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Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences
M.Sc. Urban Agglomerations
WS 2014
A SUSTAINABILITY VISION FOR THE CITY OF GORIS, ARMENIA:
Revitalizing a shrinking city
Master Thesis
M.Sc. Urban Agglomerations
Georgi Avetisyan
Matriculation number: 1028667
First advisor: Prof. Dr. Michael Peterek
Second advisor: Ph.D. Jeffrey Kenworthy
Frankfurt am Main 2015
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. 0
Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 2
List of Abriviations ........................................................................................................... 3
List of Figures ................................................................................................................... 3
List of Tables .................................................................................................................... 7
Acknowledgment .............................................................................................................. 7
Declaration of Authorship ................................................................................................ 8
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 9
1.1: Research Area ............................................................................................................ 9
1.2: Goal of th Project..................................................................................................... 10
1.3: Target Groups .......................................................................................................... 10
1.4: Research Question ................................................................................................... 10
1.5: Method and Structure .............................................................................................. 12
1.6: Limitations ............................................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ........................................................ 16
2.1: Sustainability ........................................................................................................... 16
2.2: Shrinking City ......................................................................................................... 23
2.3: Smart City ................................................................................................................ 25
CHAPTER 3: CASE STUDY GORIS ........................................................................... 29
3.1: Overview of Armenia .............................................................................................. 29
3.1.1: Geography ......................................................................................................... 29
3.1.2: State Structure and Administrative Division .................................................... 30
3.1.3: Population ......................................................................................................... 31
3.1.4: Economy .......................................................................................................... 31
3.1.5: Education .......................................................................................................... 34
3.2: Syunik Province....................................................................................................... 35
3.2.1: Geography ......................................................................................................... 35
3.2.2: History and culture ............................................................................................ 36
3.2.3: Population ......................................................................................................... 37
3.2.4: Connections and Infrastructure ......................................................................... 42
3.2.5: Economy ........................................................................................................... 48
3.2.6: Conclusion: Syunik ........................................................................................... 49
3.3: Goris City ................................................................................................................ 51
3.3.1: HISTORY AND CULTURE .................................................................................... 53
3.3.2: Social Situation ................................................................................................. 54
3.3.3 Transportation .................................................................................................... 57
3.3.4: Infrastructure ..................................................................................................... 60
3.3.5: Green and Open Space ...................................................................................... 61
3.3.6: Communal Services .......................................................................................... 64
3.3.7: Housing ............................................................................................................. 66
3.3.8: Economy ........................................................................................................... 69
3.3.9: Conclusion: Goris ............................................................................................. 71
3.4: SWOT Analysis ....................................................................................................... 74
3.4.1: Strengths: .......................................................................................................... 74
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3.4.2: Weaknesses: ...................................................................................................... 74
3.4.3: Threats: ............................................................................................................. 75
3.4.4: Opportunities: ................................................................................................... 76
CAPTER 4: BEST PRACTICES ................................................................................... 78
4.1: Best Practice 1 ......................................................................................................... 78
4.1.1: Creative Town................................................................................................... 78
4.1.2: “Creative Town” Lessons ................................................................................. 81
4.2: Best Practice 2 ......................................................................................................... 83
4.2.1 “Healthy Region” ............................................................................................... 83
4.2.2: “Healthy region” Lessons ................................................................................. 86
4.3: Conclusion: Applicability of Best Practices ............................................................ 88
CHAPTER 5: PROPOSAL ............................................................................................ 89
5.1: Concept of Revitalization ........................................................................................ 89
5.1.1: Creative Milieu ................................................................................................. 90
5.1.2: Touristic Milieu ................................................................................................ 93
5.1.3: Healthy Milieu .................................................................................................. 96
5.1.4: Common Milieu ................................................................................................ 97
5.2: New Brand for Goris Region ................................................................................. 101
5.3: Recommendations for Implementation ................................................................. 102
5.3.1: Mobility Sector ............................................................................................... 102
5.3.2: Zoning sector .................................................................................................. 111
5.3.3: Public Space & Environmental Sector............................................................ 114
5.3.4: Social sector .................................................................................................... 121
5.3.5: Web & Media sector ....................................................................................... 124
5.4: Conclusion of Recommendations .......................................................................... 126
CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION ..................................................................................... 128
6.1: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS ....................................................................................... 128
6.2: SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ............................................................ 132
BIBLIOGRAPGY ........................................................................................................ 133
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the problems of the urban shrinkage in the Republic of
Armenia. It is focused on finding the reasons and proposing solutions for further
sustainable development of the city. The chosen city is called Goris, which is situated on
the South part of the country. The thesis is doing a research of the urban environment and
its surroundings.
The thesis stresses the main existing problems that cause the urban decline. It also
highlights the methods used in other countries for solving similar problems. Thus the
research comes out with concept for revitalization.
The results show a strategy aimed at developing a sustainable urban environment and
region. So the conclusion consists of recommendations for improve ation in different
sectors of the urban environment.
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LIST OF ABRIVIATIONS
RA- Republic of Armenia
NKR- Nagorno Karabagh Republik
GDR- German Democratic Republic CIS- Commonwealth of Independent States in territory of former Soviet Union
EU- European Union
UN- United Nations
UNESCO- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
NGO- Non-Governmental Organization
CTI- Creative Town Initiative
FEZ- Free Economic Zone
JSC- Joint-Stock Company
OJSC- Open Joint-Stock Company
CJSC- Closed Joint-Stock Company
IT- Information Technology
AMD- Armenian Dram (money)
NSS RA- National Statistical Service of Republic of Armenia
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: The sequence of sub-questions in order to answer the main question (by
author) ............................................................................................................................. 12
Figure 2: The structure of the thesis (by author) ............................................................ 13
Figure 3: Levels of thesis (by author) ............................................................................. 14
Figure 4: World population growth during the time. (source: http://www. worldometers.
info/world-population/#total; cited: 3.3.2015). .............................................................. 17
Figure 5: three pillars and three levels of sustainable development (United Nations,
2011). .............................................................................................................................. 18
Figure 6: Three pillars of sustainable development and its components (Kenworthy &
Newman, 1999) edited by author) .................................................................................. 19
Figure 7: Pillars of sustainability with in conflict ( (Campbell, 1996) edited by author)20
Figure 8: Urban and rural population of the world (The United Nations, “2014 revision
of the World Urbanization Prospects” page 7) (United Nations, 2014). ........................ 21
Figure 9: The model of metabolism ( (Kenworthy & Newman, 1999)edited by author)22
Figure 10: Cities of Armenia by the population number in 2010 ( (NSS RA, 2010a)
edited by author) ............................................................................................................. 23
Figure 11: Rate of Urbanization in Europe from 1990-2000 (espon.eu, 2009) .............. 25
Figure 12: map of the Republic of Armenia by shrinking cities, from 1989-2014 (only
cities which have more than 5,000 residents s, the calculation of population growth in
cities affected by earthquake were done using data of 2001 and 2014,
(citypopulation.de, 2014) edited by the author) ............................................................. 25
Figure 13: Main components and sub-components of Smart City. (Cohen, 2014). ....... 27
Figure 14: Regions of Armenia (gov.am, 2015) ............................................................. 30
4
Figure 15: Administrative Structure ( (Suvaryan, 2014) edited by author) .................... 31
Figure 16: Armenia’s Ranking on the 2014-2015 Global competitiveness index (
(weforum.org, 2014) page 117) ..................................................................................... 33
Figure 17: Structure of Economic Output of Armenia (Tumasyan et al, 2014)edited by
author) ............................................................................................................................. 34
Figure 18: Education level of Republic of Armenia ( (employment.am, 2010) edited by
author) ............................................................................................................................. 35
Figure 19: Share of population growth by January of 2013th (NSS RA, 2013) ............. 38
Figure 20: The chart of economically active residents of Syunik province ( (NSS RA,
2014 ), (NSS RA, 2014b) edited by author) ................................................................... 39
Figure 21: The chart of population by income groups (in 1000 Armenian Dram, (NSS
RA, 2014b) edited by author). ........................................................................................ 40
Figure 22: The chart of unemployed people in Syunik province ( (NSS RA, 2014b)
edited by author). ............................................................................................................ 40
Figure 23: The share of population according to type of income ( (NSS RA, 2011b)
edited by author) ............................................................................................................. 41
Figure 24: The number of cultural institutions and frequency of visiting in the Syunik
province (NSS RA, 2014s)edited by author). ................................................................. 41
Figure 25: The charts of crime numbers during different years in Republic of Armenia
and Syunik province ( (NSS RA, 2014c) edited by author). .......................................... 42
Figure 26: Map of North-South highway (northsouth.am, 2014) ................................... 45
Figure 27: Share of electricity production during 2001 (mud.am, 2002) and 2012
(Goenjian, 2012)(edited by author) ................................................................................ 46
Figure 28: Percentage of Gas Transition pipelines inside Republic of Armenia provided
by two gas importers (minenergy.am, 2014)edited by author) ....................................... 47
Figure 29: structure of industrial production by produced units (%) during 2013 (NSS
RA, 2014 ; NSS RA, 2014gs) edited by author) ............................................................ 48
Figure 30: : The summary of Positive and Negative factors, impacting on life and
development of Syunik province (by author). ................................................................ 50
Figure 31: map of Goris administrative region in Syunik province ( (ArmProject , 2006)
edited by author) ............................................................................................................. 52
Figure 32: Map of Goris City area (ArmProject , 2006) ................................................ 52
Figure 33: Graphical view of planned and existing population number of Goris city (
(NSS RA, 2014; ArmProject , 2006; NSS RA, 2011a) edited by author) ..................... 55
Figure 34: The table of survey done by “Syunik Women’s Resource Centers” for city of
Goris ( (Manukyan, 2013) edited by author) .................................................................. 56
Figure 35: Syunik Street entering to Goris City from North (author’s photo) ............... 58
Figure 36: one of central crossroads of Goris: signs as well as urban design are missing
(author’s photo) .............................................................................................................. 58
Figure 37: Public transportation and transport congestion (top-right) maps of Goris
(ArmProject , 2006; Arzumanyan, 2014) (edited by author) ......................................... 59
Figure 38: From the left to right; example of bad quality of waste collection and
polluted river (photo by author) ...................................................................................... 60
Figure 39: Map of green areas and open spaces in Goris city (ArmProject , 2006) edited
by author) ........................................................................................................................ 62
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Figure 40: Areal view of city of Goris among tis natural environment (google.de/maps,
2014) ............................................................................................................................... 63
Figure 41: Rocks on south part of Goris are one of town’s natural attractions (source:
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/50389225, cited: 3.3.2015) ..................................... 63
Figure 42: Traditional house with“Barkash” facing and a water source in front of it in
the center of Goris city ................................................................................................... 64
Figure 43: Public square in front of municipality (library, museum and theater in the
back) (author’s photo) .................................................................................................... 64
Figure 44: The map of public and cultural services with catchment areas (ArmProject ,
2006) edited by author) ................................................................................................... 65
Figure 45: Map of houses in Goris city according to its type ( (ArmProject , 2006)
edited by author) ............................................................................................................. 67
Figure 46: Village houses next to the river on south part of the city (author’s photo)... 68
Figure 47: The type of "city" house in the historical center(author’s photo) ............... 68
Figure 48: Multifamily house in the center of the city, next to municipality (author’s
photo). ............................................................................................................................. 69
Figure 49: Area for commercial activities is mostly empty ( (ArmProject , 2006;
google.de/maps, 2014) edited by author). ...................................................................... 70
Figure 50: Map of commercial and production in the urbanized area of Goris (
(ArmProject , 2006) edited by author) ............................................................................ 71
Figure 51: The summary of Positive and Negative factors, impacting on life and
development of Goris city (by author) ........................................................................... 73
Figure 52: Short summary of SWOT analysis (by author) ............................................. 77
Figure 53: Area next to Hersbruck (Best Practice 2 area) (gps-tour.info/de, 2011) ....... 78
Figure 54: Cycle of Creativity (Landry, 2004) ............................................................... 80
Figure 55: Huddersfield Creative Loft in the building of former Mechanic Institute
(source: www.lettwo.co.uk/listing/creative-lofts-northumberland-street; cited: 3.3.2015)
........................................................................................................................................ 81
Figure 56: Changes done in Economic, Social and Environmental fields in Huddersfield
(Landry, 2004) ................................................................................................................ 83
Figure 57: Criteria of "Cittaslow", the logo of slow cities is in the middle ((Mayer,
2010) edited by author). .................................................................................................. 84
Figure 58: Changes done in Social, Environmental and Economic fields of Hersbruck
(Knox & Mayer, 2013; Landry, 2004) (edited by author) .............................................. 86
Figure 59: Spa and pool in Hersbruck, Fackelmann Therme
(sourcehttp://www.freizeitbad.de/en/waterparks/waterparks-
overview/germany.html?badid=95 cited: 3.3.2015) ....................................................... 87
Figure 60: the main components promoting the city as a health region ......................... 87
Figure 61: Tree main components of the revitalization concept for Goris administrative
area. ................................................................................................................................. 90
Figure 62: Main components on which can creative milieu of Goris be based (Landry,
2004) edited by author). .................................................................................................. 91
Figure 63: the entrance and costumes check point of "RAO Mars" Yerevan (fez.am,
2013) ............................................................................................................................... 92
Figure 64: The map of Southern Touristic Corridor with its cluster, in the region of
Goris there are two clusters Goris and Tatev (AECOM, 2011)(p.99). ........................... 93
6
Figure 65: The longest cableway "Wings of Tatev" passing over Vorotan gorge to Tatev
Monastery (source: http://www.photo-week.net/tatev4.php; cited: 3.3.2015) ............... 94
Figure 66: Illustration of development of hotel and mixed used areas in Tatev village
next to Tatev monastery ((AECOM, 2011)page147). .................................................... 94
Figure 67: Main components supporting creation of Touristic Milieu in Goris
administrative area (by author). ...................................................................................... 96
Figure 68: Factors promoting "Healthy" milieu in Goris administrative area (by author).
........................................................................................................................................ 97
Figure 69: All the conditions (combined) that create one common milieu for "Creativity,
Tourism and Health" (by author). ................................................................................. 100
Figure 70: Sectors which includes the factors supporting the "Common Milieu" (by
author) ........................................................................................................................... 100
Figure 71: The main components that should be highlighted in new brand of Goris
region (by author). ........................................................................................................ 102
Figure 72: The concept of public transportation lines for national and provincial bus
lines (ArmProject , 2006)edited by author) .................................................................. 104
Figure 73: The concept of public transportation lines for national and provincial bus
lines after construction of new highway (ArmProject , 2006)edited by author) .......... 105
Figure 74: The public transport route recommendations for Goris administrative region
(ArmProject , 2006; AECOM, 2011)edited by author) ................................................ 107
Figure 75: The sketch for lines of new smart buses (ArmProject , 2006; Arzumanyan,
2014) (by author). ......................................................................................................... 108
Figure 76: The sketch of new central bus station in the place of unused productive space
(by author) .................................................................................................................... 109
Figure 77: Proposed cycling tracks along the street in Goris town (photo and edited by
author) ........................................................................................................................... 110
Figure 78: Syunik Street passing through city of Goris (author’s photo) .................... 110
Figure 79: The section of cycling "tramp" in Trondheim (Ruben, 2007 ) ................... 111
Figure 80: Goris region and different attractions existing in the area with unused
productive areas (ArmProject, 2006; google.de/maps, 2014; AECOM, 2011) (edited by
author) ........................................................................................................................... 112
Figure 81: The Map of Goris urban area showing different attractions, health care,
hospitality, commercial zones and unused productive spaces of in the city (ArmProject,
2006; google.de/maps, 2014) edited by author). .......................................................... 113
Figure 82: The recommendations for open spaces, with Waterfront Park, Pedestrian
Street and touristic routes. (ArmProject, 2006; google.de/maps, 2014) (edited by
author). .......................................................................................................................... 115
Figure 83: Waterfront Park connected with Pedestrian Street (by author), 1. Pedestrian
(priority) crossing, Example: Santa Monica, CA; 2. Pedestrian street using local
materials and architecture, Example: Xintiandi, Shanghai, China; 3. Public space and
café from chip local materials, Example: Berges de Seine, Paris, France; 4 Open space
next to river, example: Louise McKinney Riverfront Park, Edmonton, Canada, 5. Path
for pedestrians and cyclists, Example: Cherry Creek, Denver, USA; 6 Playgrounds and
leisure space, Example: Fraser River, Richmond, BC Canada (source on the picture).
...................................................................................................................................... 116
Figure 84: A constructed wetland (limnos.si, 2010) .................................................... 118
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Figure 85: A wetland on field (limnos.si, 2010)........................................................... 118
Figure 86: The structure of biogas plant in village (Rajendran et al, 2012) ................. 119
Figure 87: Biogas planet used for generation power and nutrition for plants (source:
https://energypedia.info/wiki/Electricity_Generation_from_Biogas , cited :3.3.2015).
...................................................................................................................................... 120
Figure 88: Cycle of biogas production from sewage water (Ridden, 2010) ................. 120
Figure 89: The Didcot sewage works in Oxfordshire, England (Ridden, 2010) .......... 121
Figure 90: The procedure of a social activity development program in the area (by
author). .......................................................................................................................... 122
Figure 91: The circle of creativity for Goris, is changed including different stakeholders
(by author) .................................................................................................................... 123
Figure 92: Sketch of different accessibility levels for web environment of Goris city (by
author). .......................................................................................................................... 126
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Main characteristics of sustainable and unsustainable cities (source:
http://archive.rec.org/REC/Programs/SustainableCities/Characteristics.html, edited by
author) ............................................................................................................................. 21
Table 2: Some of improved components of Friedrichshafen in collaboration with
Deutsche Telecom. (Hatzelhoffer et al, 2012), page 047) .............................................. 28
Table 3: list of monuments according to their type ( (mud.am, 2002) edited by author) 37
Table 4: list of towns situated in Syunik province (edited by author) ............................ 39
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to the supervisors of this
thesis: Prof. Dr. Michael Peterek and Ph.D. Jeffrey Kenworthy. During this work they
provided me with valuable advice and guidance. Their help was irreplaceable during the
process of finding and filtering the appropriate case studies.
I would also like to thank all professors of the Master Program “Urban
Agglomerations” in the University of Applied Science Frankfurt am Main. They provided
me valuable knowledge and experience necessary for working in the urban planning and
research fields in the future.
Additionally, I would like to thank Vachagan Aduntc, the mayor of the city of Goris
who expressed an official interest in this project. He helped me find important information
during the site visit.
I am also thankful to Nune Petrosian, the head of the Architectural studio at
"Armproject" OJSC, for providing necessary information about my research area.
This thesis would not have been possible without Anush Hovakimyan and Ruzanna
Torozyan from the Goris Women’s Development “Resource Centre” Foundation who
inspired me to work on this particular case study and provided me with first-hand
information.
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DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP
PRÜFUNGSORDNUNG 2008
Fachhochschule Frankfurt Am Main
Frankfurt University Of Applied Sciences
Master Programme Urban Agglomerations
First Name: _______________ Last Name: _________________________________
Matr.-Nr: _________________ Place and Date Of Birth: ______________________
I hereby declare that the master thesis, which I am handing in today, is my own
work, produced independently, using no other sources appliances or other means of
support, than those specified.
Frankfurt Am Main________________ ______________________________________
Georgi Avetisyan
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CHAPTER 1: Introduction
This Chapter introduces the context of thesis. In the beginning (1.1Research Area)
it gives background information about the city and its current situation. Based on this,
second part explains the aim of the project and the author’s motivation (1.2Goal of the
Project). Subsequently, the chapter provides information about the individuals or
organizations that can be interested in the project (1.3 Target Groups), as well as shows
the area of applicability of the project.
In the end the thesis has to offer an answer on the research question. Therefore,
the next part of the Chapter 1 highlights the main question of project and explains its sub-
questions (1.4 Research Question). The answers to the stated questions were found
through sub-questions was done through using a specific structure and method, which are
clarified in the next section (1.5 Method and Structure). The final part of the chapter (1.6
Limitations) states the limitations of the thesis.
1.1: RESEARCH AREA
The case study area is a city called Goris situated in the south part of the Republic of
Armenia. The city is about 235 km far from Yerevan, the capital city of the country.
Situated in the Syunik Marz (province) about 67km far from administrative center of the
province is Kapan (ArmProject , 2006). The town is spread in a nice natural environment
between hills with average height of 1398m (above the sea level) (Voskanyan, 2013).
The area was inhabited before Christ, from those ages the area was developing
around the roads connecting the Caspian waterfront with Armenia and Iran. The town
was erected during the Russian rule in the19th century next to Goris village (Voskanyan,
2013). After the Communist revolution the city started to develop rapidly, from the 1920-
s it was officially the 4th important city of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. During
the Soviet Union the population was rising. In the beginning of the 21st century its
population reached to 23,100 (Voskanyan, 2013). The population consisted of Armenians
and speaks a specific dialect of Armenian, which is not so different from the official
Armenian language.
The city of Goris had different kind of industries during the Soviet Union but after
the collapse of the Soviet Union the industrial plants closed and the economy went down
significantly. The result was a high level of unemployment. However, due to its nice
natural conditions the city is intended to be a recreational zone and touristic center
(Voskanyan, 2013). Although more than 20 years have passed since then, the economic
depression and low employment remain of the biggest challenges of the city. As a result
Goris’ population decreases.
Currently Goris is a shrinking city which has lost about 15% of its population during
the last 25 years ((citypopulation.de, 2014) author’s calculation). As mentioned above,
the reasons of the shrinkage are mainly economical; however, the city has environmental
problems as well. Nevertheless, the city has all necessary infrastructures for work and
10
life. There are number of issues which can develop the area and make it attractive for life,
work, tourism, and health resorts.
1.2: GOAL OF TH PROJECT
The goal of this project is to revitalize the city of Goris using the concept of
sustainability. The project intends to find a concept of urban regeneration which will
create a sustainable city, attractive for life and work. This concept is supposed to be a new
approach, as the standard approaches, used until now, have not produced any positive
results. The local government is trying to find new ways of development. Thus, the thesis
is aimed on creating a vision for future development of Goris, based on the existing
resources and methods of sustainable planning.
1.3: TARGET GROUPS
The thesis started from meeting some residents and the mayor of the city. The idea
of this thesis was a result of conversation with the residents. They were very interested in
the development of their city. Thus the target groups are:
The residents of because the project can provide ideas which could be realized by
small- or medium-size business and social organizations. Local businesses, such as hotels
and “B&B”-s can use some aspects or recommendations from this thesis. One of the local
non-profit organizations, “Syunik Women Resource Center”, is already interested in
some of the recommendations.
The local authorities, the mayor of the city has expressed his interest in this work
and the solutions proposed herein. He is interested to see the new and innovative
approaches or ideas about the future development of the city.
“ArmProject” OJSC which provided some important information is interested in
this thesis. The point is that the existing master plan of the town is designed till 2016, and
supposedly “ArmProject” OJSC will be working on the new one. They already mentioned
that they are interested in a new vision of the development for this town.
The ideas created during the thesis can also be of interest for some regional
development organizations which are working in this area. These can include “Tatev
revival” or “IDeA” foundations, which has already started developing a part of Goris
administrative area. Many of the recommendations proposed in the project are being taken
into consideration for plans of touristic development made by IDeA Foundation and the
Government of the Republic of Armenia.
1.4: RESEARCH QUESTION
The research of the area shows that it has a number of problems. As mentioned above,
as a result of these issues the town is shrinking. Thus the research question is:
How to revitalize the city of Goris through sustainable planning?
11
It is interesting to find that the residents of Goris, local non-governmental and
governmental organizations are stating almost the same problems. It seems that
conditions making this town to shrink are clear. However, for more than 20 years these
problems have not been solved. It is also clear that in order to have a good urban
environment it has to be sustainable. So the project of revitalization is an attempt of
creating a sustainable town in the Republic of Armenia. That means - to avoid shrinkage
and attract more people to travel, work or live in Goris.
In order to answer the research question, number of sub-questions should be
answered:
1. What is sustainability for a small city?
This will provide a theoretical background of sustainability and will highlight its
importance for urban areas. It shows the main aspects, on which the sustainable
environment is based. As a result it will highlight some challenges of sustainable
development in small city.
2. How does the city of Goris relate with its surrounding regions?
This question is leading to the research of the area where the city is situated. The
research is performed on different levels: international, national, and provincial. The
answer on this sub-question is clarifies the current role of the city and its opportunities
for the future.
3. What kind of a city is Goris?
The sub-question refers to the urban area of Goris. Therefore, it is important to have
a look on the city and its physical structure, to analyze the urban form and its connection
with the hinterland. Other factor that will be highlighted in order to answer this sub-
question is the collaboration between different issues of urban structure (nature, urban
form, transport, services, etc.).
4. What are the problems of the city?
It is clear that this city is not sustainable; it is shrinking because of some crucial
problems are not being solved. That’s why it is important to highlight the existing
problems. The analysis of the city and its context highlights the existing unfavorable
conditions of life. This research is also highlighting the capabilities and strengths of the
area. Thus highlighted opportunities and strengths are giving hint for future revitalization
of Goris town.
5. What Best Practices of sustainable revitalization can be found?
To provide an answer to this question some examples of best practices were chosen.
These examples show how other cities in other countries, with similar context and
problems, have been able to develop sustainable towns. In order to answer this sub-
question it is important to highlight mechanisms of revitalization used in chosen practices.
It is also important to show the level of applicability of highlighted mechanisms.
6. What concept can be applied for revitalization?
This is the final question that answers the main question. It states the changes which
can be made on different levels in order to solve the existing problems. The answer must
show the most important aspects that will lead to the revitalization of the town. The
12
answer should also include some basic recommendations which will support or promote
the chosen strategy of revitalization (Figure1).
Figure 1: The sequence of sub-questions in order to answer the main question (by
author)
1.5: METHOD AND STRUCTURE
This project offers a structure that subsequently proceeds to the answer of the
research question. In order to answer the research question different sources were used,
such as books, online magazines or documents, web pages, maps and sociological
surveys. This project which comes up with strategy and recommendations for the case
study area is based on research in different levels. The research includes the local context
and international experience. Based on the results of these researches the concept for
revitalization is formed (Figure 2), while both parts of the project consider the same
theoretical background.
