TORICAL REVIEW
I. gag*.
The Soviet Party and Qoverrcnent leaderahlp decreed7 that tto neeosnary conditionsare rapid growth in residential construction now existed in the eccoDagr end that the housing shortage in the country vould be cUintfnsted est the end of2 years. 57 every pern on mast have atquare Adfiers of living space, tha legal minimum sanitary irttmderd.*lightly larger program of ecaiatrootion vould provide every familyrivate dwelling orrivate kitchen and running water. In order to eliadaata th* shortage of housing la urban areas5nd provide tha Soviet ottltan vlth standards of space eoonexable vlth those in eastern Europe tcday tha houoing construction program planned foreriod ranrt be fulfilled; further, during then aicount of apace approximately double that plannedust be built. The Bite of this tosh and its ccaperlaoji vlth tbe programs of previoua perloda are presented in the otatiatica belov.
If tbe housing vhicb vill be danoliohed and othexvise retired during thea taken into account, the minimum Dtandardonare aUfti of living space per person can be reachedtbe end
of isef.
aprnvwiniik' dlya robotnikov flccynrpravlcnly: Upravlealyo ZhiliahchnyB Khoaya ystvca,. J.
Table 1
Construction Necessary to Eliminate tbo Urban Bouaina Shortace57
End of Tear
gouatag
Peculation gotal apace LiTing Space Total Specs Living Space' ^millions} (mixilona of flpuu^ notary fatlllonro? sauaxg alters)
/
b/
laus Betlraoenta 0/
30
80
I
inus Retirements 0/
50
38
d/
6 0/
a/
Data5 from .Harodcaya khoayaystvo6 gody; statlatlehesilY ochegocnix, Oosstatirdat,.
apace la approximatelyercent of total apace.
retlrooaats estimated ot apprccclmataly eight-tenths) offund existing at end of year.
la aaauaed than the urban population grovth ratesill continue atrate aa lo praricua poatvar years,ear; aad that theill baear.
a. Including eelntatod'allowance for retirements6 ofillion square maters of totalillion square meters of living apace. Tha rate of Increase ln construction necessary0 la slightly less than tbe rate of Increase required eachfercent.
Table e
we
Increase in Square Miles of Total Urban Sousing Construction Fire Year Periods
Increase In Construction over Previous Parlod a/
a"! Harodaoyo Khoajayatrob'> gody. op. clt. p. iTT-b. Including restoration and reconstruction.
There la ao country ln Western or Central Europe today with housing standards aa low as those In tha Soriet Union, and In all Europe, Including Southern and Eastern Europe, there are only three countrioaGreece, Yugosleria, and Poland which provide less space per person than tho USSR. This la Indicatedtudy of European housing conditions which vns undertaken by member cations of the waited Xeticoa in Europe including the Soviet Union. Data from thie publication era presented belov.
Tabic 3
tftwtttr cf Bousing Psr inhabitant In European CountrlM
guaber of lahlbltanto oer Rn^
asd Central
Auatrla BaXstm
finland franca
Western Qamtaa Iralanfl arttoramala Bortajy
ewtwiasd halted rjn&dce.
33*
33
33
3
3
8
7
Italy
ruaonlfttin
3
*
3
5
tftrtwfllric feel berlin
0
s
ees*. Drtna area* only.
b bb9ib
* moood fitoatoat lnduetrlel power In the acrid rankatha poorest ccnurtriee of Europe In tome of bousing standard.? Una anew la found to taa bousing decree ltaelf whichha general eccooalc target* of tha state during the Soviet period.
Following looln'o general Uaa, tha flxat target of the ototo vas
to Insure ita eccoonie independence frca foreign encrcaehnent. This oecoaoi toted tha priority tievelopunnt of heavy Industry. Tbe reoulronoats of thla devaOopaent together vlth the eaergence of nev Inchutriel centers caused the urban population to grew such oore rapidly than the eaount cf housing apace, and6ithough urban living space Increased by Urj percentrmfrm square alleo toaro=9Xors,tha urban population increasedercent fromo 56
"rtmrto people. The lSth Party Congress9 laid dovn the general economic target of overtaking tha principal capitalist countries in per capita production. But World war II nade it neoeooory to subordinate tha entire eeoocory to tho needs of tha War effort. There vas tremendous destruction of'bousing during the war; however, housebuilding did not atop in unoccupied areas, and thla building, codbined with the restoration dona following tho war uprjounted to overercent of that destroyed during tha var.
