"Watching the numerous protests against illegal constructions in the capital, I almost never thought that our small Voznesenk would have similar problems. Illegal constructions obstruct vehicular and pedestrian traffic, 'spoil' the silhouette of the city, and ruin historical memory," Yuliya argued.

 

It came to a dead halt when girls and like-minded activists gathered to investigate the issue and actively fight urban redevelopment, preventing city officials from turning a blind eye to the illegal constructions.

 

Activists drew special attention of the public and regulatory authorities to the problems related to the legality of placement of temporary structures for business, the arrangement of street furniture, and the maintenance of the cleanliness of Voznesensk's streets. The so-called 'aliens on wheels' – grilled chicken, coffee, shawarma, hot dogs, and ice cream vendors – popped up in the central part of the city near the market. These illegal structures, which hardly comply with proper sanitary standards, occupied the sidewalks and blocked the way for pedestrians.

 

The group of activists was especially outraged by the actions of a coffee cart owner who arranged his business on a green area at the road intersection, destroying the lawn and littering the surrounding area with disposable cups, napkins, and spoons. The owner refuses to get an official permission to locate his outlet, saying that placement on the lawn next to the bus stop allows him to sell a lot of coffee and that he would not have so many customers in any other location. At the same time, the entrepreneur believes that pavement cleaning should be carried out by the communal service.

 

There are 12 temporary structures of this sort in the city. Some of them are equipped with dangerous gas cylinders and have unhygienic conditions for preparing food. Only one of these outlets' owners has permission for placement of his food booth, while others are illegal and without any permit or entrepreneur registration documents.

 

The problem has become rampant when entrepreneurs started to set their booths on the pedestrian and green areas of the city. Most of them do not pay any taxes to the budget, carry out illegal trade, do not follow sanitary requirements, violate public order, and threaten the safety of pedestrians.

 

To solve this problem, the community and government decided to cooperate in order to develop policies and mechanisms to regulate the work of street vendors' booths. In particular, they developed a procedure for dismantling illegally installed temporary structures in Voznesensk and included it as a regulation in the City Council's plan for November 2016. Now, the city has established a special committee that has the duty to demolish or evacuate illegally installed temporary structures. The commission includes representatives of the police, communal service, architecture unit, as well as officials from municipal property and divisions of housing and communal service. Thanks to the joint actions of civil society and government, 2 illegal booths, located next to the central market in front of the school №2, were dismantled.

 

"One victory for us is a victory for everyone," Ruslana said, after activists along with the local government ensured the removal of illegal temporary food booths from the streets of their city.

 

Empowered by the decentralization processes, communities are now able to manage their city's money and land, participate in decision making, and attract investments to their regions. Today, the city started working on the transfer of powers from the State Architectural and Construction Inspection to the Department of Urban Development and Architecture of Voznesensk City Council. Now, all permits for construction, reconstruction, and overhaul will be provided by the local officials, while community activists will have additional opportunities to influence their work and fight against corruption.

 

The initiative is supported by UNDP's Democratization, Human Rights and Civil Society Development Project, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.