First of all the thesis gives theoretical information about the main issues that are being
discussed during the research (Figure 2). This includes the theories of:
Sustainability, because the final goal is a creation of a sustainable city.
Shrinkage, because during the project it is stated that the city is shrinking.
Smart City, because the local govnerment intends to develop smart technologies
for the city.
After the theoretic information, the research on of case study area and international
experience (similar context) follows. The research is conventionally divided into two
parts depending on its level (Figure 2).
How to revitalize city of Goris in Armenia through sustainable
planning?
1. What is sustainability for a small city?
2. How does the city of Goris relate with its surrounding
regions?
3. What kind of city is Goris?
4. What are the problems of the town?
5. What Best Practices of sustainable revitalization can
be found?
6. What concept can be applied for
revitalization?
13
At first the survey describes the national context, including the research of the
country and province to which the city belongs. This shows the importance and the role
of the city in the national context. Here a number of national and provincial factors impact
the current situation of the city. After this part, the research goes inside the area, into the
local context. This is done in order to get the main characteristics of the city. The summary
of both contexts renders the “picture” of the current conditions of the city. Official
information and data from webpages, local government (handed into the author
personally from municipality) and NGO-s have been used for the research. This data also
includes cadastral maps and other drawings of the city. Photos of the area were mainly
taken by the author, have also been used.
Figure 2: The structure of the thesis (by author)
After this, a research of similar practices in different parts of the world is done. Here
the best practices are chosen by:
The scale: the chosen city had to have a population size similar to the size of the
case study area. Depending on the number of residents the priorities of urban development
can be different.
Its role: the chosen cities do not have to be among the most important cities of the
country. Here the research area is the second important city in one of ten provinces of
Armenia, so chosen examples should have similar role in their provinces or country.
Environment: the case study city has nice natural and cultural environment thus
the chosen examples are supposed to have some similarities related to the natural or
cultural background.
Location: best practices should preferably be situated on nationally important
roads, similar to the research area.
Lack of resources: the case study area is not rich with natural resources so the
chosen practices should not have resource-based economy. The main reason is that cities
developed on natural resources are using other planning “tools”.
Research Level
•Context
• Exerience
Theoretical base
•Sustainable
•Shrinking
Theory applied
•Sustainable
•Smart CityProposal
Existing situation
Local
context
National
context
Best Practices
International
experience
14
Crisis: all examples have to be facing an economical or environmental crisis. The
crisis is a crucial issue in this case, as crisis leads to innovative solutions of urban
development (Landry, 2004).
Based on the above-stated criteria, best practices can be found mainly in Europe.
European countries have many similarities with Armenia in social and cultural issues. At
the same time a big number of European population lives in small or medium size towns
(United Nations, 2014).
After researching different levels and fields, the projects provide a proposal that is
actually the answer of the main question. The proposal consists of three parts that are
consequently connected with each other. Thus the concept considers (Figure 3):
Creation of favorable conditions that is conventionally called “milieu”.
Formation of a new image of the area that will show the new vision of its
development.
Recommendations that will be made in order to improve different sectors of the
city and create a “common milieu”.
Figure 3: Levels of thesis (by author)
Based on the above-stated the thesis is divided into six chapters.
1. Chapter 1 is introducing the thesis and the research question.
2. Chapter 2 provides background information about the theoretical issues that
would be stated or discussed during the project.
3. Chapter 3 describes different issues of the case study area starting from the
national level to the local. So it describes the situation in the country and province. After
that the research goes into the urban area and its hinterlands. This also includes the
research based on the physical area of the city (maps and drawings). The chapter
concludes by highlighting the main problems and opportunities of the area (as
conclusion).
4. Chapter 4 researches the practices which have solved similar problems. These best
practices are chosen based on the conclusions of the research area. The concepts and
mechanisms used the in best practices are highlighted and used for the final part of the
thesis.
Research
Existing situation
•National
•Local
Best Practices
•International
Proposal leands to Concepts of
Milieu
New Image
Recommendations in different Sectors
Mobility
ZoningPublic space
SocialWeb & Media
15
5. Chapter 5 is the final part which provides the proposal. This is the proposal that
includes the concept of revitalization which is the basis for future changes of the area.
The concept considers a creation of the favorable environment or conditions in order to
develop this region, thus leading to rebranding and recommendations of improve ation in
the area. The rebranding is supposed to show a new direction of development for this city.
It is aimed on the creation of an attractive image for a “new” Goris. The recommendations
are considering a number of changes in different aspects of the region and city.
6. Chapter 6 is the conclusion of the thesis that highlights the answers to the sub-
questions and the main question. It shows the findings of the projects and its importance
for the area. The answer to the main question is the goal of the project.
Thus the chapters are arranged in the way that the introduction leads to the research
and the research leads to the proposal providing an answer of the research question.
1.6: LIMITATIONS
Some limitations have impacted the results of the thesis. Supposedly in the case
of fewer limitations, the result could have been different. One of these limitations is the
time. The project was performed considering the time limitation (18 weeks). Thus the
project is not going into much detail of each recommendation, while in the case of less
time limitations more detailed proposal could have been created. At the same time it
should be stated that such projects need more data. Another kind of limitation was the
lack of precise information. The point is that some detailed information about different
aspects of the area is not available online. Meanwhile some kind of information cannot
be found even on the research area. For example, the city claims that the river is polluted
and it is obvious from the site visit, while there is no official information about the level
of pollution. Another example is that the official sources claim that the construction of a
new waste water cleaning factory is unaffordable for the city; however, there is no
information about the price of this proposed factory. Additionally, in some cases where
official information is available, it cannot be trusted. The main reason for that is a
relatively high level of corruption in the country (transparency.org, 2014). Another kind
of limitation is insufficient literature about sustainable planning of small cities. During
the research it was easy to find sustainable development projects of cities with population
of more than 100,000. Sustainable planning of middle or big cities seems to be more
popular and observed, while the research area has about 40,000 residents from which
about 20,000 live in the urban area (NSS RA, 2014).
The project by itself has limitations of the context. The thesis was focused on
solving some problems in a precise area with unique context (cultural, social, economic,
etc.). Thus the applicability of this case study in other context had to be checked.
Meanwhile, the project has some basic ideas that can be applied to different contexts.
However, the thesis is considering a project that will potentially attract many different
interested groups.
16
CHAPTER 2: Theoretical Background
This chapter provides some theoretical information about the main issues that would
be discussed during the project and its importance or applicability in the context of
Armenia. These theories are considered to be the basis of the revitalization project. Here
revitalization refers to a renewal of different fields of urban planning (society, economy,
land use, etc.) in order to renew the urban structure. The term of revitalization appeared
after Second World War and is used for developing the decaying urban areas
(boundless.com, 2014).
First of all this chapter highlights the idea of sustainable development. This part
explains the main pillars of sustainable environments. It explains why during recent years
the sustainability is becoming a crucial issue for urban planning. The article shows also
the challenges of small cities to meet the requirements of sustainable development.
The observation of the area shows that the population of the city is declining. Thus
the second part of the chapter highlights the phenomenon known as shrinkage. Shrinking
cities are found in many places of the world while each case has its reason. Thus the
article will highlight these reasons and show the phenomenon in the Republic of Armenia.
The Government of the Republic, in collaboration with an international organization
(UNECE), is planning to develop the city of Goris as a smart city (armef.com, 2014).
Thus the last part of the chapter will explain the components of such cities, its conception
and usage in practice. A relatively new issue in urban planning can be used in the future
development of the city. Thus this can be an opportunity or a tool for revitalization of
Goris city.
2.1: SUSTAINABILITY
During recent years sustainability has become a famous word, very often we can hear
this term in many different aspects: sustainable economy, sustainable society, sustainable
tourism, sustainable architecture, sustainable transport, etc. While sometimes it is not
clear what it means and why it is attached to other terms or why it is so important. The
Oxford dictionary divides the word into sus-tain-able explaining:
1. “able to be maintained at a certain rate or level,
2. able to be upheld or defended.”
(source:www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/sustainable?q=sustainabilit
y#sustainable__7; cited: 3.3.2015)
From the end of the 19th century it was clear that the economy is harming the natural
environment, this harm was rising with the development of industrialization (Kenworthy
& Newman, 1999). At the same time, rapid growth of population all over the world has
had its negative impact on different aspects of manmade and natural environment. During
the recent half century the world population has grown twice and it is predicted that after
50 years the population will be more than 9 billion (Figure4). If these trends continue, the
17
natural environment will deteriorate. That leads to the idea that the world population has
to develop sustainably, in a way that will not create problems for future generations.
However, the official recognition of the problem reached to highest levels in the
beginning of 1990-ies. In 1992 during the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development, taking place in Rio de Janeiro, sustainable development was made as
an overall challenge (United Nations, 2011). It was clearly defined that world population
has to develop sustainably. This was also recognized by a number of other international
organizations. The World Bank defines sustainable development as:
"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs” ((worldbank.org, 2001) cited: 10.01.2015)
Number of proposals led to a formation of the concept for sustainable development.
That was officially accepted 10 years later in Johannesburg during the United Nations
Conference and was called Johannesburg Plan of Implementation (JPOI) (United Nations,
2011). Here sustainability was recognized as the main development direction for
institutions of different levels.
Figure 4: World population growth during the time. (source: http://www. worldometers.
info/world-population/#total; cited: 3.3.2015).
The concept of sustainable development is based on three pillars (for all levels):
Social, Economic, and Environmental. The collaboration or balance between these three
pillars creates sustainable development conditions in “Global”, “National” or “Regional”
levels (Figure5).
“Social” is one of the pillars of sustainability which refers to the right of each
person to have access to basic necessities like food, water, healthcare, and other vitally
important services. In addition to this, people should have access to education, job and
opportunity to earn for living. This includes creating the necessary conditions and equal
opportunities for people with physical or other disabilities. Another component is the
social equality: everyone must have equal rights without discrimination on national,
18
religious or other criteria. Children and elder people should receive social care and
protection. The lack of social equality can lead to a number of problems affecting also
other countries. For example a lack of jobs or services (low standards of life) can cause a
migration from one country to another. The social aspect is very often affected by
economic or ecological conditions.
Figure 5: three pillars and three levels of sustainable development (United Nations,
2011).
“Economic sustainability” means creating the required conditions for spreading
the limited resources equally. This includes creation of an economic system where
everyone can have sufficient income for living. Each person has to be able to afford basic
provision (goods, food, etc.) or services (education, healthcare, etc.). The lack of these
opportunities can result in social inequality or create unfavorable life conditions. Such
situations will impact the “Social” part of the sustainable development. As mentioned
above, the opportunities for economic development of one country can impact the
economy, society or environment of others. For example, an industrial country will have
fewer export opportunities to the countries where most of the population is not able to
buy or use those products, thus negatively impacting the economy of other countries. The
sustainable economy must also ensure to provide sufficient resources or conditions for
future generations. This part is also connected with “Environment” as the economy should
not destroy the living environment. It is always welcomed when an economy is able to
develop or improve environmental conditions.
“Environment” concerns to both manmade and natural environments, as these two
kinds are interconnected. Very often industry or lack of clean environmental production
(waste management, energy production, mining, etc.) harms natural environments,
creating problems for existing and future generations all over the world, while population
in both, developed and developing countries should have clean air, water, renewable
19
energy and natural food. This means a creation of a kind of industry and agriculture that
will use nature efficiently and harmlessly. As other pillars of sustainable development,
environment also has its impact on other pillars: Social and Economic). However, people
very often see environmental problems through or after a social and/or economic harm
has been made.
Countries and governments in different levels should make development strategies
based on the above-mentioned. These three pillars have to be in collaboration or balance
with each other (Figure6). However, very often these three components are conflicting
with each other (worldbank.org, 2001). In short, the economist sees the space (in city or
country) as a place for economic activity: streets, rivers, planes are markets or productive
spaces. The ecologist sees the human activities as consumption of natural resources and
a potential threat. At the same time, the social scientist sees the conflict for resources and
conditions between different groups. In this case the space is a social area of community,
neighborhood, or labor groups. As the center for these conflicts Scott Campbell sees the
city (Campbell, 1996) (Figure7).
Figure 6: Three pillars of sustainable development and its components (Kenworthy &
Newman, 1999) edited by author)
All over the world, cities have a big impact on sustainability. In 2008 half of the of
population worldwide (more than 3billion people) were living in cities. It is also expected
that during the next 20 years more than 60% of the world population will become urban
(UN-Habitat, 2008). The tendencies of rising urbanization will continue and the rural
population will decrease. It is expected that in 2050 rural population will decrease to
20
nearly 3.1 billion while urban population will reach 7 billion (United Nations, 2014)
(Figure 8).
It is clear that the city has to be sustainable for the surrounding environment and for
its own population. Putting it another way, cities in the future should be self-sufficient
and able to offer low (as low as possible) number of resource consumption with high
living standards (as high as possible). Like any sustainable structure, the city should be
able to maintain itself for many years without negative impact on the environment.
Figure 7: Pillars of sustainability with in conflict ( (Campbell, 1996) edited by author)
In order to have sustainable cities some key characteristics must be taken into
consideration. Depending on the “level” of these characteristics we can see what needs to
be applied in order to meet the challenges of sustainable development. Some
characteristics will show us the level of sustainability of the city (Table1). This includes
the physical space and form of the urban area, its correlation with surrounding nature,
quality and type of production, quality of governance and local policy as well as
economical characteristics (Kenworthy, 2006).
Another tool that helps to understand the sustainability level of the city can be the
level of “metabolism” of the city that is the resource input and waste output (Kenworthy
& Newman, 1999). The quality and quantity of waste output is the one that harms natural
environment and shows the level of sustainability of urban environment (Figure9).
21
Figure 8: Urban and rural population of the world (The United Nations, “2014 revision
of the World Urbanization Prospects” page 7) (United Nations, 2014).
More Sustainable Less Sustainable
Compact forms of residential
Development.
Low-density, spread-out residential
development.
Mixed land use; homes, jobs and
shopping in close proximity/TD.
Segregation of land uses: homes, jobs
and shopping separated into uniform
tracts or concentrations.
Employment based primarily on
education and skills.
Employment based primarily on
environment polluting or non-renewable
resource based industry.
Movement on foot and by bicycle
and transit.
Heavy dependence on private cars.
Wind and solar energy. Thermal and nuclear energy.
Tertiary treatment of sewage; use of
natural means of sewage treatment.
Discharge of sewage into water
bodies or water-courses untreated or with
low level of treatment.
Protection and use of natural
hydrologic systems.
Hard surfaces preventing infiltration;
channeling natural water-courses.
Natural open space; protection of
wetlands, woodlands, stream valleys,
habitat, etc.; use of manure, compost,
integrated pest management, etc.
Destruction of natural landscape;
"manicured" parkland with exotic
species; heavy use of chemical
fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides.
Reduction of waste; recovery, re-use
and recycling of waste materials.
Landfills, incinerators.
Table 1: Main characteristics of sustainable and unsustainable cities (source:
http://archive.rec.org/REC/Programs/SustainableCities/Characteristics.html,
cited:3.3.2015, edited by author)
22
Figure 9: The model of metabolism ( (Kenworthy & Newman, 1999)edited by author)
These criteria are for all types of cities while depending on the size the cities have
different challenges to meet in order to develop sustainably. Particularly small cities are
facing some sustainability problems that bigger ones do not face, and vice versa. Thus
almost all small towns (up to 50,000 residents depending on the country) face the same
problems connected with:
“Economic decline, environmental degradation, outmigration, segregation,
exclusion, antisocial behavior and loss of distinction and sense of the place” ( (Knox &
Mayer, 2013), page26).
Here very often local socio-cultural traditions are under the threat of extinction.
These are explained as the result of high urbanization and globalization rates in the world
(Knox & Mayer, 2013).
Principles of sustainable urban planning (in the mentioned format) are relatively new
in Armenia. While the 63% of population was living in cities in 2014, this number will
grow up to 70% in future 40 years ( (United Nations, 2014) page22). The capital city,
DYNAMIC OF SETTLEMENT
transportation priprities, economic priorities, cultural
priorities.
RESOURCE INPUT
land, water, food, energy, building materials, etc.
WASTE OUTPUT
solid or liquid waste, toxics,
sewage, air pollutio.
LIVABILITY
health, employment,
income, education, housing, leisure,
accessibility, urban design, community.
23
Yerevan has the highest number of urban population in the country - about 30% (author’s
calculation (NSS RA, 2010a)), while most of the cities in Armenia have population of
less than 100,000 (Figure10). Thus the principles of sustainable urban planning for small
or medium sized towns are becoming important for the country.
Figure 10: Cities of Armenia by the population number in 2010 ( (NSS RA, 2010a) edited by
author)
2.2: SHRINKING CITY
During the last 200 years the population is getting more and more urbanized, cities
are growing rapidly: the “classical image” of contemporary cities is a place which is
always on construction, developing new living, service or working areas for growing
population (shrinkingcities.com, 2008). Rapidly growing population prefers to live in
cities, which provide more opportunities. During the next 20 years about 60% of
population in Asia will live in cities. In developing countries urban population is growing
in average by 5 million per year (UN-Habitat, 2008). In the meantime, in parallel with
this, an opposite tendency called “shrinkage” is noticed (shrinkingcities.com, 2008). This
is a relatively new phenomenon defined as:
“Shrinking city is densely populated urban area with a minimum population of
10,000 residents that has faced population losses in large parts for more than two years
and is undergoing economic transformations with some symptoms of a structural crisis”
( (Aksel, 2013) page108)
Nowadays shrinking cities can be found all over the world both in developed and
developing countries. Taking into consideration high worldwide urbanization, this
24
phenomenon is supposed to be an exception (shrinkingcities.com, 2008), while in fact
shrinkage of cities was taking place on the same time with urbanization. As an example,
after the second half of the 20th century more than 450 cities with population more than
100,000 lost more than 1/10th of their population; among those cities 59 are in the United
States (Blnco et al, 2009).
Reasons of shrinkage are different depending on the location, socio-cultural context,
natural conditions, or political situation. As reasons for this phenomenon German
researcher Philip Oswalt highlights (shrinkingcities.com, 2008):
• Sub-urbanization process
• Economic decline
• Loss of political importance
• Local conflicts and tensions
• Poor environmental conditions overlapping with other economic and social
factors.
• Reclassification of cities (shrinkingcities.com, 2008)
The shrinkage of the cities is an important issue in Europe as well. Many post-
socialist countries in Eastern Europe have this problem (Figure11, eastern part of Europe
has lower level of urbanization rate). In this case the reason is the change in political and
social structure. The cities of the post-soviet group have to adapt their economic structure
to new conditions, during which population is migrating to other cities (or countries) in
order to find proper living conditions. For example in cities of former East Germany
(GDR) after the reunification of 1990 the unemployment rate rose to 20% ( (Blnco et al,
2009) page 224) (Figure11, depopulating of the East part of Germany while in other parts
of Germany population is growing), led to social and cultural problems, abandonment of
urban infrastructure and millions of houses (CUBE Gallery, 2003). Similar situation can
be found in other post-soviet countries.
Many cities in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) have not been able to
find a development strategy appropriate for the new socio-economical context. For
example, an industrial city called Ivanovo in Russia (250km from Moscow) with
population of more than 1 million lost about 5.8% of its population, and more in
surrounding regions, after collapse of the USSR ( (CUBE Gallery, 2003) page 4).
Like other CIS countries, Armenia has a problem of shrinking cities (Figure 12 shows
a map based on statistical data from 1989-2014). Most of the cities lost from 10% to30%
of the population during the last 25 years. It is also worth mentioning that even Yerevan,
which always has migration from other parts of the country, has lost about 10% of its
residents during the last 25 years ( (citypopulation.de, 2014) author’s calculations).
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was one of the industrialized countries in
the Soviet Union but after the collapse of the USSR, cities in the newly established
Republic of Armenia have not been able recover their industrial strength. The other
reasons of shrinkage in Armenia were also provoked by other factors, such as the
economic blockade, the Karabakh military conflict, and the earthquake in 1988. These
factors caused a huge migration from Armenia and since today the country can't pull of
the negative effects and start development.
25
Figure 11: Rate of Urbanization in Europe from 1990-2000 (espon.eu, 2009)
Figure 12: map of the Republic of Armenia by shrinking cities, from 1989-2014 (only
cities which have more than 5,000 residents s, the calculation of population growth in
cities affected by earthquake were done using data of 2001 and 2014,
(citypopulation.de, 2014) edited by the author)
2.3: SMART CITY
26
With the development of information and communications technology (ICT) the
term “smart city” has become popular. However, the use of this term goes back to
nineteen-nineties (Hatzelhoffer et al, 2012). The idea emerged from the development of
ICT technologies, and one of the first institutions that started to do research was the
institute of Smart Communities in California. The main focus was on the changes in
communities due to new technologies (Hatzelhoffer et al, 2012).
Meanwhile these technologies have become more popular in parallel with the growth
of urban population (UN-Habitat, 2008). Thus the concept of smart cities considers
implying the infrastructural system of urban environment. “Smartification” of cities
seems to be a new direction for development of urban infrastructure and of the rising level
of sustainability. While Dr. Boyd Cohen (Professor of Entrepreneurship, Sustainability
and Smart Cities at the Universidad del Desarrollo in Santiago, Chile) mentions that the
smart city concept is more than just a use of ICT in urban infrastructures as it gives more
opportunities in different spheres of urban development (Cohen, 2012). However the
smart city can be defined as:
“The use of Smart Computing technologies to make the critical infrastructure
components and services of a city–which include city administration, education,
healthcare, public safety, real estate, transportation, and utilities–more intelligent,
interconnected, and efficient” ( (Washburn & Sindhu, 2010) page 2).
International specialists are indicating the importance of smart cities in six indicators
of:
“The use of network infrastructure to increase economic and cultural efficiency
and enable social, cultural and urban development
Emphasis on economic competitiveness
Support of social inclusion
Emphasis on the role of high-tech and creative industry with regard to long-term
growth
Taking social inequality into account
Social and economic sustainability as an important strategic component”
( (Hatzelhoffer et al, 2012) page 022)
Currently the number of cities that intend to become “smart” is rising per each
year; consequently, the number of indicators for evaluating the level of smart city is also
rising. In 2014 Dr. Boyd Cohen (collaborating with advisory committee) has defined 62
indicators and sub-indicators of smart cities, while in 2012 the list consisted of 28
indicators (Figure13) (Cohen, 2014). All these indicators describe the level of six
components and eighteen sub-components of the smart city. Each component contains
three subcomponents: that is 18 subcomponents for all components. Thus 62 indicators
ought to answer these subcomponents, in average 3.5 indicators per each component.
According to these criteria top five smart cities of 2014 in the world were Barcelona,
Copenhagen, Helsinki, Singapore, and Vancouver.
It is considered that smart technologies can imply the life and services of big cities.
In the meantime, the majority of the European urban population lives in middle-sized
cities. So the development of smart middle-sized cities in Europe is getting high
27
importance. Currently, there is a number of medium-sized (100.000-500.000 residents)
smart cities all over Europe. It can be said, that for medium-sized cities the smart
technology development is an option to meet the challenges of the 21st century and
compete with bigger cities (smart-cities.eu, 2007).
Figure 13: Main components and sub-components of Smart City. (Cohen, 2014).
The experience shows that smart technologies can be applied also for cities with
population of less than 100,000. One of the first examples was the pilot program called
T-City, realized in 2007 in cooperation of Deutsche Telecom and Friedrichshafen city
(Germany). As a result the city was able to improve some of its components in order to
facilitate citizens (Hatzelhoffer et al, 2012) (Table2)
The example of Friedrichshafen can be applicable for Armenia, where most of the
cities have population of less than 100.000 (citypopulation.de, 2014). ). At the same time
the country is promoting technology-based industries (Grigorian, 2014). Recently, in
2014, it was decided to launch a pilot program of developing a Smart City in Armenia,
this city was chosen to be Goris) (armef.com, 2014). Using smart technologies in cities
of Armenia can have a positive influence on its future development and help to meet the
challenges of the 21st century.
28
Project areas/spheres of life / municipal fields of action
Education
Platform for
education and
science
Education opportunities through E-learning, Blended
learning, knowledge transfer via Partner pool, educational and
academic management.
The Economy
Mobile work
and business
network
Mobile knowledge workplace, virtual project space,
mobile infrastructure control, E-service.
Health
Networked
healthcare services
Diagnostic portal, teleconultation. Telecooperation,
Mobile Clinic and healthcare service, administrative efficiency
in financial management.
Administration
Service-
oriented and
efficient
administration
Customer-friendly access to the administration, online
administrative service, IT-based modernization of
administration, online participation.
Transport Traffic control system, real-time information for public
transport passengers, Shared Crisis Network.
Media portal
Local information about all types and functions of terminal
devices.
Personalized
and mobile services
Information and services for tourists, citizens and
businesses
International
service platform for
citizens
Comprehensive and integrated information and services
Marketing and
training
Showroom information booths training opportunities.
Future Home ICT application for residential construction and housing
technology.
Table 2: Some of improved components of Friedrichshafen in collaboration with Deutsche
Telecom. (Hatzelhoffer et al, 2012), page 047)
29
CHAPTER 3: Case study Goris
Chapter 3 presents the case study area and its background. Starting from the
description of the country, the chapter describes the situation of the country and the
province to which the city belongs. So Chapter 3.1 is an overview of Armenia. Here the
main issues that have impact on the situation of case study area are stated. After this part
the descriptions of the province follow in Chapter 3.2. Some data of the province describe
the situation of the research area as well. Here some issues of the province are compared
with the country. The comparison is aimed at showing the importance or the role of
different factors (society, economy, infrastructure, etc.) On the national level. This point
is important for considering the future development of the area. After these descriptions,
the chapter shows a research of the town (case study area).
Chapter 3.5 is focused on more detailed description and research of the existing
territory and its different aspects. The research is aimed at finding the roots of the existing
problems. Thus it includes a social survey, analysis on the existing master plan, as well
as official descriptions of the situation. Each chapter ends with a conclusion and a table
of positive and negative issues. This helps to arrive at the final conclusion in Chapter 3.4.