In the two postwar five year plan periods that foil own, considerable resources vara needed to insure the basic econcoic targerts of the statethe reccmartruction snd powerful growth of Soviet industry. Although houoebiiilding vas substantial in the Fourth end Fifth Five-year Plan Periods and soounted to over twice tha anount built during the three prever five year plan periods, it still lagged behind the developncnt ofhe growth in the population, and tha needs of tho people. The ocount
of urban housing space increeoed byar cant5owrer, tba urban population grevllghtly larger porcent during tho omen parlod ao that condition* of opaca at tbe aod5 vera about tho cmoa oa those at too end
Tho baaio eoonomio target of that abate ln accordance with the alrectivea ofh Party Coosraaa la to catch up vlth end ourpses tha principal eepitmliat MRartrieo In per cmpita production. Xo order to achieve tola tercet, tbe leadership hae directed tha plaanero, ln draaina up the plana3, to providealanced development of tba economy, Including an Incrooao ln the rata of houpabulldlng sufficient to elladoate tba houmlngtage of development of the accoony haa boon reaebod which mokes it both possible and necessary to eoaalerata the rate of housebuilding.
Tbo conditlona that mmka tbla tafia possible ere several. Curing tbeears tba baeia development of tbe Soviet ecxooEy will bo an intensive rather than extensive development soarger ahore of tba Incraaoe ln acaurtructian activity can be devoted to bousing construction em Industry, tranaport aod agriculturearger share of their investment programa to machinery and oqulpmont.
The raormssiimtlom of manosrsmat of indue try and ccnetz-uctioooundar frnmevorttore rapid development of tbe building aad building notorials industries than In the peat. Tbe
otasifiHERtloa or building orgnntraUona has eliainated tbe large aaabn of aaall dupltcBtoryco^aynl rations. Too development of local construction nateriala lndustrlea will greatly Inereaaa their supply as wall ojj loser taa price of those aateriala which have teen bearing the coat Of long hauls. 3he Inereaaa In local authority and supervision over construction planning and operations will speed up decision ranting and prosotd efficiency. deroforo construction vill devalope tpifh mora rapidly andover coat under the new conditions of decentralized nooogstent and control.
But aa pertinent as the conditions that nahe tho tank of eliminating the housing shortage possible are too conditions that maboa the teak necoaoary at thla stage of dovoloxceirt of tho eccoccoy- There is no ecosmic advontaao in po*tpoaing thla jprograa, because the very nature of housing construction pracludes any najor reduction in the economic burden of thla housing construction in the future. Whereas in various industrial sectors technical progress have maceonsiderable levering of real coota of production over the lastears, thla haa not happened in building, and advances In housing standards have cot been offaatcrraaycadlng reduction In building ooete. This has been true in all couatrlea which have witnessed industrial progress. Social pro&raoe haa pra^eeded technical progress in houaing construction snd there ore no Indications that thla la-end vill shift in -the foreoeeeblo future. Thus, while there may be advantages in postponing dovelopnent nwajHMB th certain industries because at acme future date ths level of taennalosy will be now advanced, housebuilding willeeter
real economic burdenaoro hence sod even greaterears hence, and any advantages which night acme through sueh coat saving innovations aa increased amchaniamttan of building operations, utUijavtton of cheaper oaterlaia, or Increased manufacture of prefabricated ahructures, will be Box* than off oet by increaaed houaiog etaodarda.*
all built bouoo.vitb certain cbangea to moot increaaedaata at leasteare, ao that once tbla beeklog of needed housing construction baa been renjrod in tbe Soriet Union, the rate of building can be reduced and tba reeouroea used for other purpoaoa.
Hot only do tbe neeeeeery aod ponoiblo coodltlona for an lncrooae in booeebulldios; exlet In the Soriet Obion but there ere tremendous benofito which will aorue fromrogram,not only to the worker, whoea desire for better living standards lo Indisputable, but eleo to tbe Achievement of tbe baalc economic objective of tha state of catching up with tbe weat In per capita production requires technical programsthe Introduction of modern equipment and machinery, mechanisation, auitcmmilon end other technical laanourca to Increase output per worker. Such technical progress depends on sen who can make independent decisionsBefl ofnventiveness, and initiative. But men without physical well-being, including adequate
Aa a' resuit of the continued high real coat of bousing construction lo comparison with otherremtchal If not moat of tbeln European countries la new undertaken by tbo governmente or by nco-prcd^tamking bodlee.
housing, vill not harra these quail tiea. Rapid incrosaea ia per capita production also depend on tba wortera wno man these nachlnoo, snd tho availability of houalngignificant affect on worker productivity. Labor difficulties ara fre^jentty enoourrtared because houalng ia not sufficient. High turnover occurs, absenteeism ls frequent, needed technicians ana worfcara cannot bo anployed, worker morale la low, and labor productivity end production plana are not met. Plant managers consider that providing housing Le one of the most Important probless they race, and elimination of tha housing shortage willignificant irreverent In workers' production activities.
