Leader, Moscow), a participant in the Best Landscaping and Infrastructure Concept 2018 category: the system of bicycle paths

On the right: Tsvetnoy Boulevard Neighborhood (AvangardInvestProject, Kaliningrad), the winner in the Best Regional Comfort-Class Residential Neighborhood 2018 category: the bicycle paths system of over 2 km

Tip No. 2. Secure the environment

It is safe where there are a lot of people. These are areas with constant people flows, without "out-of-the-way places".

Commercial premises on the first floors, interesting public places – all these generate traffic flows, and the area becomes alive. The security of the territory is in its permeability. Create such a comfortable space so that residents of the neighborhood are not afraid to let their children go to the store or to the playground.

Seliger City Neighborhood (MR Group, Moscow), a participant in the Best Landscaping and Infrastructure Concept 2018 category

How to implement:

• To begin with, security is synonymous with video surveillance. People are calmer when there is a feeling that professionals are monitoring the situation. The cameras may not even work, but their very presence already gives a sense of tranquility and even increases the level of trust of residents to each other.

Ultra City Neighborhood (St. Petersburg), a finalist in the Best Residential Neighborhood of St. Petersburg 2018 category

• Entrance doors with transparent glass allowing to see the space of the courtyard and, from the other side, the lobby. Safety means that you see and know what is there behind the door.

Domashny Neighborhood (PSN Group, Moscow), a participant in the Best Residential Comfort-Class Neighborhood 2017 category and the winner in the Developer of the Year 2017 category

Tip No. 3. Design infrastructure based on the interests of residents

Today, people are free to demonstrate their hobbies. They promote their interests through infrastructure, public places, and events. Entire subcultures can form.

It is important to meet the needs of your potential audience. Thus, when designing a neighborhood, it is important to provide for places for future residents to meet.

How to implement:

• Sports grounds, workout zones, and thematic events.

The healthy lifestyle trend is going now far beyond the walls of gyms. Today activities in the fresh air are becoming more and more popular. You can create unusual sports grounds like areas for CrossFit, aerobics, boxing, or mini-golf.

Sports ground for CrossFit and aerobics. River Park Neighborhood (Rechnikov Invest, Moscow), a participant in the Best Landscaping and Infrastructure Concept 2018 category

• Space for animals. Another popular community is animal lovers. Dog fanciers have a special way of life. They will appreciate modern, organized grounds for dog walking and training. Experiment. For example, arrange an area for cat walking in the summertime. And a place for washing paws in the building.

On the left: Ultra City Neighborhood (Severny Gorod, St. Petersburg), a finalist in the Best Residential Neighborhood of St. Petersburg 2018 category

On the right: Tsvetnoy Boulevard Neighborhood (AvangardInvestProject, Kaliningrad), the winner in the Best Regional Comfort-Class Residential Neighborhood 2018 category: 3 sites for walking pets.

Tip No. 4. Diversify landscaping

Stress is a companion of any city dweller. Being surrounded by city noises and concrete high-rises, people are still part of nature, they feel comfortable when surrounded by the living world. Forests, parks, green leaves – dwellers in large cities are deprived of all of these.

Help people avoid imbalance, stress, depression. Create green spaces.

How to implement:

• More mature trees. Plant large-sized ones: they create an atmosphere of serenity. People want to live in the now and enjoy the beauty of greenery today, but not wait for the trees to grow.

Plus, the architecture of nature creates natural shadows which can serve for zoning of the territory. Customers will not be able to refuse the feeling of being in the forest and will stay in your residential neighborhood.

Furthermore, a neighborhood surrounded by green courtyards also obtains a value added and competitive advantage.

Novaya Zvezda Neighborhood (Moscow), a nominee in the Best Residential Neighborhood in New Moscow 2018 category

• Green living fences. Conventional fencing is a direct and rude sign that there is no entrance. But the same idea can be conveyed more gently and harmoniously: for example, mark the territory with trees and shrubs that resemble the shape of a fence. Ensure security in a non-standard way.

On the left: City on the River Tushino – 2018 Neighborhood (Spartak Stadium, Moscow) a participant in the Best Comfort-Class Residential Neighborhood category. The playground is fenced with shrubs

On the right: Life Varshavskaya Neighborhood (Pioneer Group, Moscow), a participant in the Best Integrated Development Project 2018 category. The residential neighborhood is fenced with trees

• The union of nature and people is an ideal picture of a comfortable world. Create natural landscapes in tandem with playgrounds, areas for recreation and sports.

Otrada Neighborhood (Otradnoye), the winner in the Best Comfort-Class Residential Neighborhood 2017 category

Tip No. 5. Foster responsibility of people for the city

A major real estate developer is a company that seeks leadership. It thinks not only about its own interests but also about the values of other people. We recommend not to turn a blind eye to the environmental problems of cities and the planet.

Start with the clean city principle.

The current frightening situation with landfills cannot be remedied until developers start sorting wastes in residential buildings. This is the first step to fostering responsibility of the city dwellers.

How to implement:

• Start sorting wastes by materials: plastic, glass, paper, and batteries.
• Apply solutions reducing the energy consumption of the facility and the level of harmful emissions into the atmosphere.

Serebritsa Mini Polis (Krasnogorsk), a participant in the Best Comfort-Class Residential Neighborhood 2018 and the Best Concept of Landscaping and Infrastructure 2018 categories

Integrated urban development is a carefully thought-out environment where people experience satisfaction and joy. It is important to understand that the project will only become successful when people feel that they have been thought of.

In this article, we've covered only a share of the features which will help you to get closer to the status of the Best Residential Neighborhood.

And now the promised bonus.

We answer the question "How to make the residents of your neighborhood happy?" as follows:

"Happiness ain’t a thing in itself — it’s only a contrast with something that ain’t pleasant. That’s all it is. There ain’t a thing you can mention that is happiness in its own self — it’s only so by contrast with the other thing."

Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven, Mark Twain

Be special in your projects, study the experience of competitors, and do it even better.