In the end the conclusion provides an SWOT analysis that is based on the conclusions
stated in the previous chapters. The SWOT provides basis for future research and
proposals.
3.1: OVERVIEW OF ARMENIA
3.1.1: GEOGRAPHY
The Republic of Armenia is a landlocked mountainous country situated along the
Great Silk Road with a number of cultural heritages and diverse nature. It is located in
Southwestern Asia, in the Caucasus region bordering Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Iran, and Turkey. Nowadays, the territory of Armenia is 29,740 square
kilometers (mfa.am, 2011). Having closed boarders with Azerbaijan and Turkey, and
insufficient road infrastructure and connection between Georgia and Iran, Armenia’s
development is handicapped.
The highest peak is Mount Aragats (4090m above sea level) and the lowest point is
the gorge of Debed River (380m) (mfa.am, 2011).The weather is highland continental,
with hot summers and cold winters. The country has very few natural resources, such as
small deposits of gold, copper, molybdenum, zinc, and alumina. The diverse nature,
mountainous landscape, ancient monuments and attractions make the country an
attractive tourism destination (mfa.am, 2011).
30
3.1.2: STATE STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
The Republic of Armenia is a presidential republic divided into 10 regions
(Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Gegharquniq, Lory, Kotayq, Shirak, Syuniq, Vayots Dzor,
Tavush) and the capital Yerevan (Figure 14). Yerevan is divided into districts and is
governed by the law on the local self-government in the city of Yerevan. Governors of
the regions improve the regional policy of the Government and coordinate the activities
of local branches of the executive authority (Figure 15). The regions consist of urban and
rural areas. There are 48 urban and 865 rural communities in Armenia (mta.gov.am,
2011). Communities are governed by RA Law “On Local Self-Government”, which is
based on the European Charter of Local Self-Government, by other laws and legal acts.
The local self-government bodies consist of the Community Council and the head of the
community, which are elected for four years (gov.am, 2015).
Figure 14: Regions of Armenia (gov.am, 2015)
31
Figure 15: Administrative Structure ( (Suvaryan, 2014) edited by author)
3.1.3: POPULATION
In 2014 total de jure population size provided by National Statistical Service of the
Republic of Armenia is 3,017,100 person with the average of 74.8 years life expectancy
at birth. 96% of the population is ethnic Armenians, and the rest are Ezidis, Russians,
Assyrians, Ukrainians, Kurds, Greeks, and others. Armenian is the official language (NSS
RA, 2014ar). As one of the post-Soviet Union countries, Russian is still widely used in
Armenia (NSS RA, 2014ar). Armenia experienced the first genocide of 20th century by
Young Turks in 1915. More than 1.5 million people were perished (armeniainfo.am,
2003a) . The rest who survived the genocide became refuges in different countries.
According to the UN data, the total number of Armenians living outside of the
country is around 3 million (data.un.org, 2014), whereas according to other sources the
number of those outside is estimated a little less than 10 million. Nowadays the largest
Armenian communities are in Russia (2.25 million), USA (1.5 million), and France (about
450,000) (armeniadiaspora.com, 2011).
The national religion is Christianity, and the nation follows the Armenian Apostolic
Church, which is headed by the Catholicos of All Armenians. Armenia was the first
country in the world to officially adopt Christianity as its official religion (A.D. 301)
(armeniainfo.am, 2003).
3.1.4: ECONOMY
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia became an independent
republic. Armenia had the same type of economic transformations as other former Soviet
republics. The country experienced a transition from public ownership to private
ownership or mixed ownership relations, a transition from centralized economy to market
relations, and a transition from administrative pricing methods to a demand-supply model,
President
Committees
Councils adjunct to
president
Government of the
Republic of Armenia National Assembly
Regional
Administration/ 10
regions and the
capital/Yerevan Ministries Standing Committees
Local Self-
Government
Authorities of the RA
32
labor market liberalization and decentralization, and so on. The country experienced a
rapid growth of poverty, a decay of economic infrastructures, trade deficit, high
unemployment, a high level of inflation and other economic challenges. In the initial
phase of Armenia’s independence, in addition to the problems mentioned above, Armenia
experienced a devastating earthquake, a war, partial blockade and energy crisis
(Janbazian, 2014).
The economy today is market-oriented, and highly receptive to trade, capital, and
technological innovation (Janbazian, 2014).
Armenia has approximately 20 % open borders with Iran and Georgia, and the rest
of the borders, including all roads, rail lines, and pipelines from Turkey and Azerbaijan
into Armenia are closed (un.mfa.am, 2011). The current phase of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict began in 1988, when in response to the self-determination claims of the NK
population, the Azeri authorities organized massacres and ethnic cleansings of the
Armenian population on the entire territory of Azerbaijan, particularly in Sumgait, Baku
and Kirovabad (un.mfa.am, 2011). As it has very few natural resources the country
depends on trade with neighboring nations to develop its economy (Janbazian, 2014).
The Armenian economy is heavily dependent on Russia, the country's largest foreign
investor and trade partner as well as the source of remittances sent home to Armenia
by migrant workers. Armenia has also developed a close political relationship with Russia
in order to secure itself against neighbors Turkey and Azerbaijan (yerevan.today/am,
2014).
Armenia was in the process of joining the European free trade agreement, but the
process was interrupted when Armenia signed a treaty on Armenia's accession to the
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and starting from January 1 of 2015 it became the fourth
member of the Union. There were a lot of debates about this decision and its future
positive or negative impacts on Armenia’s economy, because the decision was influenced
by Russia. Armenia's entry into the EEU means it will have to transition to a unified tariff
system with the Union's other members and the benefits still need to be identified
(yerevan.today/am, 2014).
Armenia is ranked number 85 in the Global Competitiveness Index 2014-2015
released by the World Economic Forum. It is an assessment of 144 countries, providing
insight into the drivers of their productivity and prosperity. Georgia is placed 69th,
Azerbaijan is 38th, Turkey is 45th and Russia is 53rd (weforum.org, 2014).
Armenia had very low scores in almost every category, but the lowest score (2.8) has
been recorded in Market size ranked 118th out of 144 and Innovation (3.0) ranked 104th
(Figure 16). The highest score (5.3) Armenia received in Health and Primary Education.
It ranks as a lower middle-income country (weforum.org, 2014).
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Armenia was 10.43 billion USD in 2013.
Nominal GDP per capita for Armenia in 2013 is estimated at 3,449 USD, which is still
lower than the same indicator of 2008 (USD 3,606) (avenueconsulting.am, 2014).
Agriculture is one of the most important sectors of Armenian economy, which constitutes
19.3 % of Armenia’s GDP (Figure 17) (Tumasyan et al, 2014). Today, the challenges
such as weather vulnerability, marketing, old agricultural infrastructures and methods
33
make the field low productive (avenueconsulting.am, 2014). Despite the low productivity
compared with other sectors, 40% of total employment is involved in the sector and it
contributes to income generation in rural areas. The official statistics proves that the
structure of economic output will be changed in favor of industrial and agricultural
sectors. In that, the Government priorities emphasize the role of export-oriented
manufacturing sectors and high value added agricultural sub-sectors
(avenueconsulting.am, 2014).
Figure 16: Armenia’s Ranking on the 2014-2015 Global competitiveness index (
(weforum.org, 2014) page 117)
In the government’s agro-food policy, organic agriculture is part of Armenia’s
sustainable development concept and is a priority area. The field can create great
opportunities for the small and medium businesses involved in agriculture and food
production (Willer & Kilcher, 2011).
In 2012, 32.4 % of the population lived below the national poverty line of 37,000
AMD (about 67 EUR), which has only decreased marginally since 2011( (World Bank,
2014) page 8). The poverty headcount increased from 27.6 % in 2008 to 35.0 % in 2011
during the crisis years. Studies show, that the gap between the urban (32.5 %) and rural
areas (32.1 %) is very small ( (World Bank, 2014) page 8). The poverty rate in Yerevan
is much lower compared to the regions, which means that there are significant structural
differences between the capital and the regions.
34
Figure 17: Structure of Economic Output of Armenia (Tumasyan et al, 2014)edited by author)
Due to economic instability and high unemployment rate in the regions, there are
very high migration flows from rural areas to cities, especially to the capital.
Between 1988 and 2001 total net emigration was about 1.1 million (30% of the
country’s population) (Makaryan & Galstyan, 2012) pages 26, 27). Studies show that 94
percent of external migrants are labor migrants ( (ilo.org, 2009) page 6). The annual
number of labor migrants is over 600 000 people who seek jobs in Russia, mainly in
construction industry (about 20 % of the population, author’s calculations) (Makaryan &
Galstyan, 2012) pages 26, 27). Their families stay in Armenia and the migrants support
them with money. They stay in Russia temporary, but at the same they can’t stay in
Armenia permanently either because of high unemployment rate and low wages (ilo.org,
2009). While men work abroad few resources exist for women. They mostly depend on
remittances from those who migrated. It is difficult for women to get financial
independence, much less get out of poverty.
3.1.5: EDUCATION
The educational level of population in Armenia is high: more than 99% of the
population is literate- 41.1% of the labor resources have general secondary education,
18.4% have professional education, and 17.1% have higher education (employment.am,
2010) (Figure18)
Agriculture
Manufacturig
Mining
Powerand
watersupply
Construction
Trade
Transportand
communicati
on
Financial
Services
Publicadministratio
n
Healthcare,social
services
Education
Hotelsand
ctering
% 19.3 10.1 2.4 4.7 10.5 12.8 6.5 4.7 4.1 4.2 3 1.1
0
5
10
15
20
25
35
Figure 18: Education level of Republic of Armenia ( (employment.am, 2010) edited by
author)
3.2: SYUNIK PROVINCE
3.2.1: GEOGRAPHY
Syunik province is situated in the southern part of the Republic of Armenia (RA),
being next to the Vayots Dzor province of RA borders with Iran in the South, the Republic
of Azerbaijan (by Nakhijevan) in the West and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in the East
(military conflict zone) (un.mfa.am, 2011).
The province has about 4056 km2 area which is about 15.1% of the total area of RA
(NSS RA, 2013). The landscape is mountainous, the 2nd highest mountain range in
Caucasus is passing through the Syunik Province. The highest pick is Kaputjugh with 3
906 m above the ocean level and the lowest is Canyon of Meghri near the border with
Iran, about 380m (above sea level) (NSS RA, 2013). This natural area (also called
Zangezur) includes g Vorotan and Voghj (biggest in province) rivers.
The province is rich with different natural reserve areas (forests, hills, etc.),
mountainous rivers, waterfalls and lakes. Lake Kapuit is one of those lakes (translation
“blue”), with 3250m height. One of the biggest waterfalls in Caucasus called Shaki is
situated in this province (NSS RA, 2013).
The beautiful nature of the Syunik Province is filled with many historical monuments
that over time have become a part of the natural landscape such as Zorac Qarer, Tatev
Monastery, Old Khndzoresk and so on. The reason is that this province has been inhabited
from ancient times (AECOM, 2011).
1.Illitera
te
2.Incompleteprimar
y
3.Primar
y
4.Incompletebasic
5.Basicgenera
l
6.Incompletesecond
ary
7.Secondary
general
8.Initial
vocational
9.Middle
professional
10.Incomplete
higher
11.Higher
12.Postgradu
atedegree
% 0.0 0.4 1.8 2.1 6.0 4.6 41.5 3.8 18.4 3.4 17.1 0.3
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
36
3.2.2: HISTORY AND CULTURE
Inhabited from the ancient times the Syunik Province is full with different evidences
thereof , such as paintings/carvings on stone and caves which are preliminary 6,000 years
old (Avetisyan, 2013) or Zorac Qarer (known also as Karahunj) that is dedicated to the
Middle Bronze Age or Iron Age (3rd - 2nd millennia BC (3rd - 2nd millennia BC
(wondermondo.com, 2013)).
However, the first recordings about this part of Armenia were found in Urartian
(about 9th BC.) Manuscripts as part of the Urartu Kingdom. From those times the area has
been populated by Armenians. (britannica.com, 2014).
According to ancient historians, this region was the first one among the Armenian
provinces which adopted Christianity as a national religion; thus, playing an important
role in the development of the Christian Armenia (from 301 (syunik.gov.am, 2011)).
During the Middle Ages Syunik was considered the 9th province of Big Haiq
(Historical Armenia had 2 parts: Big and Small Haiq). Situated among other provinces of
Big Haiq, one of neighboring provinces was Arcakh now called Karabagh. The area at
that time was about 15,000 km2, with 1,008 villages, 43 castles and 48 temples
(syunik.gov.am, 2011).
In 987 the local lord Smbat established Syunian kingdom, this was also known as
Bahgat or Kapan Kingdom. During this time the capital city was Baghat, later at the end
of Xth century, the capital city changed to Kapan. The kingdom fell under the Seljuk
attacks during the 1,170-ies (syunik.gov.am, 2011). This was the last Armenian kingdom
in Armenian territory.
From those times the region was under the rule of different Muslim nations (mainly
Persians or Turks) (syunik.gov.am, 2011). However, the local population mainly
consisted of Christian Armenians. From the 1720-ies the area gained Armenian
governance under the Persian rule.
Form the 19th century this area became a battlefront of Russian (Tsar) and Persian
armies. In 1813, than later in 1828, the whole Syunik province passed to the Russian
kingdom (syunik.gov.am, 2011).
The area was the battle zone also during 1905-1906 and 1918-1921, between
Armenians and Tatars, later between Turkish Muslim groups, Bolsheviks and Azerbaijan.
These were the times of the first Armenian republic (1918-1920) (Encyclopedia, 2014).
And for a short period in 1920, Syunik (Zangezur at that time) and Vayots Dzor
established themselves as a free Armenian Republic of Lernahayastan. The capital city
became Goris. In 1921 Lernahayastan was connected with the Armenian Soviet Socialist
Republic and became a part of it, area known now as Syunik Province was named
Zangezur province (Aleksanyan, 2011) Goris city was left as a center of Zangezur
province. In 1930 the province was divided into 4 areas Goris, Sisian, Ghapan, and Meghri
(syunik.gov.am, 2011).
From 1988-1993 this region was imposed in the blockade and war with Azerbaijan.
Starting from 1995, Syunik Province has been one of 11 provinces of Armenian Republic.
The administrative center of Syunik became the city of Kapan (syunik.gov.am, 2011).
37
The historical background of the area is proven by many monuments, survived the
population during these centuries. Even after so many wars and rule of foreign (mainly
Muslim) conquerors the area is full of different architectural monuments, some of which
are on the list of UNESCO cultural heritage (mud.am, 2002). The list of architectural
monuments is quite big. Many monuments are unique (has no similarities elsewhere),
such as “Karhunj”, the old villages planned on landscape (village, Khndzoresk) or best
preserved 19th century Armenian town in the center of Goris city (Avagyan, 2011). In
2002 altogether there were 449 monuments (Table3).
The region was also famous by its craftsman but unfortunately there is not much left
from their works (Avagyan, 2011).
Type of Monument Historical Architectural Archeological Overall
Church / with
cemetery
46 97 - 143
Cemetery 34 3 45 82
Necropolis - - 43 43
Castel / with
cemetery
21 2 21 44
Settlement - - 8 8
Village 31 86 - 117
Town - 1 - 1
Chapel and
sanctuary
- 9 2 11
Overall 132 198 119 449
Table 3: The list of monuments in Syunik Province, according to their type ( (mud.am,
2002) edited by author)
3.2.3: POPULATION
There are not many other nationalities living in the territory of Armenia: 99.7%
Armenian, 0.2% Russians, and 0.1% other nationalities (NSS RA, 2001a). According to
the official statistical data the population of the Syunik province in the beginning of 2014
was 141,000 (NSS RA, 2014a).
The Area is one of the less populated in Armenia, in 2012 it had 4.7% of the
population of RA, while the territory is 15.1% of the territory of RA (NSS RA, 2013).
The reasons for relatively low density can be the highly mountainous terrain and
relatively big distance from the capital city and Zvartnoc International Airport (next to
Yerevan City (mud.am, 2002)). Number of man and women in the area is almost equal,
while the population is declining (Figure 19). The decline of population is obvious by:
o the number of new born children: in 2011 1,593 children were born, while in 2013,
1,479 children (NSS RA, 2014a);
o the natural growth of population in 2011 was 308 person, in 2013 only 205. Or
natural growth of population per 1000 person (NSS RA, 2014a):
in 2009 was 2.8,
38
in 2011 was 2.0,
in 2013 was 1.5.
o at the same time the number of deaths is almost on the same level: in 2011 1,285
people, and 1274 people in 2013 (NSS RA, 2014a).
About 67.3% of Syuniks population (94.7 thousand) live in cities and 46.3 thousand
in Villages (in 2013, (NSS RA, 2014a)). The area of the Syunik province is divided into
4 territories which have 7 cities (Table 4). So the administrative center is the city of
Kapan. However, all 7 towns do not have high number of population (the biggest is about
43,000, Table 4), additionally the Department of Urban Planning of RA considers a big
portion of the Syunik’s area either not appropriate for inhabitation or natural reservoirs
(mud.am, 2002).
Figure 19: Share of population growth by January of 2013th (NSS RA, 2013)
The urban and rural population (equally) show relatively high level of economic
activity in comparison with the average of the country. The economic activeness is rising
among women of the region as well (Figure 20). However, the level of income is still low.
According to the national statistical service the income level grew during 2013 but is still
lower than average in RA (NSS RA, 2014b) (Figure 21). Official level of poverty is
considered 37,000 dram but the calculations according to World Bank standatds show
that the poverty line must be set at 65,000 (civilnet, 2014). At the same time family needs
at least 75,000 dram per month. So in the case of 62,000 about 20% of the population is
under the line of poverty (in 2013, authors calculation) (Figure 21) (civilnet, 2014).
Nonetheless, the province had about 12% unemploymen rate in 2013 that is a little
less than the same level in the Republic of Armenia. From this number the highest share
of unemployemnt is among the urban population (Figure 22). However, these offical
numbers are in contradiction with the number of income type. The offical number
provides the income type for all the ages of population. In the case of filtering these
0 to4
5 to9
10to14
15to19
20to24
25to29
30to34
35to39
40to44
45to49
50to54
55to59
60to64
65to69
70to74
75to79
80 +
Male 6.8 6.6 6.4 6.9 9.2 9.4 7.9 6.7 6.2 6.5 7.7 6.1 4.2 2.1 2.8 2.4 2.2
Feale 6 5.7 5.8 6.5 8.4 8.7 7.7 6.5 6 6.4 8.2 6.8 5 2.5 3.7 3 3.2
39
numbers (only working age) shows that about 37% urban population (from 15 to64 years
old) in the Syunik province have no job. At the same time only 35% have jobs or own
business (author’s calculations (NSS RA, 2014b)). It also has to be mentioned that
pension amount is not sufficient; very often young people (families) financially support
their retired parents, or the retired people do some small jobs (author’s experience). So
nearly 39% (15-100 years) live by financial support (author’s calculations (NSS RA,
2011b)) (Figure 23). In this province like other parts of Armenia there is a high number
of labor migrants (Demirjian, 2015). These numbers cannot be found officially, as most
of these people are officially registered in Armenia (in village of town). Site visit (by
author) shows that there are not many men during summer in many villages.
Territory Population (town &
village) 2011
(NSS RA, 2014)
Urban area
(NSS RA,
2014 )
Population in
January of 2013
(NSS RA, 2013)
Type by Size
(mud.am, 2002)
Kapan
58 556 Kapan 43 180 Middle size
Kajaran 7 170 Small
Goris 41 571 Goris 20 575 Middle size
Meghri
11 377 Meghri 4 500 Very small
Agarak 4 443 Very small
Sisian
30 265 Sisian 14 923 Small
Dastakert 321 Very small
Table 4: The list of towns situated in Syunik province (edited by author)
Figure 20: The chart of economically active residents of Syunik province ( (NSS RA, 2014 ),
(NSS RA, 2014b) edited by author)
RA Syunik Man SyunikWomenSyunik
UrbanSyunik
VillageSyunik
2012 62.7 71.6 83.1 61.3 71.3 72.3
2013 63.4 73.1 80.3 66.8 71.6 75.9
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
acti
vin
ess
by
per
cen
t %
40
Figure 21: The chart of population by income groups (in 1000 Armenian Dram, (NSS RA,
2014b) edited by author).
Figure 22: The chart of unemployed people in Syunik province ( (NSS RA, 2014b) edited by
author).
<32.5 32.5-65 65-97.5 97.5-130 130-195 195-260 260>
Suinik 2011 2.3 36.5 19.8 13.1 12.3 7.4 8.6
Syunik2012 1.9 35.7 18 13.6 13.6 8.3 8.9
Syunik2013 3.4 16.6 49.9 18.35 7.6 2.5 1.1
RA 2011 2.1 39.5 25.1 13.6 10.1 4 5.6
RA 2012 2.8 37.9 24.3 13.6 9.9 4.9 6.5
RA 2013 4.2 10.6 61.4 18.1 3.4 1.5 0.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
per
sen
tage
of
po
pu
lati
on
%
Average RAAverageSyunik
Man SyunikWomenSyunik
Urban SyunikVillageSyunik
2012 17.3 14.9 7.5 23.8 19.4 4.1
2013 16.2 12 5.5 18.7 17.4 2.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
per
sen
tage
of
un
emp
loym
ent
%
41
Figure 23: The share of population according to type of income ( (NSS RA, 2011b) edited by
author)
The population is literate despite the low level of employment. It is almost
proportional to the level of literacy of the country. It is also proved by the number of
library visitors in the province (Figure 24) (NSS RA, 2014c).
At the same time the crime level is not high, but it is rising proportional to the national
level. Province which has about 5% of national population, in 2013 showed about 3%
crime level (Figure25). It is concerning that the number of crimes is rising while the
number of population is decreasing (author’s calculations (NSS RA, 2014c)).
Type of cultural
institution
Number of visits per year for
10000 people (2013)
Quantity of
institutions (2013)
Library 476 140
Museum 8.5 4
Theater 20.4 2
Figure 24: The number of cultural institutions and frequency of visiting in the Syunik province
(NSS RA, 2014s)edited by author).
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Under care
Has a job
Pension
Own job: aggriculture
Other sources
Other pension
Own job
Help outside the country
Governmental Help
Income from own welth
Undercare
Has ajob
Pension
Ownjob:
aggriculture
Othersource
s
Otherpensio
n
Ownjob
Helpoutside the
country
Governmental Help
Income from
ownwelth
share of population 45% 21% 15% 8% 4% 2% 2% 1% 1% 1%
42
Figure 25: The charts of crime numbers during different years in Republic of Armenia and
Syunik province ( (NSS RA, 2014c) edited by author).
3.2.4: CONNECTIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
The infrastructures and connections were mainly constructed during the Armenian
Soviet Socialistic Republic: these infrastructures (also transport) were serving not only
the territory of Armenia but also other countries of the Soviet Union. After the collapse
of the Soviet Union the infrastructure was used mostly for serving inside the Republic of
Armenia. This shift of course had its impact on the quality of it.
3.2.4.1: Air Connections
About 30 years ago there were airports in Yerevan, Gyumri, Stepanavan, Jermuk,
Sisian, Goris, Kapan, and Meghri, functioning during the Armenian Soviet Socialistic
Republic. These airports were serving for flights inside and outside the country. 4 of 8
airports are situated in the Syunik province, next to the cities (ArmProject , 2006);
however, none of these 4 airports is operating. According to the RA governmental sources
untill 2002 only 3 airports were operating: near Stepanavan town, Gyumri, and Yerevan
city (mud.am, 2002).
“Zvartnots” International Airport is the main airgate to the Republic of Armenia,
about 12km far from Yerevan. It started its operation in1961, but during 2002-2011 by
collaboration of RA Government and Argentinean "Corporacion America” Company the
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Syunik 489 498 534 505 566
RA 14339 15477 16572 15776 18333
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
20000
43
airport was reconstructed and new terminals were added. In 2013 it received a prize called
"EMAA” (Emerging Markets Airports Award) as “Best Emerging Airport of Russia, CIS
& Baltic States” (zvartnots.aero, 2014).
“Shirak” airport (much smaller than “Zvatrnots”) next to Gyumri that offered short-
distance flights mainly to the Russian Federation (mud.am, 2002), gained an international
airport status ICAO First Class Airport in 2007 (zvartnots.aero, 2014a) In the case of bad
weather conditions in Yerevan, “Shirak” airport also accepts flights from “Zvartnots”
international airport.
Stepanavan Airport, built during 1960ies provided flights mostly to the Russian
Soviet Socialistic Republic (than to the Russian Federation) and inside the country. It was
in operation until 2006 (mud.am, 2002). Now there are some plans to convert and
renovate it for using it in emergency cases (news.am, 2014).
All these three airports mentioned above are on the North of the country, while in the
Southern part (Vayoc Dzor and Syunik provinces) there are no operating airport. In the
times of Armenian Soviet Socialistic Republic number of passengers for flights inside the
country was growing by each year. It was cutting the time of transportation about 3 or 4
times (depending from place), for example flight from Goris (almost in the middle of
Syunik) to Yerevan was taking about 45-60 minutes while on car it is about 3.5 hours
(Margaryan, 2011). The flights were realized mainly by small airplanes, in average 30
passengers per plane. Some of the airports in Syunik province were working till 1993,
during war between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Now these are closed, but by the tourism
development plan done in 2011 airport of Goris is planned to upgrade for 2020 (AECOM,
2011).
The ministry of Urban Planning is giving high importance to the development of
aviation inside the republic, as an infrastructure of developing tourism and connections
with the capital city in the case of emergency (mud.am, 2002), but unfortunately not much
is done.
3.2.4.2: Railway System
In Armenian Soviet Socialistic Republic railway transport was well developed. Even
though at that times Syunik province had one train station in Meghri, and one in Kapan.
Bothe were leading to Syunik province through territory of Azerbaijan Soviet Socialistic
Republic (mud.am, 2002). So after demolition of Soviet Socialistic Republics and
Nagorno Karabagh conflict Railway stoped working in Syunik province. Currently there
is no railway connection between Syunik province and Yerevan.