shortage of housing has also seriously Impaired tho effectiveness of Soviet ecoooede planning. Regional planners have found that workers ara unwilling to settle permanently In new developed areas, or outside of big cities like Moscow and Leningrad without adequate bousing. The failure to build adequate houalng ia newly developed agricultural areas baa caused meeqr people to leave. It was not difficult to recruit workers with prcssLeae of houses and tenia. But they would not remain as permanent eettlere without theee facilities;end often they wore not provided. Planners in the an aeoooade councils are also facing this problem. They find that technicians and experts as wall as workers are extremely reluctant to move to the now reglona unless they ara guaranteed adequate housing.
Lack of houoing he* Impaired regional nlonalna in other vayo. Tor example,eries of cities in Euroyosu Bussia, bcesuiee of acute houaing shortagee. It baa bean forbidden to plan the ocaetruction of oaw fortorieB. However, for overall planning purpoeea theoa cltlea night bar* baaa tba bast location for certain factories. Tho cev bousing program baa been drown up eocoTdlng with regional rcjulreasaate, so that ths scope and effaetlveneee of regional planning will be vastly broedened.
Financial planners have bad to reoognlce that the effectiveness of maaetegy incentives to distribute sajpower smco* Industries andie reduced where housing facilities ere not available. Although wages and solsrles any be increased la en enterprise or in duotry in en attempt to attract saajpover, aad wage differentials imerenoeo to promote tbe aevelopnent of skills,hortage of houaing exists, these censures are Ineffectual. Tn tbe Donbas, for example,apid Increase in coal producttoo la needed, despite attempts to increase production by use of wage increases, larger breuses, and shorter worker bcurs, tba ahortege of housing la partly reopcguribls for tbe poor progress noted todate. Cm construction Industry isase ot point. Bew work acrae end Increased wages in tbe construction ladustmy, put Into effectfif bare not slowed down worker turnover or increased productivity appreciably. One of tbe main reasons for this is that tbe housing of construction workers le so poor that It le difficult to keep vorkera in the industry. Financial planners are also faced with the task of balancing
the total earnings of Soviet workers with tee supply of consumer goods.a6 urban savingo alooo increaeed byercent and at tbe end6 bad reachedillion ruble*, with tbese savings, and greatly expanded opportunities for private housebuilding, workers will be able toillion booses. Thus the new program will benefit not only tbe workers, but vill also lessen tbe tasks of financial planners.
XI. rap!emtatloo of tho Eonalng Program Tba tocant Housing Decree
Tha Soviet leadership bos Issued tbe directivesapid lncreaoo in houaing construction. For Implanon tatlco of this prograa, the coerce has provided for an independent otato plan for construction and capital inveetment in houaing. The amount and location of construction io to be planned, not by ministries snd dapartaamts aa in the past, but by tbe USSR State Planning Cental tteo and by the Union-ropubllo Councils of Ministers asseparata plea. Tbe rigbts and responsibilities of local Soviet executive cccclttaoa ln tbe planning end construction of bousing bave bean broeaened so that locailtlas will have greater control over the location and type of housing construction, tbe provision of utilltiee end other minimi workero and employees amy now pool their labor and financial raaourcee and build bouses ana smearhaents together, oitber wltb or without the participation of tbe onterprlee whore they work, sad tbe rights of producer construction cooperative havo boon Juetly rootorod, tbe Onion-republic Councils of Minlotara having been
instructed to Baaed the existing regulations concerning private build log and tho organisation of housing collectives, for ths production cf vital building materials, the housing deorea orders the state Planning Ccesaitteo tomeasures to the Council of Ministers for greatiy inereesing esp-clUoo for th* production af prftfahrlcsted housea and eocmooente and for providing the noary output of vail materiale, shingles, linoleum, hsrdvare, points and other building supplies. The State Planning cosnittce has been instructed to vastly increase allocations of these materials to the general market, cad the Union-republic Councils of Ministers have been instructed to expand local and cooperative building materlale industries.
th^eaditures for financing stata oonatruction have been incrooeed and pooling of plan and above-plan financial reeourceo has been legalised. The Ministry of Finance haa been Instructed to grunt locne to members of houalng collectives. Also, of great significance,is tho provision whereby, beginningatiaatea will be made up and financing provided for housing construction on tha basis of the average cost of construction in aaeh area. Inane end many other measures provided in the bousing decree ore ample proof of the aorlousness of tha directives to end the bousing shortage in thaear*.