In 2008 “South Caucasian Railway” (branch of Russian Railways ("SCR" CJSC,
2011) and Republic of Armenia signed agreement government, according to which
“South Caucasian Railway” is going to run rail transport inside republic and to develop
national and international rail connections, during next 30 years ("SCR" CJSC, 2011).
Even though there are no plans of developing railroad connection on south part of
Armenia. Meanwhile some discussions are held about Railway connections between
republics of Islamic Iran and Armenia (Zatikyan, 2014).
44
3.2.4.3: Motorized transportation
At this moment the only existing connection inside and outside of the Syunik
province are by motorized transportation modes. The roads passing through Syunik are
important as they connect Yerevan with the neighboring countries. During the Armenian
Soviet Socialistic Republic those roads connected the country with the Islamic Republic
of Iran, Soviet Socialistic Republic of Azerbaijan and Republic of Turkey. Now the roads
passing through the Syunik province connect Yerevan with Tehran and Stepanakert
(capital city of NKR (mud.am, 2002). Nevertheless, about 16% of the roads in the Syunik
province are international (mud.am, 2002).
The main means of public transportation in Syunik are the buses, minivans and
shared taxis. The official webpage of the Transportation and Communication Ministry
provides some public transport directions in the Syunik province. The longest bus route
is Yerevan-Meghry-Tehran (mtc.am, 2014), while routes inside the country are mostly
served by minibuses, but this list has to be updated, as some lines are no longer
functioning; for example, for going to Goris one has to take a “shared” taxi , because
there are no minibuses connecting Yerevan with Goris. However, the official website of
the Transportation Ministry of the Republic of Armenia shows a list of buses going to
cities of the Syunik province (mtc.am, 2014a).
An interesting issue with the car transportation modes in Armenia is that about
75% of cars run by natural gas. Natural gas is much cheaper than petrol so it is reducing
the transportation cost (Orszag, 2012). Inside the Syunik province, the public transport
modes are mainly minibuses that are running by natural gas (author’s observation).
Most of the cities in the Syunik province are situated on the highway connecting
Yerevan with the Islamic Republic of Iran (mud.am, 2002). A new road is being
developed as a piece of international road infrastructure connecting Europe with the
Caucasus and Asia: “North-South Road Corridor”. This new highway will connect Iran
with Georgia leading to the Poti port (northsouth.am, 2014), thus positively impacting the
development of the towns that are situated on the road. In some parts new bridges, tunnels
and roads will be built. The newly constructed road will pass through the Syunik province,
next to Tatev village, overpassing Kapan and Goris towns (“Tranche 4” in Figure 26).
However, most of the newly constructed part of the highway will be in the Syunik
province and will be financed by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and European
Investment Bank (EIB). Armenian part of the project is estimated to be finished in 2019
(northsouth.am, 2014).
45
Figure 26: Map of North-South highway (northsouth.am, 2014)
3.2.4.4: Electricity
This infrastructure as well was created mainly during the Soviet Union. During this
period the electricity produced in the Armenian Soviet Socialistic Republic was becoming
a part of the whole electrical net, sharing electricity with the neighboring socialistic
republics (about 25% of the electricity produced in Armenia was shared with its
neighbors) (mud.am, 2002).
From 1993 to 1997, because of political reasons, the electrical infrastructure in all
over the country was operating poorly. Only after 1997 the Republic of Armenia was able
to recover electricity production. Starting from 2001, the electricity producers of the
country started to collaborate with the neighboring countries (Iran and Georgia) (mud.am,
2002), this collaboration is continued till now (Khachatryan, 2011) .
The electricity in the country is mainly produced by nuclear, thermal and
hydropower plants. During the last 11 years the hydro-electrical production has increased
almost twice (Figure 27). This was achieved due to implementation of small hydro-electro
stations.
46
According to the research of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (in USA),
the Republic of Armenia has a big potential in developing solar and wind energy.
However, these branches of energy production are not developed in the country
(minenergy.am, 2014a).
Figure 27: Share of electricity production during 2001 (mud.am, 2002) and 2012 (Goenjian,
2012)(edited by author)
The Syunik province is producing about 20% of electricity of the country, thanks to
“Vorotan” Hydro-Electro Station. In 2010 it produced about 50% of renewable energy in
the Republic of Armenia (Khachatryan, 2011). There is no data about the electrification
level of Armenia and the Syunik province, but a site visit shows that almost all households
have electricity. Also, the results of a social survey done by the non-governmental
organization “Syunik Women’s Resource Centers” in Goris city, show that only 4% of
population complains of the quality of electricity (Manukyan, 2013).
3.2.4.5: Natural Gas
Natural gas is imported from outside of the country, mainly from the Russian
Federation and smaller part from Iran Islamic Republic (minenergy.am, 2014) (Figure28).
The existing gas infrastructure was built during the soviet period and it was connected
with the neighboring Soviet republics. After becoming independent, the Republic of
Armenia had to renew its gas infrastructure and redevelop it, as not all the areas of the
country could receive natural gas (mud.am, 2002). In 1997 only 39 of 48 cities and 236
of 365 villages in RA were supplied with natural gas (mud.am, 2002). During the last
years the gas infrastructure was renewed by Gazprom Armenia and the Government of
the Republic of Armenia. Thus, currently about 95% of the country is re-gasified
(minenergy.am, 2014).
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
electrcity production in 2001 (%)
electrcity production in 2012 (%)
electrcity production in 2001 (%) electrcity production in 2012 (%)
Hydro 16.8 35
Thermal 48.6 25
Nuclear 34.6 40
47
In 2002 in the Syunik province there were two not re-gasified cities (Meghri and
Agarak next to borders with Iran) (mud.am, 2002). These cities were re-gasified after
2012 and currently the whole region is gasified (lratvakan.am, 2012).
Figure 28: Percentage of Gas Transition pipelines inside Republic of Armenia provided by two
gas importers (minenergy.am, 2014)edited by author)
3.2.4.6 Water supply
Drinking water is coming mainly from local natural resources and rivers; it is passing
through a simple cleaning system (by chlorine) before getting to the customers
(armwater.am, 2007). Almost all the population of the Republic of Armenia has drinking
water. According to calculations natural water sources are enough for existing and
predicted future population of the country. However, the infrastructure is outdated across
the country, and this is causing problems with loosing supplied water: about 40% of
supplied water was lost during 2002 (mud.am, 2002). In order to reconstruct and improve
the water infrastructure in 2001 the Government of RA created "Armenian Water
Sewerage Company" CJSC (mud.am, 2002). Now the company has branches all over the
country. According to a social research in the Syunik province more than 85% of
population has normal water supply (Hovasapyan & Sahakyan, 2014). Water supply is
the cheapest among other utility expenses.
In collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, the "Armenian Water Sewerage
Company" CJSC is going to partially reconstruct the water supply system in Goris,
Kapan, Meghry towns and three villages in the Syunik province (Hovasapyan &
Sahakyan, 2014). Meanwhile there are no plans of reconstruction or construction of waste
water management systems. It is an urgent issue all over the country: many cities in RA
do not have waste water management plants. In 2002 66.7% of cities were pouring waste
water into the rivers (mud.am, 2002). Currently Goris and Sisian towns in the Syunik
province don’t have sewage water management plant, which is becoming an
environmental problem for the area (mud.am, 2002). According to the mayor of Goris,
water treatment plant is too expensive for the city (during conversation with author).
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
gas transmission pipeline in RA %
Iran-Armenia 9.4
Gazprom Armenia 90.6
48
3.2.4.7 Waste
Waste management all over the Republic of Armenia is an open issue as until now
there are only land field droppings. There is no waste management in general. During
2011 there were some discussions about starting a waste division and management in
Yerevan (Sergoyan et al, 2011). However, these discussions stopped after the country
joined the Eurasian Union (author’s observation).
Meanwhile in some parts of the country the waste collection service is poorly
managed (mud.am, 2002). About 40% of garbage dropping in RA is uncontrolled
(Sergoyan et al, 2011), while only iron or nonferrous metals are sorted. Meanwhile, the
Syunik province shows the highest level of waste pollution due to the local mining
industry (Sergoyan et al, 2011).
3.2.5: ECONOMY
The economy of the Syunik region is mainly based on the existing resources, as
this province is considered as one of the main mining centers of the Republic of Armenia
(mud.am, 2002). So Syunik has about 16.5% of the national industry (in 2013 (NSS RA,
2014gs)). The main branch of industry in this province is mining, which comes after
electricity production. The area is rich with different kind of stones, metals and some
gold. Except for Goris city, all towns in the province are situated not far from big metal
and stone mining factories (mud.am, 2002). In 2013, mining was about 83% of the whole
production in Syunik (Figure 29).
The agricultural production is 6.8%. Due to mountainous topography, the area is not
convenient for farming. The main agricultural productions are grain cultivation and cattle
husbandry (NSS RA, 2014gs). In comparison with other regions of the Republic of
Armenia, Syunik has one of the lowest numbers of areas appropriate for agriculture
(mud.am, 2002).
Figure 29: structure of industrial production by produced units (%) during 2013 (NSS RA, 2014
; NSS RA, 2014gs) edited by author)
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
RA
Syunik
RA Syunik
Myning (different types) 15.8 82.9
Manufacturing 62.6 5
Supply (Elecrical, Gaz,Steem, Clean air)
20.2 11.6
Water, sewage, garbagetreatment
1.4 0.5
49
A relatively new branch of economy in the region is tourism. The development of a
cableway next to Tatev became a “big step” for the tourism development of the region
(AECOM, 2011). Some parts of the Syunik province don’t have as many natural resources
(metal or stone) as other towns but has cultural and “ecological” resources (mud.am,
2002). Currently some parts of the province are developing tourism services by the help
of the “National Competiveness Foundation of Armenia”. The same organization took
part in developing the tramway to Tatev Monastery (almost in the middle of Syunik) and
currently is realizing a project of developing eco-villages next to it. Their concept called
“Armenia Southern Corridor Tourism Framework” includes Goris and Sisian towns as a
part of the touristic corridor but currently there are not much details about these towns
(like about Tatev Cluster). Thus the tourism (different types) and healthcare services are
on the realization in some parts of Syunik Province (AECOM, 2011).
3.2.6: CONCLUSION: SYUNIK
The province is one of the richest with natural resources, monuments and historical
areas. The abundance of water is providing renewable energy and drinking water, while
the province has a problem with garbage and waste water management systems.
Meanwhile, the nature of the Syunik region is appropriate for some kinds of health resorts
and spas (mud.am, 2002).
This province is one of the less populated and urbanized areas of the country. The
Syunik province has about 4% of population and 16.5% of industry of the country (NSS
RA, 2014gs). Meanwhile it shows a high unemployment rate. The level of income is low
according to official sources; other, nongovernmental sources show much lower level of
income and higher level of unemployment. Official sources don’t show a high number of
job migrants, working outside the country but many men work outside the country
(working part of the year outside the country). Unfortunately this problem concerns to all
the country (Demirjian, 2015). Meanwhile, the population is literate, proportionally to the
literacy level of the country.
The province plays an important role in the Caucasus region connecting Asia with
Europe, and it is considered as a part of the “chain” connecting these two regions (South-
North highway). This province is also important as a connection of two big cities Yerevan
and Tehran. It connects Yerevan with NK republic, for the latter this road is strategically
important because of the frozen military conflict. However, currently the connection of
Yerevan and Zvartnoc international airport with the towns inside the Syunik region is
quite week. The only existing way to go to the cities of Syunik is by car. There is some
unclear situation for using public transport (buses or minibuses). Meanwhile air and
railways connections are issues of economic and political discussions yet (no visible
results).
Almost all kinds of infrastructures or services need to be reconstructed, renewed or
updated (some are in the process).,although some infrastructures as waste management
and sewage cleaning needs to be newly installed (constructed). These issues are important
in the case of ecological safety.
50
Almost (80%) all the economy of the region is based on existing metal and stone
mining that is creating ecological problems (armecofront, 2014). Meanwhile there are
numbers of economic development branches highlighted by the governmental agencies
and non-governmental organizations. These are: renewable energy (solar, wind)
(minenergy.am, 2014), tourism (almost all the branches), health care (sanatoria)
(AECOM, 2011). The low level of agriculture is officially explained by terrain, however
many agricultural products (except for meet) are imported from other parts of the country
(by site visit). Also the region is developing touristic services using its natural and cultural
attractions.
All these mentioned issues have positive and negative impact on the development of
the region (Figure 30).
Figure 30: The summary of Positive and Negative factors, impacting on life and
development of Syunik province (by author).
•Natural & cultural monuments
•Natural conditions (turistical and medical)
•Local drink water
•Existing most important infrastructure (water, energy)
•International connection
•Level of literace
•Social connection
•Renewable energy (exiting and potential)
•Economical opportunities (potrntisal)
•Develomnet (highway, tourism) projects already started (national & international levels)
Positive
•Complicated terrain (for new developlment)
•Complicated political situation, closed borders
•Lack of waste (water) management
•High level of poverty
•Low number of jobs
•Declining population
•Low level of connetions ( and public transport)
•Old infrastructure
•Dirty production (ecologically)
•Bad natural conditions for aggriculture
Negative
51
3.3: GORIS CITY
Goris city is situated on the East part of the Syunik province almost in the middle,
near to the border with the NK republic. The administrative area of Goris includes 23
villages and the city of Goris (Figure 31). Situated next to the Arcakh Mountain chain the
area is one of the natural and cultural attractions of Armenia (ArmProject , 2006). The
city is situated about 235 km far from Yerevan, around river Vararak in Dzagerag valley
(Voskanyan, 2013). The region was inhabited from the ancient times (mentioned in 3.2.2:
History and Culture), while this area was developed mainly on the crossroad connecting
Yerevan, Iran by the Silk Road and the road going to the Caspian sea: “Mec Aghi” way
(“big salty” way) (Voskanyan, 2013). This area, developed on roads from the 8th century
became a famous religious and cultural center due to Tatev Monastery (about 20km from
Goris city) (Matevosyan, 2011).
The city of Goris is situated on the intersection of Vararak river and highway M12
(going to NKR). Goris city has an area of about 5039.13 hectare from which 620ha is
densely inhabited (or “urbanized”), that is nearly 11.3% of the city area ( (ArmProject ,
2006)author’s calculations). In general all the territory of the city is very green, about
254, 7 hectares are “Forestry land” (preservation area) (Voskanyan, 2013).
Goris has an average of 1398 meter height from the ocean level but the rbanized area
is on the lowest level, around river Vararak (Voskanyan, 2013). “Forestry” land is on a
slope with high degree, in some places the slope is more than 30 degrees (ArmProject ,
2006). The agricultural land is on the upper level from the West of urbanized area (Figure
32).
The climate is mild (compared with other parts of the country): in average the lowest
temperature is -1Co and highest +20Co (Voskanyan, 2013). But the level of precipitation
is relatively high: 700-800mm per year in average (Voskanyan, 2013). The ground in all
the city area is seismically active like in all the country (ArmProject , 2006). In general
the city has remarkable natural and cultural environment.
The city is rich with historical and cultural monuments, such as “caved houses”,
remaining of old castle, old villages, graveyards, city of the 19th century (ArmProject ,
2006). Most of these are situated along river Vararak next to the city center. The village
and the city of the 19th century were famous by its craftsmen, workshops of which can be
found in the old town and caves (Voskanyan, 2013).
52
Figure 31: The map of Goris administrative region in Syunik province ( (ArmProject ,
2006) edited by author)
Figure 32: Map of Goris City area (ArmProject , 2006) edited by author)
53
3.3.1: HISTORY AND CULTURE
History of the city starts from the 18th century, when Goris became a home town of
some Armenian noble (“Melik”) houses (Syunac Erkir, 2011). However the city of Goris
was established during the 185 during the Russian rule, attached to an existing village by
the same name (ArmProject , 2006). The city has a rectangular master plan: streets are
shaping quarters which have sizes of 106 on 106 meters, 106 on 212 meters and an
administrative center with 212 on 212 meters (ArmProject , 2006). In 1879 Goris had 460
houses and a population of 3,146 people from which 1450 lived in so called “New Goris”
which was the newly built city (ArmProject , 2006). During all the time the city was
famous by its good craftsman, big numbers among which were masons. It is considered
that the unique architectural style of Goris was created by them (Avagyan, 2011).
At the end of the 19th century big infrastructural construction was going inside and
around the Syunik province (Zangezur at those times). The city was getting connected
(roads) by neighboring cities (Khachatryan, 2011). Goris was one of the first cities that
were electrified by the hydroelectric plant (1904); the plant was built on the southern part
of the town on Vararak River (Khachatryan, 2011). Commercial role of the town started
to decrease from 1908, when Jugha-Yerevan railway was constructed (ArmProject ,
2006).
However, the political situation turned in a way that this area got involved into the
war with neighboring Turkey and Bolshevik Azeri groups. For a short period the city of
Goris became the capital city of “Lernahayastan” republic in the beginning of 192. From
1921 till 1930 Goris became the administrative center of the Zangezur region of the Soviet
Socialistic Armenia (Syunac Erkir, 2011). The city was developing slowly but after the
construction of the Goris Airport (launched in 1950) the changes started to go faster
(Margaryan, 2011).
The industrial life of the city started from 1960ies, several factories were constructed
attached to the center (from the South) (ArmProject , 2006). The industry was mainly
focused on knitting, clothing, and food production, and from the end of 1960 - machinery
factories. An innovative issue for the city was the establishment of the “Micro Engine”
factory, the products of which were exported all over the Soviet Union (Petrosyan, 2011).
An important branch of industry for the region was the production of energy by “Vorotan”
hydropower plant.
The central part of Goris and local villages, with formerly inhabited caves, became
historical preservation areas in 1972, during this period the population was a little more
than 15,000 and the master plan was developed for a population of 36,000 in 2000
(ArmProject, 2006). In the second half of 20th century the city was growing fast: new
cultural and educational institutions were created (Syunac Erkir, 2011). However the
growth of the city was interrupted because of the military conflict between NKR and
Azerbaijan, collapse of the Soviet Union and independence of the Republic of Armenia
(author’s observation).
54
Even though a new master plan was developed in 1992 by “ArmProjcet” OJSC at
that time the city had a population of 28,100,000. This master plan was designed
considering the growth of population up to 40,000 by 200 (ArmProject , 2006). The
current borders of Goris city were officially approved in 1996 (Voskanyan, 2013) (Figure
32).
Based on the rich historical background, the city and surrounding areas are full of
monuments, such as houses of national leaders, poets, meliks (noblemen) as well as
inhabited caves, Tatev Monastery, Khndzoresk village, Sev lake, etc. (ArmProject,
2006). Goris city with its surroundings is considered, among other cities of RA as one of
the recreational zones (mud.am, 2002). Due to this, some festivals presenting the local
traditions, take place in the city:
“Gorisian orer” (Days of Goris) is organized every year on the 29th of September;
it includes a number of cultural entertainments (poetry, kids painting exhibition, fair of
handmade crochets or souvenirs). On this day in 2012 St. Hripsimeh church was reopened
in old Goris (after reconstruction). The church dedicated to the 4th century was
reconstructed by the financial help of the “sister city” Vienne (France) (Tsaturyan, 2013)
“Mulberry Festival” held on the23rd of August, 2014, is going to become an annual
tradition. It includes traditional food, drinks (mulberry vodka), dance, etc. (edmc.am,
2014).
“Sheep shearing” festival that was held in Halidzor village, between Goris city
and Tatev monastery (region of Goris) on the 3rd of May, 2014. This included traditional
dances, festivals and a competition of sheep shearing between farmers. It is planned to
have this festival on an annual basis (yerkirmedia.am, 2014).
Recently, in November of 2014, (in Gratz, Austria) the city of Goris has been chosen
for development of first smart city in Armenia. This pilot program will be through
international collaboration. Thus international specialists will start the first research of
the area in the beginning of 2015 (armef.com, 2014).
3.3.2: SOCIAL SITUATION
After the independence of the country, the city of Goris like other towns of RA was
deindustrialized creating a high number of unemployment and poor living conditions,
which are considered to be the main reasons of decline in the population. The only
industry that is still operating is the energy production, other factories and plants, as well
as the airport were closed (Voskanyan, 2013). As a result, in 2001 the population was
23,261 and 20,591 in 2011 (NSS RA, 2014b). From the beginning of 199 the population
is continuously declining. Meanwhile the master plan of the city was developed for a
higher number of population (Figure 33).
The reasons of the population decline are clearly stated in a social survey done by
the non-governmental organization “Syunik Women’s Resource Centers” in the city of
Goris (Figure34):
o Big number of residents is socio-psychologically depressed.
55
o The residents are not satisfied with the work of the municipality. The residents
believe that the municipality can solve the most urgent problems, if it really wanted to do
so.
o Most of the residents do not appreciate their own participation in solving the
problems of the city. In reality, they are ready to show a higher level of participation.
o The residents think that the low level of their civil participation is a result of being
preoccupied with their own family problems and their poor economic situation.
o About the 60% of the city’s population is interested in the existing problems of
the city. Meanwhile only 6% knows the real problems of the city (Manukyan, 2013)
Based on the population number of 2011, the density in the urbanized area is 33.2
resident per hectare ( (ArmProject, 2006) author’s calculations). The population is mono-
national consisting of Armenians, same as in the Syunik province. The same is about the
level of population growth and education (data is given for the whole Syunik province).
Currently there are several private universities and branches of the Yerevan State
Universities in Goris. In 2010 these universities had more than 1800 students (Sahakyan,
2011). The education in these local universities is more affordable for the local population
compared to the education in the capital city. At the same time there are not many cultural
institutions functioning in this area, for example the local theater is on the verge of being
closed. The city lacks night life: the streets empty as soon as it gets dark (author’s
observation).
Figure 33: Graphical view of planned and existing population number of Goris city ( (NSS RA,
2014; ArmProject , 2006; NSS RA, 2011a) edited by author)
1970 1992 2001 2011 Jan. 2013
Existing 15000 28100 23261 20591 20575
Predicted 36000 40000 45000 45000 45000
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
50000
56
Figure 34: The table of survey done by “Syunik Women’s Resource Centers” for city of
Goris ( (Manukyan, 2013) edited by author)
90%
84%
77%
69%
66%
63%
62%
59%
54%
52%
50%
45%
44%
42%
40%
40%
39%
36%
36%
35%
34%
31%
31%
14%
8%
5%
5%
5%
4%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Shortage of job
lack of playgrounds
pollution fo river
lack of sport fields/halls
lack of organsation of concerts and…
unaffordability of medicin
unaffordability/ expensivness of medical…
quality of buildings courtyards
dirtiness of the entrences to the buildings
low quality of streets
Low heating quality
bad traffic regulation
bad prevention of illegal construction
bad cleaning of illegal constructions
bad quality of garbade treatment
bad quality of health services
bad quality of keeping traffic order
bad quality ambulance services
bad quality of transport between villages…
lack of night illumination
bad quality irrigation water
bad quality of service by municipality
bad quality of transsport inside the city
lack of medicin in drugstores
bad quality of drink water
bad quality of telephone connection
bad quality of sell phone connection
bad quality of gas service
bad quality electricity service
57
3.3.3 Transportation
Historically the city of Goris was developed on an internationally important
crossroad, as such the city plays an important role as a transportation hub. All the car
transportation between the city of Yerevan, Islamic Republic of Iran and Nagorno
Karabagh Republic is passing through this city. At the same time the airport next to Goris
city is going to be renewed and developed by 202 (AECOM, 2011).
The city of Goris is about 236km far from Yerevan and 67 km far from Kapan
(administrative center of Syunik) (Voskanyan, 2013). The connection with Yerevan is
quite vulnerable as there are no regular buses or minibuses connecting these two cities
(mentioned in Chapter 3.2.6: Conclusion Syunik). However there are minibuses
connecting Goris with the surrounding cities (Kapan, Sisian and Stepanakert in NKR),
there are also minibuses connecting the city with the surrounding villages. All these routes
are not interconnected inside Goris, so there is no central bus station servicing these bus
lines. Thus some of the minibuses depart from the northern part of the city, others from
the southern part (author’s survey).
The street net inside the urbanized area is mainly rectangular with almost equally
wide parallel streets: 10-12m wide (South-North) and 8-10m wide (East-West).
Pedestrian paths are in average 3-4m wide (ArmProject , 2006). The most congested roads
are along the central axes (South North, Figure 35) of the city and M12 highway going to
NKR (Figure 37).
Currently there are five public transportation lines inside the city (minibuses, 10-12
passenger places). These are sufficient for servicing almost all of the urbanized area
(Arzumanyan, 2014). Bus stations do not have signs, shelters and some basic street signs
or drawings (Figure 36). Some routes have no official bus stations (green line in Figure
37) while other bus stations are too close to each other. At the same time the buses and
minibuses very often make stops outside of the bus stop area (ArmProject, 2006). The
public transportation prices are relatively low, twice cheaper in comparison with Yerevan.
Both the transportation providers and passengers complain about the public
transportation:
Public transport is not connecting villages with cities;
Low number of passengers;
Public transport is not giving enough revenue to companies operating these lines;
Irregular time schedule: most of the public transport operates until 18:00, some
until 20:00, and not operations on holidays;
It is not frequent enough (depending on time, the frequency is about 20-60
minutes );
Bad quality of service and inconvenient transportation modes.
(Abelyan & Baghdasaryan, 2015; Matevosyan, 2013; Matevosyan, 2013a)
The urban form and compactness of the city provides favorable conditions for
walking in the city. The urbanized area is about 5.5 km long (South-North) and 1.5 km.
wide (East-West) (ArmProject , 2006). Almost all residents walk to perform their daily
errands, they only need transportation in order to go from one end of the city to the other
58
(author’s observation). Meanwhile, the sidewalks are in poor conditions: in some parts
the pavements are destroyed, covered by construction materials or parked cars
(Voskanyan, 2013).
The dimensions of the city area are also convenient for cycling, while it is not
popular in the town. During the site visits almost all residents stated that they would like
to ride bicycles but the terrain doesn’t afford this opportunity. At the same time there is
no cycling infrastructure at all. In general, the city is lacking some basic urban design and
amenities.
Figure 35: Syunik Street entering to Goris City from North (author’s photo)
Figure 36: one of central crossroads of Goris: signs as well as urban design are missing
(author’s photo)
59
Figure 37: Public transportation and transport congestion (top-right) maps of Goris
(ArmProject , 2006; Arzumanyan, 2014) (edited by author)
60
3.3.4: INFRASTRUCTURE
Almost the whole territory of Goris is electrified and gasified from the Soviet times
(mentioned in Chapter 3.2.4: Connections and Infrastructure). Drinking water is collected
from natural sources and has high quality (ArmProject, 2006). There are many natural
sources of free drinking water in the city).
One of the unique qualities of the city is the rainwater channels that pass along streets
and lead the rainwater into the river (10-15cm wide) (ArmProject , 2006). The water
system is outdated, and is partially under reconstruction (Chapter 3.2.4.6: Water Supply).
Goris as many other cities in Armenia has no waste water cleaning system, there is a plan
of construction in the South part, out of the city near the village Karahunj, but it is too
expensive for the municipality (ArmProject , 2006).
Now the sewage system goes into the river, as a result the river is highly polluted.
Currently the city cannot afford construction of water treatment system ( (Voskanyan,
2013). The river pollution was one of the most concerning issues among other problems
stated during the discussions with the residents.
As it was mentioned before waste separation and treatment system is not installed all
over the country. In addition to this, garbage collection is not performed properly in Goris:
some of it is dropped next to the streets, others into the river (Figure 38). The collected
garbage of Goris is disposed of in a landfill, burned and buried about 4.5 km far from the
city (ArmProject , 2006). Lack of waste collection is having a destructive effect on the
urban public spaces. Almost all parks and squares are littered and are not appealing to the
public. The statistical survey showed that this is one of most concerning problems of
residents (Figure 34).
Figure 38: From the left to right; example of bad quality of waste collection and
polluted river (photo by author)
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3.3.5: GREEN AND OPEN SPACE
The city of Goris can fairly be one of greenest cities in the Republic of Armenia. The
urbanized area is surrounded by “forestry” land from the east and west, in addition to this
95% of houses have gardens (author’s calculations (Voskanyan, 2013)). Meanwhile, the
public parks are about 5% of the urbanized area (author’s calculations (ArmProject,
2006)) (Figure 39). The park in the center of the city has an important location connecting
cultural institutions (theater, museum, etc.) with the public square and central commercial
areas. A small restaurant and the only amusement park of the city (almost empty during
site visit) are situated in this park. The public square next to the central park is the only
public space that was reconstructed. The main public events of the city are held in on this
square (Voskanyan, 2013). Along the river Vararak there are some parks or open green
areas which are in very bad condition but if reconstructed, these can become attractive
urban areas connecting the South with the North (Figure 39). All urban spaces (parks,
squares, pedestrian paths, etc.) are in poor condition, lacking maintenance and urban
furniture. These public spaces are unappealing to residents, while some parks are also
dangerous during the evening (author’s observation).
High number of green areas, rocky topography, river and architectural style are
creating unique urban environment which cannot be found anywhere else (Avagyan,
2011). Urban environment is visually impacted by hills surrounding the city, ones on
south-east part are considered as natural monument (Figure40, Figure41). Next to these
rocks is located another local attraction, Goris caved village (Voskanyan, 2013).
Nevertheless the natural environment, old village, river and water front passing through
the city are “cut” from the urban environment. It is almost impossible for a foreign person
to find these touristic attractive areas without help of locals. Some of these attractions has
no routes connected with the city.
The unique historical environment of the city is also created by the architectural style
of the old town. An original pattern of wall lining called “barkash” created by local
masons during the 19th century is one of the famous details of the local architecture
(Avagyan, 2011). The old town was famous for its rich green surrounding, gray houses
made of basalt stone (with “barkash” lining), wooden balconies and red roofs (Figure 42).
Currently this image of the city is ruined, mainly because of the mass housing constructed
during the second half of the 20th century. For example, the central square, central library,
theater and museum situated next to the old city are in a totally different scale and style
than the old town (Avagyan, 2011)(Figure 43).
However, many buildings of the old town are included on the national list of
architectural heritage buildings (from the Soviet times (Avagyan, 2011)). Now the
uniqueness of the old city, village and its natural environment is considered as a touristic
attractive area (AECOM, 2011). At the same time the natural areas, touristic attractions,
old town, parks and squares do not have any connection between each other.
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Figure 39: Map of green areas and open spaces in Goris city (ArmProject , 2006) edited by
author)
63
Figure 40: Areal view of city of Goris among tis natural environment (google.de/maps, 2014)
Figure 41: Rocks on south part of Goris are one of town’s natural attractions (source:
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/50389225, cited: 3.3.2015)
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Figure 42: Traditional house with“Barkash” facing and a water source in front of it in the
center of Goris city
Figure 43: Public square in front of municipality (library, museum and theater in the back)
(author’s photo)
3.3.6: COMMUNAL SERVICES
The infrastructures for communal service of Goris were mainly created during the
Soviet times. Meanwhile, the analysis of the current urban structure shows that schools
and kindergartens are in the walking distance (Figure 44) (Voskanyan, 2013). The main
problem of servicing institutions in Goris is the maintenance of servicing institutions,
except for one school all others are in poor condition (Voskanyan, 2013). Almost all
cultural and communal service institutions (art schools, libraries, theater, museum, etc.)
of the city are in poor condition. The maintenance of these buildings is financed by the
municipality, which doesn’t have enough resources for that (Voskanyan, 2013).
The city doesn’t provide sufficient cultural services: there is only one theater which
is often closed, while the building is sometimes used for other activities. There are three
libraries in the city, none of which has enough books for attracting readers (Voskanyan,
2013). All libraries share buildings with other cultural institutions. The biggest library is
in the center of the city, next to the theater, art school and geological museum (Figure
43). Currently the city has only one museum, the Geological Museum, and one more
museum is under construction (inside the house of a famous Armenian writer)
(Voskanyan, 2013).
Almost all official documents about the city describe good natural conditions
(water and air) for health care institutions. Meanwhile, there is only one hospital in the
city, called Goris Medical Center which has 300 employees. This hospital was
reconstructed recently with the help of the World Bank and serves the population of the
Syunik province and Nagorno Karabagh Republic. The Goris Medical Center is accepting
patients from other countries as well (Voskanyan, 2013).
Other important medical institution of the city is the Goris “Diagnostic Center”. This
is considered to be one of the best centers in the region but it doesn’t have a separate
building and is currently situated in one of the governmental buildings.
65
In general the residents don’t complain about services, the complaints are mainly
about the conditions of the servicing institution and the affordability of the healthcare
system (Manukyan, 2013). In general the city has enough communal services but it has
problems with maintenance.
Figure 44: The map of public and cultural services with catchment areas (ArmProject ,
2006) edited by author)
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3.3.7: HOUSING
The majority of houses existing in the city are low-rise houses with their own
gardens. The existing housing in Goris can be conventionally divided into three types
(Figure 45):
“Village houses” that have irregular shaped master plan. These are mainly 1-2
floor houses often built by the owner over the course of many years, without specific
architectural plan. These types of houses are mostly situated on the periphery of the
urbanized area of Goris. Many of such houses were built in land plots of the old village
of Goris (Figure 46).
“City houses” (townhouses) that are the main house type of Goris. These houses
are situated on the rectangular shaped land plot and have similar architectural style. The
style of those houses appeared during the second half of the 19th century, with the
construction of the old town. Most of the “city houses” have similar lining called
“barkash”, 2-3 floor height, wooden balconies and red roofs. “City houses” are situated
in the center of the city, in accordance with the rectangular master plan (Figure 47). Some
of those houses are more than 100 years old and considered as architectural heritage
building (Avagyan, 2011).
Multifamily houses were mainly built during the second half of the 20th century.
These houses were built by typical mass housing technologies used in the Soviet Union.
These houses do not fit with the scale and architectural style of the old town (Avagyan,
2011). Some multifamily houses are situated in the center of the city, next to the
municipality. Meanwhile, the majority of this type of houses is on the northern part of the
city, developed after 196 (Avagyan, 2011). However, this type of houses is about 5% of
all the houses (author’s calculations (Voskanyan, 2013; ArmProject, 2006)). Overall there
are 128 multifamily houses in the city from which about 13 are in poor technical condition
(Voskanyan, 2013)(Figure 48).
Site visits show that residents mainly prefer living in the type of “City” houses, they
prefer house with a land plot in front and also they trust this kind of houses more:
considering that these houses are nicer, safer (to resist earthquake) and better heat
isolators (author’s observation). Housing in Goris is the most expensive (for 1m2) in the
whole territory of the Syunik province (NSS RA, 2014 ). It is an interesting fact that both
the “city” and “village” houses were constructed with large facades looking to east and
west, while many multifamily houses disregard these natural conditions.
However, during the site visits many abandoned or partly inhabited houses were
noticed. Some houses in the center of the city are renting out areas (first or ground floor)
mainly for commercial use (Figure 42, Figure 48).
A public are in the northern part of the city was provided for temporary housing to
refugees fleeing from the Karabagh conflict. Meanwhile, there is no official information
about this site and it was only discovered during site visit. Many of these refugees have
been living there for a quite long time, about 20 years, and some of them have already
built houses. Even though there is enough housing areas for residents (ArmProject ,
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2006), the problem is that a high number of young families cannot afford constructing
(on own land), buying or renting a house (author’s observation).
Figure 45: Map of houses in Goris city according to its type ( (ArmProject , 2006)
edited by author)
68
Figure 46: Village houses next to the river on south part of the city (author’s photo)
Figure 47: The type of "city" house in the historical center(author’s photo)
69
Figure 48: Multifamily house in the center of the city, next to municipality (author’s
photo).
3.3.8: ECONOMY
The economy of the city has declined after 1991, the deindustrialization of the
country had its negative impact also on the urban structure: now there are many
abandoned industrial buildings in the city. The city of Goris is the only one in the Syunik
province that doesn’t have big mining industry (mud.am, 2002).
For now the strongest field of industry is the electricity production by “Vorotan”
hydropower plant. “Vorotan” plant is currently renewed and empowered with the help of
international bank (KFW, Germany) (Syunac Erkir, 2011).
Currently almost all productive areas (except for mining) in the city operate with
about 10-20% of their productive capacity, in the best case (Figure 50)(Voskanyan, 2013).
Some of them host different kind of services using only a small part of the huge productive
area (author’s observation). The current productions of the city are:
Energy production by “Vorotan” hydropower plant, outside of the Goris city area.
Some mining and processing of construction stones.
Some agricultural production located in villages around Goris.
Only one machinery plant operates with about half of its capacity (making
mechanical details) (Voskanyan, 2013).
After the collapse of the Soviet Union a big number of commercial spaces appeared,
many areas in the city were shifted into service and retail activities areas. In the city center
some housing areas were turned into commercial spaces (ArmProject, 2006).
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Most attractive spaces for commercial activities are located in the city center (around
the municipal building and Public Square) and northern part (along M12 highway towards
NKR). Nevertheless many commercial areas use only a part of their land: site visits show
that a huge number of commercial areas on the north part of the city remain unoccupied
(Figure 49).
The city is planning to develop touristic infrastructures. Thus during the recent years
many hotels have been built, there are many newly opened “B&B”s as well (Voskanyan,
2013). An important issue for development of tourism in the region is the investment of
“Tatev Revival Foundation”. Due to this investment many touristic accommodations and
infrastructures are being built in the region. This foundation has reconstructed the Tatev
Monastery and the village next to it. Meanwhile the most remarkable implementation in
the region became the construction of one of the longest cableways in the world: from
Halidzor village to Tatev village (5.7 km) (AECOM, 2011). Thus the Foundation attracted
a big number of tourists to the region: it was almost 95,000 in 2014 that is about 21,000
more than in 2013 (idea.am, 2014). Currently the Foundation is building eco-villages next
to the Monastery.
The same organization is considering touristic development also in Goris and
surrounding villages. Here the city of Goris is considered as an attractive touristic
destination. The program is planning to add some more touristic entertainments (concert,
festival), hiking routes and B&Bs for tourists until 2020 (AECOM, 2011). The touristic
development of the Tatev area overall will have a positive impact on the tourism in Goris.
Figure 49: Area for commercial activities is mostly empty ( (ArmProject , 2006;
google.de/maps, 2014) edited by author).
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Figure 50: Map of commercial and production in the urbanized area of Goris (
(ArmProject , 2006) edited by author)
3.3.9: CONCLUSION: GORIS
The city has unique cultural, historical and natural environment that is appreciated
by locals and foreigners. Thus the area is attractive for national and international tourism.
The city of Goris is situated on an important crossroad but there are some problems
with the public transportation system. Inside the city public transport is not functioning
well enough.
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However, the city is compact and well located in the natural landscape, it is
convenient for walking but the infrastructures for walking are of poor quality. Meanwhile,
there is no cycling infrastructure at all.
The city has the most important infrastructures (water electricity, gas, etc.) except for
waste and wastewater management. These two are the main sources of pollution in the
urbanized area. Low quality of the waste collection is creating littered urban spaces.
Wastewater and waste are polluting the river that is passing across the city. Consequently,
the urban public spaces are in poor condition. Among the most concerning problems of
the city, as stated by the residents, the low quality of urban environment and ecology were
on the second place.
The lack of cultural activity, nightlife, clubs and restaurants, so important for urban
life, is mainly explained by the low level of income and low number of tourists staying in
the city for the night (author’s site visits). The local government and touristic
organizations are planning some traditional festivals and fairs in order to bring more
cultural activities into the region.
The residents have enough housing and communal services; however, these services
are often unaffordable for them (healthcare is the most unaffordable service) (Manukyan,
2013). At the same time the local government has limited resources for maintaining
communal services.
Meanwhile the city has favorable conditions for health care institutions but these are
not used.
The society is literate and ready to work for the city. The social connections are well
developed among residents but they don’t see the importance of social activity. In general
the residents are psychologically depressed because of bad financial conditions
(Manukyan, 2013).
Now almost all factories are closed or using only 10-20% of their productive area.
There are almost no local productions in the area. However, there are a couple of
institutions in the city that make the city important for the whole country: “Vorotan”
hydropower plant and “Goris Medical Center”. The level of commercial activities is also
on a low level, while the development of tourism is already having positive impact on the
commercial activity. When the airport is back in operation, the city will gain more
importance and opportunities for future development (Figure 51).
Everything listed above show that the city of Goris is not sustainable. As a result of
the existing problems the population is declining and the city is shrinking. In the case of
putting existing situation in the concept of sustainability the result will be:
o Economic development is on a low level. High number of unemployment is a
result of closed productive areas and low commercial activity. There are some plans of
touristic development of the area while the transportation system is in bad condition.
o Ecological development is ruined due to lack of waste and wastewater
management systems. The polluted river is one of the main concerns for residents. The
urban spaces are littered and unappealing to residents.
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o Social development problems are resulting from the poor economic and
environmental conditions. The residents are in socio-economic depression. They do not
appreciate their social role in solving the exiting problems.
Thus the city needs a revitalization plan that considers a comprehensive solution for
these problems.
Figure 51: The summary of Positive and Negative factors, impacting on life and
development of Goris city (by author)
•Natural & cultural (architectural) monuments
•Natural conditions (turistical and medical)
•Compact urban form
•Existing most important infrastructure (water, energy)
•Transprt infrastructure
•Pedestrian comutent high number
•Enough housing area
•Enough public and educational services
•Literate population
•Strong social connection
•Unique local culture and festivales (cultural)
•Renewable energy production (exiting and potential)
•Develomnet of touristic service (national & international levels)
•Airport development plan
•Health care institutions (existing and potential)
•Lack of dirty production
•Free productive spaces with functioning infrastructure
Positive
•Low level of connetions (public transport) with Yerevan
•Bad quality of public transport service
•Unconvenent cyclinga and pedestrian paths
•Low quality of public spaces
•Lack of waste and waste water management
•Low level of social activity appreciation
•High level of poverty
•Unaffordable services and new housing
•Lack of night life
•High number of abandoned productive and comercial areas
•Lack (almost) of local production
•Low level of commercial activity
Negative
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3.4: SWOT ANALYSIS
The SWOT analysis is based on the conclusions of the third chapter. This part will
highlight the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the area in order to
find issues which can be used for the future development of the area.
3.4.1: STRENGTHS:
Existing conditions which positively impact the current situation of the city
During many centuries this area was an important crossroad of international roads.
This issue has been an important point for the Goris city until now, as the roads passing
through the city connect Iran, Georgia, Armenia and Nagorno Karabagh .
Being an inhabited area during many centuries this region has had many cultural
heritage areas. There is a number of old and unique inhabited areas or monuments in the
villages of the Goris region. These villages and monuments are situated among beautiful
natural environment that makes the region attractive for tourism. Natural conditions, clean
air and drinking water create favorable conditions for healthcare and spa treatment
services.
The city of Goris is very compact and that makes it convenient for servicing and
moving. Public transportation services almost all the urban area: there are no districts
which are not served by public transportation. The city also has the basic infrastructures:
almost the whole area has water, electricity, gas, etc. The same can be said about public
services: the residents have enough kindergartens, schools, health care institutions, etc.
Left mainly after the Soviet times, the housing stock of the urbanized area is enough for
the existing population.
The population of the whole region is literate, like in other parts of the country. At
the same time the social connections in the region are quite strong, which creates a strong
community. This community is ready to engage or help to develop their urban and natural
environment (Maukyan, 2013).
The city has some nationally important institutions. One of these institutions is
Vorotan hydropower plant providing electricity to the whole the country. Due to this plant
the city uses renewable energy. The second one is The “Goris Medical Center” that serves
the whole province and Nagorno Karabah Republic (Figure 52).
3.4.2: WEAKNESSES:
Existing issues which negatively impact the current situation of the city
The city is situated among nationally important roads but the existing public
transportation is not functioning well enough. The connection with the administrative
center of the Republic and international airport is week. The same can be said about the
public transport connection of Goris with its surrounding villages.
The nice natural environment of the city is being destroyed due to lack of waste
and wastewater treatment systems. Local government cannot find solution against illegal
waste droppings. In addition to this the garbage in the city is not collected properly. The
city cannot afford a wastewater treatment plant because of which the wastewater is
75
dropped into the river. Thus the river is polluted by both littering (illegal droppings) and
wastewater.
Public spaces of the city are also polluted by illegal littering. The open urban spaces
need the basic urban design and furniture. Almost all of the public spaces of Goris are
unattractive because of pollution (garbage) and lack of urban furniture.
The city has several cultural institutions mainly left from the Soviet times but these
are in bad condition. The communal services, as well as the cultural institutions are in
poor technical conditions. These servicing institutions need some basic maintenance and
modernization; however, it is unaffordable for the local government.
The region shows a high level of poverty. The population complains about the
high level of unemployment. This is basically the result of low productive and
commercial activities. The research of the area shows that the city has empty productive
and commercial spaces. Meanwhile, because of the mountainous topography the area
does not have big agricultural potential. All these issues show that the region lacks any
kind of local production. The city is starting to develop touristic services but the research
shows that there are many issues disturbing this (Figure 52).
3.4.3: THREATS:
Main issues which can be disturbing the future development of the region
The mountainous topography of the region is beautiful and attractive but at the
same time it makes any new construction or infrastructural development more expensive.
One of these developments is the construction of the South-North corridor. The
development of this corridor includes construction of a new highway connecting Iran with
Yerevan. This highway will overpass the city of Goris. Thus the city will lose one of two
international roads passing through it. This can have a negative impact on the future
development of the city.
In order to develop the city and the region all kinds of transportation need to be
developed, while bad quality of public transport connection is threatening the
development of the area. In addition to this, the city has unfavorable conditions for
developing cycling transportation. The sidewalks are of very low quality, creating
unfavorable environment for walking in the city.
The littered urban environment is making the city unattractive for tourism or life.
This is the result of illegal waste droppings and river pollution. Almost all public spaces
are littered, while the polluted river stinks when the weather is warm (author’s
observation).
The society has an important role in the development of the city, while they don’t
appreciate the power of the civil participation. The residents do not think that their
participation in solving problems is an important issue for the future of the city.
Unfavorable conditions for the cultural intuitions and lack of nightlife make the
life in the city unattractive. This has a negative impact on the development of tourism. It
also makes the city uninteresting or boring for young people and families. At the same
time the low income level and lack of jobs are decreasing the attractiveness of the town
for living and working. Currently the city has no local production. As a result many
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residents do not see any future in this city, which contributes to population decline (Figure
52).
3.4.4: OPPORTUNITIES:
Issues which can have positive impact on future development of the town
Currently there are some issues in the area which can help to develop the city and
its surroundings. One of these factors is the favorable geographic location of the city. The
international roads passing through the city bring here many guests and tourists. When
the airport next to Goris is back in operation, it will make the region a transportation hub
of the southern part of the Republic of Armenia.
Meanwhile the city has a high number of green areas being surrounded by forests. It
is located in the middle of many cultural and natural attractions. In addition to this, the
Goris region has favorable natural conditions and infrastructures for healthcare
institutions.
The urban area of Goris is compact and has favorable dimensions for walking or
cycling. All the services, cultural or natural attractions of the city are within a walking
distance. Most of residents walk to perform their daily errands.
Due to the city’s uniqueness several organizations are planning to develop touristic
infrastructures in the region. These plans are also fostered by the recently organized local
festivals.
Currently the main productions existing in the region is the electricity production, by
Vorotan hydropower plant and some small stone mining and processing plants. None of
these productions pollutes the local environment. Moreover, the city is supplied with
renewable electricity. Meanwhile there are many productive areas with functioning
infrastructure. Some of these factories are becoming commercial areas. In general it is
obvious that the services-oriented businesses are growing (hotels, B&B, etc.) all over the
region.
The development of smart city can bring innovative solutions and technologies for
future development of the area. It can improve the basic services and impact positively
on the image of the city (Figure 52).
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Figure 52: Short summary of SWOT analysis (by author)
Strength
•International connection
•Cultural herritage
•Natural attractions
•Natural conditions water & air
•Compact urban form
•Unique style of city
•Transportation serving all the areas
•Existing infrustructure
•Enough housing space
•Literate population
•Social connections
•Society ready to work for the city
•Enough public services
•Production of renewable enrgy
•Medical center "Goris"
Weekness
•Low level of connection
•Lack of waste management
•Lack of Suage cleaning system
•Low quality of urban spaces
•Lack of urban design and furniture
•Low quality of cultural institutions
•Bad conditions of public services
•High level of poverty
•Low level of productive and commercial activities
•Bad natural conditions for aggriculture
•Lack of local production
Threat
• Mountained topograpghy
•Construction of "South-North corridor"
•Bad quality of transprtation
•Unconvenient cycling and pedestrian streets
•Informal waste droppings
•River pollution
•Low level of recognition of participation by sitizens
•Lack of night life
•Low number of cultural institutions
•Low number of jobs
•Lack of local production
•Declining population
Opportunity
•International connection
•Cultural and natural monuments
•High number of green areas in Goris
•Airport development plan
•Health care infrustructure
•Compact urban form
•High level of walkability
•Touristical development plans
•Local festivals
•Lack of polluting production
•Existing abandoned factories
•Increesing servicing business
•Goris Smart City
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CAPTER 4: Best Practices
The two “Best practices” cases introduced in this chapter show already improve
ed examples of urban revitalization programs including public private partnership, based
on the community and environment. Both practices highlight unique approaches of
economic revitalization using existing resources (cultural, environmental, infrastructural,
human, etc.) of the area. These programs had one common goal: to revitalize the urban
area and create sustainable community. In order to do these they created a system where
three parts of Sustainability are reinforcing each other, instead of creating conflicts.
The first one shows revitalization of industrial town through involving new
technologies and collecting ideas. This example shows a new approach to regeneration of
empty industrial spaces in Britain. It was a pilot program financed by European
Commission which was considering to use local culture as simulator of the industry. A
big share of the success was also thanks to formation of creative society, which is actually
the engine of creative economies (Taylor & Wood, 2004), thus becoming an example of
“Creative City” (Landry, 2004). As an example, nowadays UNESCO has “Creative City
Network” that includes number of cities both in developed and developing countries
(unesco.org, 2009).
Second is an example of revitalization of a small town and villages in Germany.
The town getting involved into the movement called “Cittaslow” (Slow City) created a
unique infrastructure in the town for different activities, connecting “man made”
environment with nature. In collaboration with surrounding villages (13 villages) (Knox
& Mayer, 2013) they formed a region with number of health care institutions, festivals,
local food producers and sport. This region is called “Healthy region” and situated not far
from Nurnberg (Germany) among hills, rivers, lake and forests (Mayer & Knox, 2009)
(Figure 53).
Figure 53: Area next to Hersbruck (Best Practice 2 area) (gps-tour.info/de, 2011)
4.1: BEST PRACTICE 1
4.1.1: CREATIVE TOWN
During the second half of 20th century production had moved out from many
European industrial cities, leaving after them huge productive empty areas and high
unemployment rate. Huddersfield, located in England, is one of the examples of the
collapsed towns. With population of 121.620 (Taylor & Wood, 2004) the town is situated
between Leeds and Manchester cities, 300 km far from London (Landry, 2004). It had a
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fame of industrial city with different kind of factories. Starting from 1970ies production
gradually moved out from the city, and during many years Huddersfield was suffering
from high unemployment rate. Thanks to its geographical position, good connections and
infrastructure (road and railway transport) citizens were working in surrounding cities
(inteli.pt, 2009).
In the end of 1980 in order to revitalize small town of Kirklees (next to Huddersfield)
a media center was created. For that period it was an innovative approach to economic
development (Taylor & Wood, 2004). This was the first attempt in the region to promote
development of cultural industries in the area, becoming a small example of creating
cultural industries (in the region). Meanwhile in 1997 European Union started a program
of finding Europe’s most Innovative city. Huddersfield town participated to this program
inspired by the successful example of a creative industry in Kirkless (Taylor & Wood,
2004). The concept of Huddersfield creative city was based on the book “The Creative
City” (Taylor & Wood, 2004). Thus concept of creative Huddersfield supposed to be an
open environment for innovative ideas and organizations in order to transform creativity
into wealth. Thus from 500 entries only 26 were selected, and “Haddersfield Creative
Town Initative” was among them (Landry, 2004). This program was funded by EU with
the duration of 3 years (1997-2000, 3 million USD) (Landry, 2004). “Creative Town
Initiative” was the first urban strategy program of its kind.
The project of revitalization of Huddersfield Town was realized with the
consultations of Charles Landry, the author of the concept called “The Cyrcle of
Creativity” (Figure54). In Huddersfield CTI “The Cyrcle of Creativity” was implemented
by precise phases. Here each phase is a step aimed on forming a common environment
for creative industries in this area.
1. Idea Generating Capacity. How to collect new ideas (in art, business,
technologies, innovations, etc.)? Are these ideas enough and how to simulate new ones?
It was important to raise the participation of the people (mainly citizens). This was
done through organizing public lectures, exhibitions and events. In these process local
theater was also involved, by offering some trainings. Idea collection and development
was done through program called “Millennium Challenge”, which gained 2000 new ideas
by the end of 20th century from different levels of society (Taylor & Wood, 2004).
2. Ideas into Practice. How could the program involve more people? What king of
support or resources do they need and how can they get it. What if they fail, how to start
again?
During the implementation of the program people with experience and people with
ideas were put together. In addition to small financial help, free spaces and offices were
offered. During this process people were also taught how to get benefits and protect their
intellectual property. The school students were taught how to create and manage
businesses.
3. Networking and Circulating. Having a lot of ideas doesn’t mean to have a creative
community, thus the question here was how to create a common environment for all the
ideas? How to foster collaboration between people with ideas? What mechanisms can be
used for promoting this kind of collaboration?
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In this phase community had to understand the importance of information: knowing
abilities and ideas of each other they could use it with higher efficiency. Annual survey
showed the number, type, revenue and quantity of employees of existing enterprises in
the city at that time. The survey also showed that these enterprises needed to grow their
productivity. Based on received data a simple mapping exercise was done, which was
picturing the success of the project. The program included people (participants with ideas)
from entire region and created conditions for meeting of entertainers and people with new
ideas promoting a formation of creative community.
Figure 54: Cycle of Creativity (Landry, 2004)
4. Platform for Delivery. At some point “producers” will need a space (physical or
virtual) and conditions to improve their ideas. Kirklees Media Center, which was working
without revenue, was also used for this. In order to promote “Creative Society” and to
give some physical conditions a building (Mechanic Institute Figure55) in the center of
the city was converted into “Creative Loft”, providing offices, atelier also some areas for
living. About 20 enterprises or individuals were housed here (Taylor & Wood, 2004).
5. Market and Audiences. The main question is if someone wants to buy or use the
“products” created as a result. Is this production introduced to the market? Are there
enough conditions to deliver or sell it (according to standards)?
In order to promote the “products”, they were presented through media by national
and international channels as well as through social media, lectures and exhibitions. For
the success of the businesses it was important to get recognition
Huddersfiel CTI was also a strategy of rebranding the town “Hiddersfield- Strong
Heart, Creative Mind” (Landry, 2004) showing an initiative of creating public private
Ideas into Practice
Networking and Circulating
Platform for Delivery
Market and Audiences
Idea Generating Capacity
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partnership based on the inner human resources: intelligence, creativity, aspiration and
motivations of citizens.
Figure 55: Huddersfield Creative Loft in the building of former Mechanic Institute
(source: www.lettwo.co.uk/listing/creative-lofts-northumberland-street; cited: 3.3.2015)
The initiative gave life to almost 50 businesses (Landry, 2004), most of which are
knowledge based. The existing businesses were also supported to develop their capacities.
There were some famous media companies among them.
However the main success is considered to be a creation of creative society. The
society which knows how to use their intellect and to collaborate with each other, which
is ready to entertain by itself without waiting others to start. This is considered as the
“engine” for future creativity (Taylor & Wood, 2004). The program was closed in 2001
(Taylor & Wood, 2004), but many of the organizations still exists and some of them
thrived. Few of the “Creative” entertainments are now famous in national and
international levels (Taylor & Wood, 2004).
Thanks to this the town became attractive, now it has visitors from many big cities
(Barcelona, Berlin, Vienna). The vision was used as a premiere example of urban
revitalization (Taylor & Wood, 2004).
4.1.2: “CREATIVE TOWN” LESSONS
The idea of using creativity in economic revitalization of urban areas is one of the
ideas that now are widely promoted in different cultures and countries, even if it doesn’t
have the slogan of “Creative Economy” (Landry, 2004). Charles Landry is referring to
the idea of Richard Florida who is proving that the role of creativity is rising in modern
economy (Landry, 2004): highlighting that any kind of work has a share of creativity.
In the case of Huddersfield the city shows an alternative way of reusing abandoned
areas, mainly connecting it with art and media technologies. This case study is proving
that creative industry can be useful also in small or medium size cities (inteli.pt, 2009).
82
The model is using existing physical, social and economic environment. The pillars of
Huddersfield CTI are considered to be (Taylor & Wood, 2004):
o Motivation
o Milieu
o Mobilizing mechanisms
o Mapping
o Model
But all these factors wouldn’t be so important if there was no crisis. Chrisis is one of
the main conditions that promotes innovative thinking (Landry, 2004).
This project had one clear purpose: to increase economic situation in the city using
existing conditions: abandoned factories and high unemployment rate. The program was
not considering doing any kind of construction or big changes by government. It was
trying to create a bottom up planning creating a “new” kind of public private partnership
(Landry, 2004), based on relatively small financial help. However the changes were
evident in:
Economic: by helping to find new markets, partners (business) and financing, also
handing on some abandoned buildings for “new type of industrial” use and helping to
create a mechanism of getting revenue from ideas.
Social: by putting together citizens and entertainers (also motivated) through
organizing lectures, workshops, competitions or meetings, as a result creating community
of “Creative” citizens.
Environmental: by finding good locations for businesses, creating a physical and
media platforms for different purposes (using abandoned industrial areas) (Figure56).
Being widely used, this practice is used in different ways in order to revitalize
economy using new, creative approach (Landry, 2004). Creative City program promoted
by UNESCO cites has wide range of local industries offering “Thematic Networks”:
Literature
Film
Music
Crafts and Folk Art
Design
Media Arts
Gastronomy
That is one more prove of flexibility of such an initiative. It is also a method of
rebranding the city, making it more attractive for living, visiting and business making.
This example shows us a solution for revitalization of the city, which had almost the
same problems less than 20 years ago as Goris has now. So this concept can be
successfully localized for Goris region.
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Figure 56: Changes done in Economic, Social and Environmental fields in Huddersfield
(Landry, 2004)
4.2: BEST PRACTICE 2
4.2.1 “HEALTHY REGION”
The example of “Healthy region” is realized in a small town called Hersbruck.
Town had about 12.5 thousand residents (in 2001). It is situated on the east of Germany
about 30km from Nurnberg (Mayer & Knox, 2009), in a nice natural area. Hersbruck has
a history of about 1000 years, it was developed on so called “Golden road” that was
connecting Nurnberg and Prague (Cittaslow. info, 2015).
The area, which traditionally had high quality of agricultural production during
2nd half of the 20th century, was not competitive with the mass food production industry
(Mayer & Knox, 2006). However at that time the town could create a collaboration
between local farmers and 17 restaurants. Also they organized 1st regional agricultural
fair thus helping to develop the local agriculture. This was also an important input for
continuing traditions of local cuisine. In 2001 the city joined to the net of “Cittaslow”,
becoming 1st German town of this type.
“Cittaslow” grew out from the movement called “Slow food”. Slow food was an
answer for mass production of food and fast food (“McDonaldization”) (Knox & Mayer,
2013). It was created to highlight importance of ecological food, local dishes and slow
eating that was under the threat of distinction. The movement of “Slow Food” soon grew
into the movement of slow city or “Cittaslow”.
Economyc:
fynancial help, find market, business mechanisms
Social:
gathering motivated citiznes, creative community
Environmental:
new locations, physical & media platforms
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Originating from a small town in Italy, this concept presents an alternative of
development for small towns. In opposite to big congested cities, “slow” towns offer a
calm and relaxed life with local food (ecological), culture, traditions and hospitality.
“Cittaslow” movement started in 1999 from a small town of Greve in Tuscany region
of Italy (cittaslow.org, 2011). During couple of years many Italian cites became the
member of this movement. In the end of 2014 there were 192 cites from 30 countries of
the world (cittaslow.org, 2011). These cities are developed based on common criteria of:
o Environmental protection: air quality, water treatment, developing of composting,
recycling and alternative energy.
o Urban design and form: quality of public and green space, sidewalks, and
development of alternative mobility.
o Urban quality: historical preservation of the town, protection of old urban centers
and preservation of construction of environmental friendly buildings.
o Local products: preservation of local culture, organic production and agriculture,
continuing gastronomic traditions.
o Hospitality: signage, brochures of the town or “Cittaslow”, development of
touristic routes
o Awareness rising through educating or informing public about slow cities (Mayer,
2010) (Figure57).
Figure 57: Criteria of "Cittaslow", the logo of slow cities is in the middle ((Mayer,
2010) edited by author).
.
Environmental
protection
Urban design and
form
Urban quality
Local products
Hospitality
Awareness
85
Based on the mentioned criteria government of Hersbruck created a coalition with
villages (next to the town), local farmers, business makers and environmental protection
groups to preserv the natural and cultural areas connecting it with economy. The city that
was already famous by its restaurants got new direction, which was development of
“healthy region” (Knox & Mayer, 2013).
The town had all assets to attract new investments and development programs:
● Transportation: an “S-bahn” (train) line is connecting it with Nurnberg (Nurnberg
is the nearest City), on the way to Prague (Mayer & Knox, 2009).
● Nature: the area is rich by forests, hills, rivers and lakes (Mayer & Knox, 2009)
● Ecological food: the town offers traditional and natural food, clean air and
landscape.
● Historical background: the town had a history of about 100 years and unique
culture (Cittaslow. info, 2015).
● International fame: becoming a “Cittaslow” city became part of international net
that offers ecological food, local culture and quality of life.
City developed hiking, cycling and mountain biking infrastructure passing through
nice landscape and connected it with hospitality institutions. Through public-private
partnership city government could invest 21 million euros for developing a new Spa,
which was opened in 2004 (Knox & Mayer, 2013). This strategy helped Hersbruck and
13 villages to attract 180 health care institutions (Knox & Mayer, 2013). These
institutions offer wide range of services: personal care, education (health care), sauna,
sport, fitness, touristic attractions and local dishes. Some hotels also offer allergen-free
rooms and restaurants (Knox & Mayer, 2013).
In general the project was improved considering all 3 areas of sustainability
(Figure58).
Social: the city government created collaboration between different interested
groups. They created a region with villages involving more people and interested groups.
Environment: natural areas, old city, natural food, local culture and alternative
transportation raise the image of the town. Such towns are attractive for living, leisure as
well as for health care.
Economy: all abovementioned investments were done to attract more interested
groups and impact economic development using the existing resources in the area (Mayer
& Knox, 2006) (Figure58).
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Figure 58: Changes done in Social, Environmental and Economic fields of Hersbruck
(Knox & Mayer, 2013; Landry, 2004) (edited by author)
4.2.2: “HEALTHY REGION” LESSONS
This is an example of a small town that became a thriving community without having
sufficient resources (compared to big cities). In this case for the revitalization of the area
were used good natural conditions and culture. In general Hersbruck took the model of
“Cittaslow” as a role model and developed it in order to make it a profitable area. First of
all the town was rebranded as a “healthy region”, connecting idea of natural environment,
food and rich landscape with health care. In order to fulfill the rebranding of the city a
contemporary and ecological spa was constructed (Figure 59) (Knox & Mayer, 2013).
Also they connected the cycling, hiking and mountain biking infrastructures located
outside of the town with the services (health care, hotel, restaurant, etc.) inside the town.
The project that aims to create a health care region is based on 3 pillars:
I. The city is well connected by public transport with nearest urbanized area,
Nurnberg (hersbruck.de, 2015). The airport is also located not far from the town. Cycling
and pedestrian network is creating well-connected natural and urban areas.
II. “Cittaslow” means that the city preserves local culture, the food and crafts.
Municipality protects its unique architectural environment and public spaces.
III. Public private partnership makes the abovementioned possible. In collaboration
with different stakeholders the government created conditions for economic, social and
cultural life. Many innovations were applied during this partnership such as health care
institutions connected with pedestrian and cycling routes and allergen-free services
(Figure 60).
Social: private public partnership, collaboraton between differnet parts of
society
Environmental: preservation of natural landscape,
ecological food, promotion of waling and cycling
Econocmic: governmental investments, internatinal
fame
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Nowadays many cities advertise themselves as “sustainable” cities, but unfortunately
there is not a single city which could be qualified 100% sustainable. None of the cities
has fulfilled all the aspects of sustainability yet (Social, Economic and Environment)
(Landry, 2004). However this example shows a model that can be used or installed in
other cultural contexts, as the concept is considering by itself cultural and environmental
diversity.
Figure 59: Spa and pool in Hersbruck, Fackelmann Therme
(sourcehttp://www.freizeitbad.de/en/waterparks/waterparks-
overview/germany.html?badid=95 cited: 3.3.2015)
Figure 60: the main components promoting the city as a health region
Healty region
Connections
Transport
Routs hiking/cycling
Cittaslow
Local culture/food
Old town
Public private purtnership
Health care
Alergen-free services
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4.3: CONCLUSION: APPLICABILITY OF BEST PRACTICES
The abovementioned examples have many things in common with Goris. They offer
alternative methods of sustainable development using existing social and cultural
resources of the town. Goris also has unique cultural, natural and social resources (chapter
3.2.1: Geography, 3.2.2: History and Culture) as the towns mentioned in the examples.
Comparing the situations created in Huddersfield (Best Practice 1), and Hersbruck (Best
Practice 2) with the existing situation in Goris, there are number of similarities that can
be mentioned also as opportunities (for city of Goris).
o First and the most important similarity is the presence of Crisis: it was mentioned
before that crises is the main simulator of changes, which also forces to think out of box
(Landry, 2004). As in Huddersfirld, the crisis in Goris also started with the collapse of
the factories.
o Both towns are medium size (in the scale of their country) situated on important
roads located far from the capital or the biggest city of the country.
o Like Hersbruch, Goris was historically developed on commercial roads. This
roads are used till now (ArmProject, 2006). Meanwhile a new international road passing
near the region of Goris is in the phase of construction (northsouth.am, 2014).
o Goris has high unemployment rate and empty industrial zones. For now there are
no solutions of reusing these areas (Voskanyan, 2013).
o Like Huddersfiel Goris has a motivated population: according to a social survey
and a site visit, the biggest problem mentioned by citizens was lack of jobs and high
unemployment rate. The residents of Goris were ready to do something for the well-being
of their community (Manukyan, 2013).
o This area has cultural identity: local cuisine, unique architectural, historical and
natural monuments.
o Like Hersbruch, the city of Goris is surrounded by hills and forests. Thanks to
this nature, region of Goris (the town with villages) is a good for health care institutions.
Unfortunately some of the health care institutions are closed (ArmProject, 2006).
o The population of Goris with villages (NSS RA, 2011a) is almost the same as the
population of Hersbruck with villages (Knox & Mayer, 2013).
o Thanks to its size Goris city is convenient for walking and cycling (chapter 3.3.3:
Transportation). The natural area in the region of Goris is favorable for hiking and
mountain biking. That’s why infrastructures (routs, trails, etc.) for these are going to be
developed in a part of the Goris region (AECOM, 2011).
o Like both of “Best Practice” examples, city of Goris do not have enough natural
resources (such as oil, gas or metals) and production so it has to find an alternative way
of revitalization (mud.am, 2002).
Based on abovementioned these examples (models of revitalization) can be
theoretically used for revitalization of Goris town (in Chapter 5: Proposals).
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CHAPTER 5: PROPOSAL
This chapter gives a proposal for the revitalization of the city and administrative
region of Goris based on previous chapters (Chapters 3 and 4). The concept of
revitalization consists of strategy and recommendations. The first part of the chapter (5.1:
Three Pillars) explains the main direction of development of the area and its reasons. This
part is divided into several parts in order to explain each of the revitalization strategies
(pillars). After this, the chapter explains why and how a new image for the region must
be created (5.2: New Brend). The third part (5.3 Recommendations) of the chapter gives
a number of recommendations aimed to realize the strategy (stated in the first part of the
chapter). These recommendations include different sectors of planning, so here the
recommendations highlight changes for each sector. Finally, the “5.4: Conclusion” part
summarizes the chapter and highlights the possible methods of organization.
5.1: CONCEPT OF REVITALIZATION
The city of Goris is the administrative center and the only city in the Goris Region
of Syunik province; thus, the strategy of revitalization will include the entire region
starting from the city. The Goris region has a population of about 41,571, of which 20,591
live in the urbanized area (NSS RA, 2011). The improvement of the urban area will raise
the living conditions of nearly half of the region’s population as well as lead to the
development of villages.
Based on the research and conclusion of the third chapter, the area has the potential
to develop three different parts. The strategy is to create one attractive environment, or
“milieu”, for these three parts. These “parts” are three “pillars” to support the milieu that
will develop the entire region. “Pillars” are correlated, but at the same time they can work
separately. The proposal is to create one common “milieu” for these three parts of the
concept. The milieu is created for the region of Goris, where residents of the village and
the city must have equal opportunities and rights to any of these components. These pillars
are addressed to revitalize the entire region:
1. “Creative”: the region has a number of empty spaces with infrastructure, which
need innovative ideas or approaches to be reused.
2. “Touristic”: the region is rich with touristic attractions and in some parts the
creation of touristic amenities has already started.
3. “Healthy”: the area has big potential for healthcare institutions as some
sanatoriums were in operation there during Soviet times. These sanatoriums are closed
now, but they still have some working infrastructure (ArmProject, 2006) (Figure61).
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Figure 61: Tree main components of the revitalization concept for Goris administrative
area.
5.1.1: CREATIVE MILIEU
Creative Milieu is the creation of favorable conditions for people with innovative
ideas in order to transform their ideas into profitable mechanisms. Innovative ideas and
their proper formulation can be an appropriate tool for reusing empty spaces.
Theoretically, the same “circle of creativity” used in Huddersfield CTI can work here as
well (4.1: Best Practice1). In the case of Goris, the creative initiative can be based on:
1. Local culture because this region has a unique culture that can be used in different
ways to increase income. It was also mentioned that creative entrepreneurship very often
uses local culture (Landry, 2004).
2. Reusing empty production and housing spaces, which provide physical areas and
relatively well operating infrastructures for realizing innovative ideas (Voskanyan, 2013).
3. Transportation infrastructures, which are getting developed in the area. There is
also a plan to reuse the airport and to construct helipads (AECOM, 2011).
4. The society, which is ready to work for its city, and a diaspora that often helps its
homeland (3.1: Overview of Armenia) (Manukyan, 2013).
5. International donors or NGO-s who help the developing countries. For example,
Goris Women’s Development “Resource Center” could get small sponsorships for their
social projects (Goris Crochet, 2013).
6. “Smart city” is a new plan for the city of Goris, which is a new decision made by
the government of RA (mentioned before). This can be a good input for innovating the
area (Figure62).
Milieu in Goris
a common environment for 3 pillars
Creative
TouristicHealthy
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Figure 62: Main components on which can creative milieu of Goris be based (Landry, 2004)
edited by author).
Examples of the creative use of old productive areas can currently be found in
Armenia. One of them is the creation of a free economic zone in the area of the factory
“RAO Mars”. The factory in the suburbs of Yerevan was closed for about 15 years even
though it had all the necessary infrastructure with free production areas. Some areas of
the factory were rented as a warehouse; others were closed. In 2012, in collaboration with
the Yerevan Computer Research & Development Institute (YCRDI), OSC “Sitronics”
(Russia), the government of
Armenia and the government of the Russian Federation started a project to transform
the factory into a Free Economic Zone (FEZ) (fez.am, 2013). FEZ means that everything
produced inside the territory of “RAO Mars” is free of taxation. Everything entering or
coming out of this territory had to be checked so a customs checkpoint was constructed
next to the main entrance (only one for trucks)1. FEZ was opened in 2013 and currently
1- author was taking part in these projects, so the information is based on his own experience or knowledge
Creative
Milieu
1.Local culture
2.Empty spaces
3.Transport routes
4.Society
5.International
collaboration
6.Smart city Goris
92
houses different kinds of high technical and chemical production sites (raomars.com,
2011)1. This shows how an area with basic conditions can collaborate with foreign and
local producers through a public-private partnership.
Figure 63: The entrance and costumes check point of "RAO Mars" Yerevan (fez.am,
2013)
Another example is in city of Goris, entertained by the Goris Women’s Development
“Resource Center”. This organization started the production of hand-crocheted items
(bags, stuffed animals, etc. sold abroad) in 2010 (Goris Crochet, 2013). Now they have
plans to launch a program that intends to revitalize the carpet weaving traditions of the
region. By using different investments and sources (foreign and native), “Resource
Center” is going to organize the production of high quality natural wool ropes and carpet
weaving in the future. They will be produced by hand, using natural materials (wool from
sheep) and traditional technology for weaving. The main work will be done by women
living in or near the village who have proper knowledge and ability of such work. For this
production, they could borrow a small part of the closed factory in Shinuhair village,
located on the way to Tatev monastery1.The production is planned to start in March of
2015. The wool production area is attractive for tourists as well, which is why there are
plans to open the production area for visitors, offering them a tour inside the wool
manufacturing area, a souvenir shop, and a place where they can taste local food. If the
project succeeds, the entire area of the factory will be used. Even now, some months
before the opening, this workshop is already included in the tours of some tourism
companies1. This example is remarkable because it uses local traditions, touristic
infrastructure, and an abandoned factory, yet the organization is small and has no
sponsors.
Both of the examples show an innovative approach to reusing existing abandoned or
unused spaces initiated by relatively small groups. This shows that the creation of a
common milieu, including all of the interested groups with different abilities, resources
1- author was taking part in these projects, so the information is based on his own experience or knowledge
93
(ideas, craftsmanship, productive spaces or other investments), and public-private
partnership can bring about unexpected results.
5.1.2: TOURISTIC MILIEU
Touristic milieu is the creation of favorable conditions to promote tourism. The
touristic potential of the Goris region is highly appreciated. The touristic development
plan, “Southern Touristical Corridor of Armenia”, the region of Goris has two “clusters”:
Tatev cluster and Goris cluster (Figure64). The Tatev cluster is considered to be the most
attractive, which will lead to the touristic development of other “clusters”. The Tatev
cluster is also considered to be the one which will have the most touristic amenities. The
milestone for touristic development of this area was the construction of the cableway
“Wings of Tatev” (Figure65). Currently, this organization is constructing amenities for
tourists in the Tatev cluster, which include the construction of roads, hotels, B&Bs, clinics
(spa), etc. (AECOM, 2011) (Figure66). A remarkable fact is that they are going to
transform villages into eco-villages with local culture, crafts, as well as skiing amenities
for the wintertime. This plan has a timetable for each infrastructure (2015, 2020, and
2030) and the development of all of the clusters are expected to be finished by 2030. Not
much has been done yet in the Goris cluster, however (author’s observation). According
to these plans, the Goris cluster has less to offer to tourists than the Tatev cluster. Plans
for the clusters have clear regulations in order to facilitate tourism.
Figure 64: The map of Southern Touristic Corridor with its cluster, in the region of
Goris there are two clusters Goris and Tatev (AECOM, 2011)(p.99).
94
Figure 65: The longest cableway "Wings of Tatev" passing over Vorotan gorge to Tatev
Monastery (source: http://www.photo-week.net/tatev4.php; cited: 3.3.2015)
Figure 66: Illustration of development of hotel and mixed used areas in Tatev village
next to Tatev monastery ((AECOM, 2011) page147).
95
These plans are not going to improve the existing infrastructure of the Goris cluster
as much as for the Tatev cluster (AECOM, 2011). Also, this plan does not consider the
renewal or cleaning of the river, which is the main problem of the city (after
unemployment) (Manukyan, 2013). Another fact is that the city of Goris has an important
historical background that is not considered in this plan (Voskanyan, 2013). The main
implementation in the region will be the re-launch of the airport, which is planned in 2020
(AECOM, 2011). The touristic milieu of the Goris cluster can be considered as a
connection to the Tatev cluster. Even if the two clusters are developed separately, they
can have good connections (roads, public transportation, bicycle or pedestrian/hiking
routes). Currently, from touristic infrastructures, mainly B&Bs and hotels are relatively
well developed (also available on the web). The Tatev cluster is constructing a number of
service areas (hotels, spas, restaurants, etc.). In general, it can be said that the Goris
administrative area is partly developing touristic infrastructure and the entire region has
the potential for many different types of tourism (AECOM, 2011). There are some
favorable conditions for the formation of a touristic milieu, such as:
1. The plan of “South Touristic Corridor” that is realized through public-private
collaboration.
2. Local hospitality and gastronomy that includes hotels, B&Bs, and local food.
3. Local history and culture: these are vernacular architecture, historical areas, old
towns, old caved villages, temples, old graveyards, local crafts, local agriculture, drinks,
and food.
4. Local festivals, which as previously mentioned, have become more popular in
recent years. One more music festival is planned by the “Armenia Southern Corridor
Tourism Framework” (Goris cluster) (AECOM, 2011).
5. A natural environment, which is not only pleasant, but also good for health
(natural drinking water and balneology) (ArmProject , 2006).
6. Transportation infrastructure and future plans of airport development (mentioned
previously). There is also a plan to construct helipads in both of the clusters (AECOM,
2011).
7. Media and web: activities which started mainly after the construction of the
cableway. Over the last few years, this area has become famous thanks to commercials
and advertisements for the new cableway. There is a lot of information about the Goris
area in different magazines, TV programs, and the internet (Figure67).
The Goris area is known as a region that develops ecotourism (ArmProject , 2006),
although there are some issues in the city of Goris (as the center of area) that are
compromising this image. These issues are the lack of waste management and the polluted
river. With proper care, the river could become one of the attractions of the city. The
development of tourism in the area can have a good impact on other milieus.
96
Figure 67: Main components supporting creation of Touristic Milieu in Goris
administrative area (by author).
5.1.3: HEALTHY MILIEU
Healthy milieu is the creation of conditions to develop healthcare institutions. As it
was mentioned before, in the city of Goris there are hospitals which serve the Syunik
Province and NKR. Government sources also list good, natural conditions for healing
(water and air) institutions (ArmProject , 2006). The touristic development plan
(mentioned before) includes the construction of a medical center in Shinuhayr village by
2020 and a resort/spa in Tandzatap village in 2015 (AECOM, 2011). At the same time,
there are some closed healthcare institutions in the Goris administrative area. Regardless,
healthy milieu can be based on:
1. Natural conditions (Voskanyan, 2013).
2. A new medical center and spa.
3. An existing Hospital and Diagnostic center (3.3.6: Communal Services), which
already attracts patients from other provinces and other countries (Voskanyan, 2013).
4. Closed healthcare institutions, the spaces of which can be used for activities
related to healthcare since the infrastructure for that still exists (ArmProject, 2006).
5. Touristic attractions can also attract new people who would like to combine health
treatment and tourism. Here, the creation of eco-villages and the promotion of local food
can become new attractions for people preferring a healthy lifestyle.
Touristic
Milieu
Goris
1. Touristic Corridor
2. Local Gastronomy
3. History & Culture local
4. Festivals local
5. Natural environment
6. Transport routs
7. Media & Web
97
6. Hiking and cycling infrastructures that are being promoted according to touristic
development plans can also serve as healthcare institutions (AECOM, 2011). The Sylmar
concept works well in Hersbruck (“Best Practice 2”).
7. Transportation routes and connections, as in the case of the other two milieus, will
also play an important role in developing healthcare in the region (Figure68).
The promotion of the area will attract many people from abroad with different
purposes. The Healthy milieu can collaborate with Touristic milieu. Development of the
Helthy milieu will be the third pillar for the common milieu.
Figure 68: Factors promoting "Healthy" milieu in Goris administrative area (by
author).
5.1.4: COMMON MILIEU
From the abovementioned it is clear that there are many factors in common
promoting each milieu. This facilitates the creation of one common milieu for the three
pillars mentioned above (creativity, tourism and health). Therefore, putting all the
promoting factors of all pillars together shows that the common milieu will be supported
by:
Smart City development for city of Goris. That will give number of opportunities
for all three milieus, while it can include innovative approaches used in all three pillars.
Local culture is the one that is used for “creativity”, tourism and health care
institutions. Each of the milieus needs some aspects of the culture: architecture, carpet
Healty
Milieu
Goris
1. Natural conditions
2. New Medical center &
Spa
3. Existing Hospitals
4. Closed Health
Institutions
5. Touristic Attractions
6.Hiking & Cycling Routes
7.Transport routs
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weaving, food, hospitality, etc. Therefore the development of the cultural heritage of the
area will have a positive impact on all pillars.
Vacant spaces existing in the area had various purposes more than 20 years ago,
before closing. Some of them were sanatoriums (ArmProject , 2006). Thus old usage of
these areas may hint toward new ways of reusing the area.
Transportation routes are one of most important aspects for all the “pillars”. All
three aspects are using good location of the area (nationally important crossroad).
Meanwhile the public transportation system is not working well enough (chapter 3.3.3:
Transportation) its development will improve all three types of milieu. While the
reactivation of the airport will have a positive impact, many uncertainties connected with
it remain. One of them is that in other national air transportation sources, there is no
information about launching of the airport in the Goris region (chapter 3.2.4.1: Air
Connections).
Social collaboration is considered to be one of main creative approaches to
repurposing abandoned areas. While theoretically other “pillars” of milieu can also need
collaboration between different groups of society. Such collaborations can be organized
through local government and include local, national and international (diaspora)
stakeholders.
International collaboration already exists in the area. For example, the touristic
development plan and a local small entrepreneur (“Women Resource Center”) are
collaborating with international organizations, which will improve the common milieu
(for all components).
Armenia Southern Corridor Tourism Framework will improve touristic and
healthcare infrastructure in a part of Goris administrative area (AECOM, 2011). In
addition, it will lead to an increased number of guests who can use other services as well.
Touristic and healthcare services or unused industrial areas can use this factor for future
development plans.
Festivals attract many tourists, with the main goal of showing the local culture to
foreigners. They can also raise the level of social and cultural activities in the region,
improving the “creative” society and the social life of the province.
Natural landscape is considered a touristic attraction. While the natural
environment of the region has favorable conditions for water (balneology) and air healing
(Voskanyan, 2013), the environment is favorable for hiking or mountain biking, for which
no routes currently exist.
Web and Media activates in the region started with the development of the “Wings
of Tatev” program. Unlike 5-6 years ago, a lot of information can be found about the area
through internet and media sources. Having the means to advertise touristic attractions it
can also create favorable conditions for advertising its healthy environment. . Although
the city of Goris has a valuable cultural and historical background for the country (chapter
3.2.2: History and Culture), it is not presented well enough and most of the information
available in media is about the Tatev cluster (monastery and cableway).
99
Newly planned and existing healthcare institutions are creating the image of a
“healthy” region that can serve to attract new tourists or patients. Further improvement
would be to connect healthcare infrastructures with some routes and cultural places in the
future (like in “Best Practice 2”).
Hiking and cycling routes principally planned for developing sport tourism in the
region can be a good addition to healthcare institutions. This development can be a good
addition the public transport infrastructure (Figure69).
Thus the common milieu (with three pillars) has factors stated above that promote its
formation. For developing of the common milieu on the site it is necessary to put or
connect these factors with the urban environment. Therefore development of these factors
means developing several sectors of the administrative area of Goris:
o Mobility that includes the public transportation system, cycling (mountain biking)
and pedestrian infrastructure. It can also refer to the development of smart transportation
solutions.
o Zoning that concerns the reuse of existing urban and natural environments (parks,
river, etc.). It must also include rezoning and reestablishment of cultural heritage areas in
the city.
o Public Spaces & Environment are the open public areas, cultural spaces (theater,
nuseum, etc.), squares, parks, forests, waterfronts, pedestrian and cycling routes that
intend to develop more attractive urban or rural environments. This includes means of
environmental protection, which is an urgent issue for the city of Goris (chapters 3.3.4.:
Infrastructure and 3.3.5: Green and Open Space).
o Social is aimed to develop a proactive society which will be ready to work and
collaborate with different social gorups (native and foreign). Other aspect of this will be
increasing the social activity of residents and preserving local intangible heritage (music,
food, etc.) through their entrepreneurship. In addition, the local society should be able to
collaborate with local and foreign partners like the Armenian Diaspora, UNESCO, NGO-
s or other international organisations. The goal here will be the revitalisation of the area
based on the potential of locals.
o Web and Media is aimed to develop different kind of information about the area,
thus creating a media space for the Goris region and promoting abovementioned
activities. This will also concern the creation of a new webpage about the Goris region
and the city. Development of Smart City in Goris can become a crucial point for
modernization of the city and its environment. The potential of Smart or Media
technologies can create new possibilities to the region (Figure70).
As a result of all the points described above, conditions for common milieu will be
created through the development of stated sectors. The revitalization of the Goris region
must be started from the city of Goris, because it is the central city that all the villages
around depend on.
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Figure 69: All the conditions (combined) that create one common milieu for "Creativity,
Tourism and Health" (by author).
Figure 70: Sectors which includes the factors supporting the "Common Milieu" (by
author)
Local culture
Empty spaces
Transport routes
Social collaborat
ion
International
collaboration
Touristic Develop
mentFestivals
Nature and
landscape
Web & Media
New and Existing Health Care
Hiking & Cycling Routes
Smart City Goris
Mobility
•Smat city
•Public transport
•Pedestrian, cycling and hiking infrastructur
Zoning
•Cultural area
•Empty spaces
•Landscape (Nature)
•Health care
•Tourism
Public Spaces
•Cultural areas
•Natura & landscape
•Pedestrian, cycling and hiking
Social
•Smart City
•Social collaboration
•International collaboration
•Festivals
Web & Madia
•All four mentioned sections
• Smart City
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5.2: NEW BRAND FOR GORIS REGION
The abovementioned concept is also addressed on rebranding of the region. The point
is that Goris region is considered mainly as touristic. While currently the city has a
number of unfavorable conditions for that. So new brand should express new priorities of
the town:
1. Currently the city is not well developed for touristic activities, and except for
hotels and B&B it’s difficult to find any amenities for guests. Many touristic attractions
are hard to reach, there is no information about routes or attractions, no urban design or
nightlife. As a result people don’t stay there for extended periods (author’s observation).
Goris has to build a friendly and comfortable image for visitors.
2. Based on official sources, the city is considered a recreational town among other
cities in Armenia, while Armenia has a very low “inner market” affordability (chapter
3.1.4: Economy) and it is more reasonable to attract foreign tourists.
3. The construction of the cableway in Tatev village and the projects of making
villages attractive for tourists shows that only 3 out of about 20 villages in the region are
getting developed for attracting tourists (AECOM, 2011). It is therefore important that
other parts of the region have to be developed to create a new image.
4. At the same time it should be mentioned that the region has favorable touristic
weather conditions only 5-7 month during the year (Voskanyan, 2013). This means that
it can’t rely only on touristic businesses and other kinds of industries or services should
be also developed in the region.
5. In official sources it is often mentioned that the area has a good natural healthcare
environment, but there is no public information about healthcare institutions and their
future. These institutions need some investments and rebranding.
6. The city and administrative area of Goris have a lot of institutions and free spaces
(mentioned above) that theoretically can attract families, students, clients, patients,
investors, companies, etc. Yet these institutions or services are not mentioned anywhere.
7. Another resource that is not mentioned is the local population. As the social
survey showed, citizens are ready to do something good for the city: they are literate and
need a job (Manukyan, 2013).
8. In general, the city seems to be a typical post-Soviet city with abandoned factories
and mass production houses, which creates a negative impression of a shrinking city
(Figure 71).
The new brand of Goris must show that all the bad things existing in the area are
gone. Thus the idea of rebranding of the region is aimed to highlight in a couple of words
that it is ready to offer conditions for good leisure, healing, life and work, and it is open
to new people, businesses and ideas. This should also include willingness of official
institutions to collaborate with the private sector. An example of a slogan can be “Clear
Air, Open Mind”.
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Figure 71: The main components that should be highlighted in new brand of Goris
region (by author).
5.3: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION
These recommendations are aimed at creating a “Common Milieu” by solving the
existing problems of the area. The creation of milieu means improvements in different
sectors of the Goris administrative area and Goris city.
5.3.1: MOBILITY SECTOR
As it was mentioned before the public transport connecting Goris with Yerevan is
not operating well: the public transportation between Yerevan and Goris is provided by
shared taxies, the same taxies also transport passengers to other cities of the country with
the same price. The public transport (minivans) regularly operates between Goris and its
neighbor cities of Kapan, Sisian and Stepanakert (author’s observation). Inside the city,
as it was already mentioned:
Public transport doesn’t connect all villages with cities (Matevosyan, 2013).
The number of passengers is low (Matevosyan, 2013)
Public transport doesn’t bring in enough revenue to parent companies
(Matevosyan, 2013).
The time schedule is not reliable: most of transport works until 18:00, some run
until 20:00 and don’t operate on holidays (Matevosyan, 2013).
It is not frequent enough (depending from time 20-60 minute frequency)
(Matevosyan, 2013).
New Brand of Goris
"Clear air Open mind"
1. Comfortable
for guests
2.Foreign market
3.Equally developed
4. Attractive 12 months
5.Healthy reagion
6.Attract life, work,
business, etc.
7.Open opportunities
(society)
8.New urban quality
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Bad quality of service and inconvenient transportation modes (author’s
experience).
In order to revitalize the Goris region the city must have regular public
transportation connections with Yerevan and Zvartnots Airport. This will make it easier
to reach Goris both for residents and for tourists. It was also mentioned, that now the only
way to get to the Syunik province is by car. Thus development of the bus system is vitally
important not only for Goris but for the development of the entire province. During the
performed site visit there was no information available about the public transport going
to Syunik and Goris in particularly. The development of a “smart city” in Goris can help
in this case as it can lead to a creation of a web page for so called “Smart Bus”. “Smart
bus” can have two options:
1. Through the web organize shuttles from Zvartnots Airport and other points of
Yerevan to the Syunik province and Goris (Hotel, B&B, etc.). This must be easy to
organize through mobile phone or online applications. The organization should
provide real time information about the current transportation.
2. Organize regular bus (or minibus) lines from Yerevan till the end of the Syunik
province thus passing through all the cities of Syunik. It will be also connecting the
cities of Vaik, Ararat, and Syunik provinces. In this case the online information and
the application should be developed to provide real-time information about bus
routes, time schedule and road conditions. The bus system should develop tariffs
depending on destination or direction. The price of public transport must take into
consideration the income level of the local population and quality expectations of
tourists. Bus route can be organized:
a. Taking into consideration that for driving from Yerevan to Goris, a car needs
about 3.5 hours (author’s experience) and that the city needs to foster public
transportation with the surrounding cities the route can be divided into three
transit lines (Figure72). The first line will make daily tours between Yerevan
and Goris (the timetable and the price will have to be calculated according to
the average number of passengers); this line will also connect other cities in the
Ararat and Vayk provinces, as well as the town of Sisian with Goris (blue line
in Figure 72). The second line will be a regular circulating line between Goris
and Meghri(green line in Figure 72). This line will connect Goris, Kapan,
Kajaran, Meghri through a regular bus (minibus) service. The third line will
connect Goris with Stepanakert (already in existance, orange line in Figure 72)
and other towns or villages along the way. Thus Goris will become a transit
point for other towns of the Ararat, Vayk and Syunik provinces to Stepanakert.
b. When the North-South road corridor is ready, the second bus line (green in
Figure 73) will circulate inside the Syunik province thus connecting almost all
the cities of the province with the transit point in Goris city (Goris-Meghri-
Sisian-Goris). This transit point will host Yerevan-Goris-Yerevan (red line
Figure 73) and Goris-Stepanakert-Goris (orange line in Figure 73) lines, as well
as the bus line of Goris-Meghri-Sisian-Goris (green in Figure 73).
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Figure 72: The concept of public transportation lines for national and provincial bus
lines (ArmProject , 2006)edited by author)
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Figure 73: The concept of public transportation lines for national and provincial bus
lines after construction of new highway (ArmProject , 2006)edited by author)
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In the level of the Goris administrative area, the public transportation system of
Goris must be reorganized in a way that it is more flexible to reach the villages around
the city. Thus the public transport will increase the number of passengers twice (about
40,000 in the Goris region while in Goris city a little more than 20,000(NSS RA, 2011)).
The same smart bus system can be used. “Smart Bus Goris” can provide online
information about bus routes, thus the passengers commuting from a village (next to
Goris) can order a “smart bus” about 60-30 minutes in advance (must be calculated
according to the route). So the bus will go to villages only in case when it has a passenger
waiting or getting out there. Each bus must be connected to the web page of “smart bus”
due to which the driver will have real-time information about the route and any changes
in the route. According to the touristic development plan (AECOM, 2011) it will be
favorable for the region to have a regular public transport connection between Goris city
and Tatev cluster (till cableway in Halidzor village) (Figure74). In order to implement the
abovementioned, a central bus station must be developed in the city. Here all the regional
and national bus routes will meet each other in order to organize the public transportation
transit (Figure74, Figure75).
These changes will also impact the transportation price thus the public transport
providers will have to develop a flexible tariff system, for example the transportation
price can be different for passengers in the city, villages and tourists. At last the buses
must stop at defined bus stops and provide better services, raising the quality of
transportation mode in the future depending on the success of the program. All villages
of the Goris administrative region must have a public transport connection with the city.
Such a system will improve the movement inside the region and contribute to the
development of tourism in villages.
Cycling and hiking routes connecting touristic attractions (historical or natural
sites), health care institutions, hotels, restaurants with each other, all over Goris region
must have access from/to the city of Goris. These routs must be available online in “Smart
City Goris”, “Smart Transport Goris” web pages as well as in other more popular websites
for example in www.gps-tour.info.
Cycling in Goris is not convenient mainly because of the topography. There are
no any cycling paths either. Bicycling was considered as a game for kids. During the last
years, cycling has become popular in Armenia. During the first half of 2013 the bicycle
ownership grew by almost 61% compared to first half of 2012 (Grigoryan, 2013). It is
mainly popular among young people in Yerevan; however, Yerevan is also landscaped.
Taking into consideration the growing popularity of bicycles, the dimensions of the town
and the development of mountain biking around the city it will be appropriate to have
bicycle infrastructure in the city as well. For the beginning the cyclists can share the
sidewalks in the places where it is wide enough, or streets. Realization of this needs signs,
road traffic signs and regulations about the traffic rules and rights of cyclists on the street.
Later a cycling infrastructure can be designed and constructed according to international
standards (Figure 77). Cycling infrastructure along Syunik Street (most congested Figure
78) must be constructed after finishing the construction of the North-South road corridor,
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as at this point the street and the sidewalk are narrow for international and local transport
(Figure77).
Figure 74: The public transport route recommendations for Goris administrative region
(ArmProject , 2006; AECOM, 2011)edited by author)
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Figure 75: The sketch for lines of new smart buses (ArmProject , 2006; Arzumanyan,
2014) (by author).
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Figure 76: The sketch of new central bus station in the place of unused productive
space (by author)
Conceptually it is clear that the area must develop cycling and hiking
infrastructure, at first mountain biking and hiking paths must be constructed (opened,
mainly along existing walkways outside the city).
For pedestrians the city has favorable dymentions. The pedestrian paths are on
average three meters wide but the pavement is damaged in many places or it is covered
with construction materials and other staff. The dimensions of the city are convenient for
walking and many residents walk to get their daily errands done (author’s observation).
Thus the city can easily promote pedestrian movement by cleaning the sidewalks and
giving priority to pedestrians for crossing the street, mainly in old town.
The bank of river Vararak has a potential for a pedestrian path, as it passes almost
along the center axes of the urbanized area. Pedestrians moving from south to north by
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the proposed sidewalk, along the river will not cross any street (Figure 75, Figure76).
Also this waterfront can be a good place for tourists, as it passed through the middle of
the touristic attractions of Goris (old town, caved villages) (ArmProject, 2006). The bank
of the river can serve for cyclists as well. A creative approach to this infrastructure will
promote cycling in the city and attract tourists: an example can be the installation of
“cycling tramp” (like in Trondheim, Norway, Figure79) on the sloppiest parts of
waterfront. It should be possible to find information about these cycling paths in the city
(with mountain-biking tracks).
Figure 77: Proposed cycling tracks along the street in Goris town (photo and edited by
author)
Figure 78: Syunik Street passing through city of Goris (author’s photo)
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Figure 79: The section of cycling "tramp" in Trondheim (Ruben, 2007 )
5.3.2: ZONING SECTOR
Zoning shows areas and institutions attractive for all three milieus (creative,
touristic and healthy). The map of the Goris region must be created to show the detailed
potential of each village for milieu, and then these “potentials” must be connected with
each other. Also this map will show opportunities of future development and threats for
“creative society”, touristic and health care companies (Figure80).
The map shows also that the city of Goris has a potential of developing all three
milieus together. The city is rich with various touristic sightseeing places, and it also has
health care institutions and a number of empty buildings (with infrastructure) next to each
other. Meanwhile, almost all villages have the potential of developing touristic or
healthcare infrastructure (currently in progress in Tatev cluster).
In the “Zoning” map of the urbanized area it shows that spaces with different
attractions and opportunities are not collaborating with each other (Figure81).
Particularly, the cultural attractive areas include the river, old town and rocks on the other
side of the river while the river is polluted (Chapter 3.3.5: Green and Open Spaces) and
the productive areas next to the center are abandoned (unattractive for tourists). The
hospital is situated near to the historical center but it is not used by health care institution.
Thus the concept of creating a common milieu means a creation of cooperation between
spaces with different functions, opportunities and attractions.
So the map will help to develop each sector showing the current situation of the
area, empty spaces and current land use. For example in transportation sector the map
will be used to develop more frequent and important destinations for buses, cycling and
pedestrian directions. It will help to highlight the development options, possibilities and
directions for creative society, touristic companies and healthcare institutions.
Particularly, the creative society can use this map to re-use the closed factories, while
touristic services can use this for planning their tours. The local governments (villages
and city) need this in order to develop the strategy of future development for each area
according to the strategy of common milieu.
A more detailed map of zoning should be available online, including real time
information about each space in the village or town. Thus the region will be easy to
observe for any person or organization that would like to use the services or opportunities
(creative industry) of the Goris region. This map has to be done for each area of the region.
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(Creative industry) of Goris region. This map has to be done on the place, for each
area of the region.
Figure 80: Goris region and different attractions existing in the area with unused
productive areas (ArmProject, 2006; google.de/maps, 2014; AECOM, 2011) (edited
by author)
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Figure 81: The Map of Goris urban area showing different attractions, health care,
hospitality, commercial zones and unused productive spaces of in the city (ArmProject,
2006; google.de/maps, 2014) edited by author).
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5.3.3: PUBLIC SPACE & ENVIRONMENTAL SECTOR
In the level of the Goris administrative area public spaces must be designed with
highlighting the cultural and landscape origin of each area, using local materials (as low-
cost as possible). As it was mentioned, hiking and cycling (mountain bike) routes must
be designed connecting the attractive areas of the region, while these routes should
include spaces for rest: lawns and arbors will make the routes more convenient and
attractive. Also these spaces should have information boards and good views. Realization
of these open spaces can be detailed after defining the mountain biking or hiking routes
(using local materials and methods).
The urbanized area of Goris has a number of open public spaces from which only
the one in the center is connected with the cultural institutions (library, theater)
(Figure82). Green spaces (parks, forests, etc.) are also not connected with each other and
any attraction. So the recommendation is to create interconnected public spaces. These
connections must pass through or near the “attractive” (touristic, health care, etc.) areas
thus creating pockets of green, public, hospitality, touristic, sport or health care spaces.
This will create favorable conditions for “Common Milieu”. Open spaces should be
convenient for rest and attractive for walking. Such an approach will bring more people
to the center of city and help the commercial activities inside it (Gehl, 2010).
The river passes through the urbanized are, due to location of the river and existing
streets the waterfront can provide traffic free paths through the city. Bank of Vararak river
due to its position along the axis of the city, parks next to it, diversity of nature and
landscape forms can be used as natural axis connecting north with south: touristic
attractions, central square, parks and transportation hub (central bus station, in Figure76).
Here central bus station can be placed in one of the empty productive areas, next to the
street. Hiking and mountain biking routes from suburbs and villages around the city must
have connection with the river. This will lead tourists straight to the center of the city.
Thanks to this the entire area along the river will become a promenade park with pocket
parks (Figure82, Figure83). Such a concept will increase the livability of public spaces in
the area. The creation of pedestrian-only streets in touristic parts of the city next to the
river can have a good impact on both tourism and local businesses. The changes
mentioned above will lead to a new land use plan which has to be done on the place in
collaboration with residents living (or using) in each area.
The central square is wide and provides enough space for hosting different
celebrations, but it is outside of the old city and is in a bad condition. There is a park
between the old town and Central Square that serves as an intermediate zone between the
old and “new” districts of the city but it is in a poor condition. This park like others must
be designed according to local traditions and with low-cost materials. Next to this central
park, there are some streets that have the potential of increasing commercial activity,
connecting attractions and improving the quality of pedestrian movement in the center
(Figure82). All open public spaces of Goris share two main problems: waste management
and river pollution (Voskanyan, 2013). Without solving these infrastructure problems, the
city cannot offer favorable conditions for any of three milieus.
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Figure 82: The recommendations for open spaces, with Waterfront Park, Pedestrian
Street and touristic routes. (ArmProject, 2006; google.de/maps, 2014) (edited by
author).
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Figure 83: Waterfront Park connected with Pedestrian Street (by author), 1. Pedestrian
(priority) crossing, Example: Santa Monica, CA; 2. Pedestrian street using local
materials and architecture, Example: Xintiandi, Shanghai, China; 3. Public space and
café from chip local materials, Example: Berges de Seine, Paris, France; 4 Open space
next to river, example: Louise McKinney Riverfront Park, Edmonton, Canada, 5. Path
for pedestrians and cyclists, Example: Cherry Creek, Denver, USA; 6 Playgrounds and
leisure space, Example: Fraser River, Richmond, BC Canada (source on the picture).
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In order to improve the urban environment and living conditions, these two infrastructural
problems have ot be solved.
a. Some of the outer districts of the city do not have the necessary waste cans (chapter
3.3.5: Green and Open Spaces), while in the central districts, where there are big cans
on the street for household waste collection, the garbage collection service is slow
and inefficient, leaving garbage cans very full. In Armenia there is no waste division
and recycling. While there have been some discussions about installing a waste
recycling system in Yerevan, nothing has been done (Sergoyan et al, 2011). The city
of Goris can solve this problem gradually over the next few years:
1. First, the city must install garbage collection cans in all the districts, according
to expected norms. The city should have strict oversight of the services provided
by the garbage collecting companies. This must be done regularly and frequently
to prevent garbage build up that disturbs tourist areas.
2. Next, it must be considered that garbage should be separated into paper, glass,
plastic and metal, and then sold to companies that will buy these materials.
3. Waste management social awareness and its importance have to be increased
through school and university lessons and social advertisement through media.
4. In the future, with the development of centralized waste management in Armenia
according to international standards, the city of Goris can join the national waste
management and recycling system.
Goris must find an innovative solution to creating a waste management system.
There are some examples of such an innovative approach, like the one in the small
town of Mikkeli (Finland), where the household paper waste was collected through
the post service. Waste paper was left next to the post box and collected by the
postman once a week. This was a successful pilot program realized during the 1990s
(Landry, 2004). Such innovative solutions can provide a sustainable development
strategy for some time, until the waste recycling system is installed across the
country.
b. Wastewater management is the second most concerning problem for Goris, after the
economic situation (Manukyan, 2013). Goris does not have a sewage cleaning
factory and its sewage goes into the river. There is a plan to construct a wastewater
cleaning plant but it is too expensive for the city as mentioned before, and here also
the city should find alternative inexpensive solutions.
1. One such solution is the creation of wetlands. This method is considered an
ecological treatment technology, where the sewage water is cleaned by natural
vegetation on a field or in a constructed structure (Figure83, Figure84) (limnos.si,
2010). The wastewater flowing into the river can be collected by pipes from each
side of the river. These pipes must be constructed under the freezing level of the
ground and lead the sewage water down the river and out of the town. A wetland
can be construct on the south part out of the city. Here the sewage water coming
from the town will be cleaned (90-99%) (limnos.si, 2010) and the clean water
will flow to the river. The construction and operation of such a system is
extremely cheap, but it requires space. Another difficulty is that the plants that
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clean the water grow slowly in cold weather and consequently the water cleaning
during the winter season will be slow (McAuliffe, 2011). This is why wetlands
should be constructed at an appropriate distance from the city so that the city is
not affected if the smell is bad. However the affordability and the simplicity of
such a system can be used for developing a cheap and ecologically clean
wastewater treatment system for the city of Goris.
Figure 84: A constructed wetland (limnos.si, 2010)
Figure 85: A wetland on field (limnos.si, 2010)
2. Another solution can be the installation of a biogas plant. This is a plant where
the sewage is digested into fertilizer and gas. Small and simpler versions of the
plant can be installed in village houses to use animal waste and biodegradable
garbage (Figure85). Such plants are popular in villages of some Asian countries
(Kossmann et al, 1999)(Figure85).
Construction of biogas plants at a large scale is a relatively new practice. Here
plants are cleaning millions of gallons of sewage water and producing energy for
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settlements. For example, in 2010 such a plant was constructed in England and
the produced energy was sent into the electricity grid (Figure86, Figure87). This
plant was constructed within 6 months and cost about 4 million USD, and is
currently producing energy equal to more than 23 million USD per year (Ridden,
2010)(Figure88). Such systems are becoming more popular during the recent
years in different parts of the world, however not all of these plant are able to
cover the construction cost during the first year but cover them over time
(Griffiths-Sattenspiel, 2010).
A biogas plant for the city of Goris can be constructed on the south part of the
city to collect the wastewater. Constructing a plant is not as cheap as building a
wetland but it can bring revenue. The produced energy can be sold in the form of
gas or electricity to the national or local energy grid. The other option is to sell
the produced gas to public transport providers. Since public transport is run on
natural gas, the local transport system can collaborate with the biogas plant. The
plant can also produce fertilizer that can be sold to farmers (Figure86).
All the recommendations mentioned above are based on international precedent, even
though implementation of any of the stated concepts need more detailed research and
must include collaboration of national and international specialists. At the same time the
implementation of any of these solutions will be an innovation which will clean the
environment of Goris and increase the national and international interest in Goris.
Figure 86: The structure of biogas plant in village (Rajendran et al, 2012)
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Figure 87: Biogas planet used for generation power and nutrition for plants (source:
https://energypedia.info/wiki/Electricity_Generation_from_Biogas , cited :3.3.2015).
Figure 88: Cycle of biogas production from sewage water (Ridden, 2010)
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Figure 89: The Didcot sewage works in Oxfordshire, England (Ridden, 2010)
5.3.4: SOCIAL SECTOR
The sociological survey showed that the society is ready to do something for city,
while it has disbelieves in its importance (Manukyan, 2013). Thus the recommendations
for the social sector will be to raise the social activity. At first it means a creation of an
entrepreneurial society. Such society can be created by the collaboration of specialists
(sociologists, social workers, etc.) and government. For example it can be based on:
1. Assessment of socio-psychological situation of the Goris region. The results of
this survey will become the basis of future strategy for implementations of social
programs.
2. The survey will also highlight the interest of the people in the social activities or
work. Thus this people will become the core of the program.
3. Through best practices and successful examples of social collaborations the
specialist must state the role and importance of social life or activity in the
community. This will show also what problems and how can be solved through
social collaboration.
4. Lessons and trainings will be held in order to teach or show the way of using
gained knowledge. The lessons should also include the way of starting and
proceeding of social programs. Workshops can teach the ways of organizing local
entertainments, celebrations, festivals or meetings with different social groups.
5. In the result these groups should be able to realize some actual ideas of their own
communities. In the beginning this will be done in collaboration or consultation
with specialists that will be the first step in creating an entrepreneurial society
(Figure90).
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Figure 90: The procedure of a social activity development program in the area (by
author).
The idea in the end of such a program is to have a society that will be able to solve
some basic problems, which were considered as the duty of local government. Or putting
it another way, the local government will be able to solve problems of the area in
collaboration with society of the city or village. For example such society can stop illegal
garbage droppings or raise the awareness of preserving the natural environment. Another
example of social entrepreneurship can be through educational programs of local crafts
(cooking, sewing, wood or stone curving, etc.) in schools or other institutions, by natives
who have appropriate knowledge or ability.
The experience mentioned above will create an appropriate social background for
common milieu (with three pillars). Particularly the formation of a creative society is
supposed create a society that is able to collaborate with each member inside and outside
the region. Thus, the formation of a creative society can use the circle of creativity (“Best
Practice1”) that is:
1. “Helping people to generate ideas and projects.
2. Turning ideas into reality.
3. Networking, circulating and marketing ideas and projects
4. Deliver mechanisms such as cheap spaces for rent, incubator units or exhibition
and showcasing opportunities.
5. Disseminating results to the city, building markets and audiences and discussing
these so that ideas are generated.” ( (Landry, 2004) page 224)
In the case of the Goris region, the difference will be the involvement of local and
international organizations, investors or people. Some national or international
organizations can be interested in financing or participating in such initiatives. Another
possibility can be the investments or participation of the Armenian diaspora. The
participation of the diaspora is possible by organizations, companies, families or
individuals. Nevertheless, the participation of locals is the most important issue because
they are the most motivated on development of social and financial realm of the region
(Figure91).
1. Assessment of socio psychological
situation
2. Finding people interested in the social activities
3. Awareness of the role and importance
of social life
4. Lessons and trainings for starting and proceeding of social programs
5. Result to realize some actual ideas for
community
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Figure 91: The circle of creativity for Goris, is changed including different stakeholders
(by author)
This initiative should be organized by the government and include all the interested
levels of society. Here the government will be the promoter and guarantee of
collaborations.
The program of smart city Goris can become a relatively new tool connecting or
promoting social collaboration in the area. Thus the abovementioned social programs can
be shared through the online portal of the city. It can also include media or web
advertisements. The social program started by the government must have its online portal,
where the entire process will be presented. This will give transparency and reliability to
social initiatives.
This portal must include all the stakeholders with an overview of each process. From
the beginning of the program each part of circle of creativity should inform (also online)
about the headway of each “session”. This portal must also share the information about
the conditions of different areas of the region, providing real time map of land use and
unused areas. It can be created or added online on zoning map. Thus the collaborations
organized online can help to include more stakeholders from different places all over the
world. Thanks to it the diaspora can take part in the social, cultural and economic
development of the region. This will also raise the level of awareness of each resident
about the life of the region.
All social programs or initiatives mentioned above must be designed and
implemented with the help of specialists and local government, as well as the help from
web and media organizations. These initiatives must have the following final goals:
Creation of society that is ready to take the initiative, which can realize innovative
ideas through collaboration with different groups.
Solving economic problems as the result of collaboration between different members
of society; some business initiatives can be created as well.
0.Stakholders, local & international
1. Generate ideas and projects
2. Ideas into reality
3. Networking, circulating, marketing
4. Delivery mechanisms
5. Disseminating results
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Solving social problems that mainly refer to local basic issues.
Raising the level of participation of residents. This will increase the sense of
responsibility within the society towards their own environment.
Involving the diaspora in the life of motherland that will increase the motivation of
diaspora to return back to Armenia.
The result the points listed above is a creation of a society which will be able to solve
some local problems without involving the government.
5.3.5: WEB & MEDIA SECTOR
As it was mentioned before, this sector should include all sectors mentioned
above. Thus the recommendation is to create a web page that includes information about
all the processes and potentials that the region has. This webpage should show the new
direction for the development of the region. The goal is to create an attractive web
environment for common milieu.
This new webpage will be the surface of a bigger web environment that is called
“Smart City”. This web environment t must be useful for tourists, guests or business
entrepreneurs, as well as for the residents of the region, and it must consist of:
Overview of the area which will provide basic information about the region, its
geography and history. The web page must have enough information about hills,
plains, rivers, lakes and bio-diversity of the area, as well as about the sites of cultural
heritage. It can be edited by experts while some parts can also include information
provided by the residents of the area. This will raise the interest for tourists or
investors, as the local culture is one of the promoters of creative industries. This part
can also include media information describing the area, as well as programs, movies
or commercials shot in the area.
Transport that includes all the means of public transportation available in the Goris
region. It must include real time information about streets and highways of the
region. The transportation and booking of public transport must be available online
through this portal. Especially for public transport inside the Goris region a newly
developed app can give all the necessary information for using it. Also the cycling
and walking routes in the region must be available online in all details. The routes
must have connections with public transport lines and existing attractions (hotel,
B&B, touristic attraction, etc.) through the same app. The routes passing through
unpopulated areas (mountains, forests, etc.) must have some info points for
emergency calls. This portal must give possibility to add or edit updated about the
routes (hiking, mountain biking, skiing) by users.
Services must be available in the portal. Particularly it is important that the residents
of the region could have all kinds of public services available online. This will help
to perform a number of routine works in a faster way. Such as the fees for communal
services can be paid through this portal. It must include information about each
building or apartment and its expenses. This will be a good tool also for monitoring
the energy loss of each village, city quarter or building and it will make it easier to
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reduce expenses in the future. Other opportunity is the usage of the portal for medical
services through which patients living in urban or rural area can contact a doctor in
a medical institution and ask for consultation or teleconsultations. Such examples
can be found in Friedrichshafen, Germany (Hatzelhoffer et al, 2012).
Education can also be included in the portal. Implementation of e-learning platform
will help for teaching different issues that were not included in the school program,
such as studying different languages. This platform can collaborate also with
different online libraries (local, national or international), so as the registered person
in “Goris Smart City” can borrow a book or an e-book from different libraries. Other
privilege of online education will be the usage of portal for teaching and promoting
some community and social programs for the area. Different lessons or workshops
useful for the residents of the area can be placed here. The web page of Goris must
give an opportunity to residents of the region to share knowledge through this portal.
The economic development programs of the region can use this portal for many other
purposes. Goris web environment can include detailed information about production,
retail and services existing or planned in the area. This will help local and remote
entrepreneurs to collaborate inside and outside the region through web environment.
A customer-friendly web page will help also touristic infrastructure, such as
restaurants, hotel, health care services and B&B can be booked through webpage. It
must also give opportunity to schedule long-term vacations. This web environment
should have maps and dates for different activities. The zoning map must be available
here as well. It will show areas which can be used for production or other
entrepreneurship initiatives. It is important to have information about abandoned
productive areas that help to creative society and entrepreneurship to plan
development of areas.
Local government must also use these technologies. For them it will make easier to
contact its residents, inform about new decisions and changes in the local laws and
regulations. Such a system will make governmental work more transparent, which
can increase the trust of city and village residents. Currently the web page of the
Goris city provides some information about the current government and its work
(www.goriscity.am) but it is not developed well enough.
All points mentioned above provide information also in other languages (English,
Russian, etc.) for international access. On the same time Smart City or Smart region
should guarantee the confidentiality of personal information. However, the
“smartification” of the region will increase the interest in this region. At first the
abovementioned mentioned can be applied to the city of Goris, and then in case of
success, should be applied to the entire region. Even though the smart transport system
must work all over the Goris administrative area, it can be connected and at the same time
independent from the Smart city (Figure 91). Media content and overview can also be
separate from the smart city and smart region because it includes information about the
Goris administrative area.
In general, the web environment must include different tools or functions for planning
and developing the area. The web environment must guarantee privacy of personal
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information not available to public.. So it can have different levels of accessibility, for
example (Figure92):
1. The web page of smart Goris must be open for everyone and not need any
registrations.
2. Open access means that it is open for everyone. Some pages will need registration
which can be done by everyone from anywhere.
3. The web pages which contain private information should be partially closed are.
Some web pages will need special approval for access. For example, the payments
for electricity or water are available online only for tenant of each apartment.
Naturally the web environment must provide information as detailed as possible about
the existing “physical” area of the region. It will be created over the time, in different
phases. During this period more parts can also be added. However, the points mentioned
above are the most important ones that have to be implemented as soon as possible.
Figure 92: Sketch of different accessibility levels for web environment of Goris city (by
author).
5.4: CONCLUSION OF RECOMMENDATIONS
The recommendations stated in Chapter 5 are very important for the improvement of
area. Creation of a common milieu is aimed at fostering the livability of the area through
solving its main problems or helping the society to solve it by its own. These
improvements will involve the entire area and all levels of society. Here the collaboration
between society and government has an important role that is actually the core of all stated
changes. It is clear that almost all the improvements are considering a public private
collaboration.
Even though the improvements of the milieu need time and financial investments,
some of these recommendations must be prioritized. The development of public transport
is the first thing that has to be developed, while fostering the connections will bring in
new guest and promote the creation of an appropriate environment. After this the
development of creative society, tourist and local hospitality can be realized. At the same
time, along with the development of the transportation, the part of the web content of the
“smart region”- smart transport, can be developed.
Partly closed access
Open access
Open web page
Smart Goris
Media / Overview
Smart Transport
Smart City
Sefrvices EducationInfrastructure
EconomyGovernment
Smart region
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In order to develop the area and create a common milieu according to the
recommendations stated above, a special group must be created. This will be the core of
the development strategy of the Goris region. The group will lead the implementation of
projects or improvements. This group must collaborate with local government and
different stakeholders. It also has to help find financial means for projects and must
guarantee its intended usage. Ultimately this group will be the initiator of the rebranding
of the area. The group will exist until the end of realization of the recommendations
mentioned above. After the implementation of the main recommendations, the group can
be turned into an office promoting the region on the international level, bringing in new
investments or ideas from outside the country. Therefore, this office is the main promoter
of the concept of revitalization of the area.
The revitalization of the city of Goris can become an example for other cities in
Armenia. It will inspire local and national organizations to invest in the country and its
society. Meanwhile, as a result the society can have enough freedom for investing their
own ideas and initiatives for revitalizations of their urban, rural or natural environment.
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CHAPTER 6: Conclusion
The first part of this chapter summarizes the process and the result of the proposed
project. The goal of the project is to revitalize the shrinking city of Goris in the republic
of Armenia. At first, the thesis explains the theory on which the project is based, then
answers the stated question. The revitalization is aimed to make the research area more
attractive for life and work through sustainable planning.
The second part of this chapter addresses future research and states the main points
with which future development of the project could be realized.
6.1: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
This research addresses the problems of the shrinking city of Goris in Armenia. It is
clearly stated that the city has numerous problems and it needs a revitalization strategy.
The research question is:
How to revitalize the city of Goris through sustainable planning?
The research question of the project is posed in order to find methods for revitalizing
the city of Goris. Due to the complexity of the question, a number of sub-questions were
answered (Figure1 in chapter 1.4: Research Question).
Sub-Question 1: What is sustainability for a small city?
This sub-question gives a theoretical background for sustainability; it states that the
world has to be developed sustainably. Currently, the role of cities in the world is growing.
Cities attract millions of people and are consequently becoming major areas of human
activity. Sustainable development of cities has a huge impact on the sustainable
development of countries and the world in general; so, the sustainable development has
to be realized on three different levels: global, national, and regional. The concept of
sustainable development is conventionally placed into three pillars: Environmental,
Economic, and Social. Depending on the collaboration between these three components,
a city or society can develop sustainably. In the case of future planning, these three
mentioned components should be put into collaboration. In reality, however, these
components often conflict with one another, the results of which are destructive for the
human environment.
The theory also mentions that the challenges of sustainable urban development can
be different depending on the population or the size of the urban area; thus, some specific
economic, cultural, and historical factors have to be taken into consideration. Sustainable
urban planning, however, is a relatively new issue for this research area. There are no
other examples of sustainable urban development in the Republic of Armenia.
The population of the research area is declining: a phenomenon described as
shrinkage. Shrinkage is one of the results of an unsustainable urban environment and is
stated as a crisis. This phenomenon can be seen in both developed and developing
countries. Statistics show that almost all of the cities in Armenia are shrinking. Goris,
specifically, has lost about 15% of its population over the last 25 years (author’s
calculation (citypopulation.de, 2014).
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Finally, the theory also refers to a relatively new concept called “Smart City”. The
reason is that the research area intends to be developed as a smart city. Basically, this is
the use of smart technology to service or maintain urban infrastructures. The improve
ation of this technology promotes a number of urban indicators such as economy,
healthcare, education, transportation, local government, social sustainability, etc. The
theory states that the development of a “Smart City” can lead to a number of opportunities
that could be used in sustainable urban development.
Sub-Question 2: How does the city of Goris refer to surrounding region?
The second sub-question refers to the relationship of Goris with the country and
province to which it belongs. The city is situated in the Syunik Province in the southern
part of the Republic of Armenia. Some basic characteristics of the country are similar to
those of the province. The country has low economical potential, a low level of inner
market, and a high level of poverty. The province has a number of big mining industries,
but the economy of Goris is mainly based on the production of electricity (Vorotan
Hydropower Plant). Thanks to its natural conditions as well as historical and cultural
background, the city is considered as a recreational zone in the development strategy of
the province. The city is an important international crossroad connecting the capital cities
of the Republic of Armenia, Nagorno Karabagh, and Iran. A new highway is currently
under construction and will serve as a shortcut between Tehran and Yerevan. The public
transportation which connects Goris to the capital city is not developed.
Due to its mountainous terrain, only a small portion of the province is available for
agriculture and urbanization. The province is divided into four administrative parts, one
of which is the Goris area. The city of Goris is considered to be the administrative center
of the Goris region. The town has a population of about 20,000 and about 40,000 in the
entire region, but this population is declining. The society of the region is relatively
educated and homogeneous. The province in general shows low levels of crime. In
addition, the region of Goris is an attractive area for tourism, which has spurred plans for
development currently underway not far from the city of Goris. These plans take into
consideration the future development of Goris.
Overall, it can be said that the region is a hub for transportation, tourism, and the
production of electricity. The province itself hosts important healthcare institutions. At
the same time, however, the province and the region have particularly high levels of
unemployment. The country in general has a low level of inner market, so future
development of this region has to be aimed towards the foreign market.
Sub-Question 3: What kind of a city is Goris?
The city by itself has an important cultural and historical background for the country.
It has natural drinking water, clean air, a nice landscape, and unique architecture. The old
town is one of best preserved in the country. The structure of the city is compact and
convenient for walking. Nevertheless, the public transportation of the city does not
function well enough. It has nice parks and a number of public spaces that are not
furnished and do not properly serve the citizens. In fact, many of the parks are abandoned.
Besides garbage and waste water, the city has a relatively well-functioning infrastructure,
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which uses renewable energy from Vorotan Hydropower Plant. The utilities are well-
located, serving almost the entire city.
Sub-Question 4: What are the problems of the town?
The research of the area also highlights a number of problems which are making the
city of Goris unsustainable. Currently, this town can be defined as a shrinking city with
all the consequences. The first problem highlighted by the citizens is the low level of
employment. The city had an industrial past; however, many of the production sites have
since been abandoned. Another problem is poor environmental conditions, particularly
the lack of waste and waste water management. This lack of waste management is
creating a polluted urban environment and waterfront. The low quantity of public spaces,
transportation systems, and the lack of night life seem to be the consequences of the
previously mentioned economic and environmental problems. These unfavorable
economic and environmental conditions have had their negative impact on the social life
of the city. Other factors which impact the social life of the city are lack of cultural life
and poor maintenance of cultural institutions.
The local government often uses the lack of financial help to explain almost all of
the abovementioned problems (author’s observation). Meanwhile providing help to local
entrepreneurs can lead to solutions for some of the problems. Many cities in Europe faced
similar conditions in the past and were able to find solutions. A couple of these solutions
have been considered as the best areas for research.
Sub-Question 5: What Best Practices of sustainable revitalization can be found?
The first example is the revitalization of industrial spaces by finding alternative ways
of reusing abandoned areas, mainly connecting them with creative industries, examples
of which include art and media technologies. The important factor used to revitalize the
industrial spaces was the creativity of the local population; citizens with innovative ideas,
knowledge, and experience in entrepreneurship were put into collaboration. The results
achieved through this innovative approach to urban development were better than
expected. The approach had a positive impact on all three pillars of sustainable
development. Currently, the system of this program is used in different parts of the world.
Thanks to this program, UNESCO has a wide range of cities developing local culture and
creative industries: “Thematic Networks” including film, music, gastronomy, crafts,
media, and folk art.
The second example is the revitalization of the town and the surrounding villages
through the use of good natural conditions and local culture. Based on public-private
collaboration and the use of natural conditions, the city was able to create a new brand
for the region. The coalition between local producers (agriculture), gastronomy (hotels,
restaurants), transportation infrastructure, healthcare institutions (existing and new), and
local government, led to the revitalization of a small town and its surrounding villages.
The improve ations of this project included all three pillars of sustainability, as in the
previous case. Here, sustainability became one of the attractions of the city.
Sub-Question 6: What concept can be applied for revitalization?
The last sub-question is the answer to the research question. It addresses a concept
which would lead to improve ations for revitalization. All prior sub-questions are aimed
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to answer this final sub-question. After researching the case study area, it becomes clear
that the area has potentials which are not considered as tools for revitalizing the city. The
best practices show that similar problems could be solved by helping the native population
to develop and promote innovative ideas, local culture, and a natural and/or urban
environment. The concept is the creation of a favorable environment for developing
existing potentials through public-private partnerships. This environment, called
“common milieu”, is based on pillars, or “sub-milieus”. The three pillars of the common
milieu are logical subsequences of the potentials of the region. These pillars are called
Creative, Touristic and Healthy:
1. Creative milieu: the city has a number of empty industrial spaces, a functioning
infrastructure, a rich culture, local entrepreneurs (businesses or producers), a good link to
national rounds, and plans for high technological development (Smart City).
2. Touristic milieu: the area has a number of cultural and natural attractions, unique
food and culture, local festivals, exiting and newly planned touristic infrastructures as
well as good connections to international routees.
3. Healthy milieu: the region has a number of new and old healthcare institutions,
natural conditions, and a development strategy for tourism.
The new strategy of the city should be to promote these three abovementioned pillars.
These pillars have many common factors, thanks to which they can be developed either
by collaboration with each other or independently. However, the idea of the common
milieu assumes that the organizers of initiatives would be the local government which
will create a favorable environment for local entrepreneurship and public-private
collaboration. Here, an important factor of the revitalization concept is considered to be
the rebranding of the region, thanks to which local government will highlight the new
vision of the city and give a hint on its future plans for development, which will become
an attractive slogan for leisure, travel, health spas, investments and work for life in a
“brand new” region.
Based on the previously mentioned concept, the revitalization of the city includes
recommendations for improve ation in different aspects of the city. The summary of these
improve ations will be the realization of the concept called “Common Milieu”. Here, the
collaboration of these newly developed components will create the milieu. The
recommendations are:
Transportation: A system must be created that will foster the connection of
Yerevan with Goris, Goris with other cities (national level), and Goris city with villages
(local level). To accomplish these connections, a smart transportation system needs to be
improve ed. A transportation system for cyclists must be developed as well by creating
trails for bicycles in the natural environment in addition to shared streets for cars and
bicycles in urbanized areas.
Zoning: The creation of a new, real-time map of Goris city that will also be
available online. The new map will provide information about used and unused areas of
land. The goal is to have an up-to-date tool to help plan strategies for development,
including strategies for how to reuse abandoned areas.
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Public spaces: These must be developed in order to provide convenience for
cyclists and pedestrians. The public spaces inside the city should have connections to the
surrounding natural areas such as the river Vararak. A new and innovative as well as eco-
friendly approach must be used for solving the problems of waste and waste water
management.
Social: Initiatives must be organized by the local government to raise social
activity in the city and villages, thus developing a creative society.
Web & Media: This will lead to advertising and will provide historical and cultural
knowledge about the region of Goris. The Smart City development program will focus on
all abovementioned innovations of the area and will develop local services.
The previously stated recommendations are the basis for the common milieu and the
revitalization strategy of the area. These recommendations are the answer to the research
question posed at the beginning of this paper.
6.2: SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
This thesis considers a project that is aimed to develop an area by the existing
resources. Research was conducted and suggestions were made taking into consideration
the factor of existing “wealth”. It stops on a concept of revitalization and some general
recommendations for different sectors of urban planning.
Future development of the project needs each sector to be developed as well. To do
this, the most important data (population, unemployment, conditions of industrial areas,
etc.) must be collected. This will need more detailed research of the area and help from
the local government.
Based on final or refreshed data, more detailed projects for each sector will be
created. The development of each sector needs different specialists (economists,
sociologists, engineers, ecologists, etc.). A team consisting of different specialists should
be working together and cooperating during the development of each sector. Each
recommendation will be reviewed by a team of specialists for further applicability.
The local government can create a short-term collaboration with different
organizations interested in developing each sector in case the government does not have
enough financial resources to create a big team with different professionals. In this case
the local government only needs a small office which will mediate or manage cooperation.
The partners can be different organizations: national or international (NGO-s, UNEP,
World Bank, IT producers, etc.).
The main threat for future development is the relatively high level of corruption
existing in the country (transparency.org, 2014). The development strategy has to
function as transparently as possible in order to decrease the level of corruption and raise
the credibility of the project. Help from international organizations can raise the level of
trust and popularity of this initiative.
In the case of developing a thesis for an academic paper, the project can be developed
as a solution for shrinkage. One of the solutions can be concentrated on solving the
problems of shrinking cities through smart technologies. This solution can show how
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smart technology can be put into use in order to eliminate the reasons for declining urban
areas. Such an attempt was done in this thesis, but it requires much more detailed research.
Other academic research can be concentrated on the use of natural and cultural
landscapes for the development of an attractive urban environment. The best practices
show that such examples have been successfully used in some countries, so this research
can be concentrated on the application of this concept in the Republic of Armenia.
Both of the examples mentioned are important for the Republic of Armenia which
has a declining population. The concept presented during this thesis can also be applied
to conducting research in other areas.
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