further Measure a
This decree, together with previews directivea, such so those regarding standardization of design and produotion of prefabricated concrete structures and blocite, provide tha basic fraBarvcxaapid Increase in housing construction. If tha torgete outlined ore to be achieved, however, further
specific aad detailed direction will be docoawry. Tho ooat effective guarantee of ecblovaoeat would be for tho leadership, through tbe Republic Councils of Ministers, to order tha directors of building trusts to build houses concurrently with or before other construction, and to order tbo
t
heads of material and technical supply eervicea tc loeua materials for boosing coostruatlcn first of ell. At this time, housing bos no clear notorial or conntructiaa priority snd tbe generrel attitude that "housing can volt" continues to prevail In many areas, despite tbe fact thatuntil housing is provided It la impossible to hire wcrkere and begin the operationew plant, and Impossible to lower the cost of bousing by postponing it or stretching oat tbe tins In construction.
Ae le to ova, private construction asd ownership io lass costly than state construction and ownership. Construction is cheeper because the *or*er builds his houoo with his own free labor on bis off days end after verting hours. Ownership Is cheaper becouoo there era no expenses to tbe state for aanego-oenrt, railntennnce, or capital repair. Suaoeos of the greatly expended private construction piugram will depend or, the dlreetioa end ossiotaace provided by tbe state. 7urtber concrete Instructions will bo necooeary ln order to assure tbe success of this prograa.
for example, tbe expended design organisations of executive committees of tewas, oBlaats and krale should bave several separate departments vhlch are raaponolble for assisting end directing private construction lo the ares. One department should choose tbe dew inns to be used in private building, and publish thor" for sale ln moss editions. Thin departnwnt should ourvey Um
oreon aet aaido for private dvellingo, divide thoo late ploto, allocate them to dtleaoe lo ardor of request, aad provida toe projecting work for provision of uttlltloo to these nrese ao that contracts any be let by the executive committees. There shouldeportment of technician* to provide guidance end supervision far collectives of bounebuiloers one individual bonsmbuildaraee which would determine tha earning* of the technicians. This deportment should also bava toons of skilledainly plumbers endho can bo hired to help private bousabullder3. Anothar deportment should havo trucks and supplies of oipuipnoct end toolo that could bo hired by private build oro and members of cooperatives. Thie vould put cn and to too actlvltloa of illegal profiteers who charge exorbitant amounts for the use1 of those needed trucks and tools. If there and other kinds of technical end material assistance ore not provided, private construction, whichlanned program0 as largo as tho state program of tho Fifth Flva-Xaar Plan Period, "ill either not be carried out at all or will proceedven chaotically,roat vsate of labor and material reeources.
Homy other aopeats of the bousing program demand tbe application of specific direction end concrete incentives, rather than vague dlroctlveo that the Party, the Trade Onions, enterprise dircctoro, and the Local Soviets must an sure the fulfillment of tba housing dlroctlveo. For example, the measure of achievement of construction orgnalratloDa must be broadened to include
other indices than tho volume of ceoetruotton and eccnlotloo. In order to eliminate tha current practice of carrying outercent of the annual volume of work In theonths cf too year ao veil so provide en Incentive to reduce eocta* the construction organisation should distribute as bonuses to aupervlaors end workers all sovings vhlch result if actual labor costs are belov estinate coots. This should ba dona quarterly, baaed on tha quarterlyr construction completions.
Tha acceptance of lnconplated houalng end housing with nr-jor defects La the result, not only of critical shortage but also of inadequate oeoBuroa of plan fulfillment. To prevent this, at leastercent of the contractor'a faa should ba withheld until tbe bousing ls accepted, end bnraiaai for early coanletloa should be withheld if the quality of the ccftatruction dees notertain Blnlnua rating.
Tbe authority of local Soviets must be sore dearly define'. In order to prevent ccnfliete with ministries and enterprises in the future. Local Soviets must have absolute end final authority In ell city planning, aver the location of all structures in the area, and over ths planning and provision of all public services. Tremendous suae hava been vested in tho past on demolition, on multiple utility oyotcmo, on uclminiotrntlon, aad no on because the building activities of ninintrlOE enri inductrieo do not fall under the Jurisdiction of the local Soviets. There in no other industrial country in the vorld which has such broad opportunities and bos achieved so little in the fields of city planning and management.
Since thara ls no single Individual or casual cat ion in the Soviet UHon vhlch vill not benefit substantially frco on Increased fund oflear definition of reoponaibility ond authority In nil aspects cf tha new prcgres io tha bast guarantee of it* achieveaant.
Original document.
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: