St. Petersburg (Russian Federation)
ICOMOS reported to the Bureau at its seventeenth session on its review of factors related to the steady deterioration of the physical environment of the city. The Bureau supported the ICOMOS recommendation to explore ways and means to encourage exchange between the city's specialists and outside experts. An ICOMOS mission undertaken in June 1993 identified the following key problems: insufficient public resources, changing function of the city, housing and ecological problems, unplanned urban development, lack of appropriate management and heritage legislation, lack of adequate documentation and lack of public involvement. These problems, however, were very well understood by local authorities and experts. ICOMOS proposed to organize an evaluation workshop in St. Petersburg in June 1994 with the participation of about 25 Russian professionals or municipal planners and ten outside professionals from Central and Western Europe. ICOMOS had included funding support for this meeting in its budget for 1994. In response to a question from the Delegate of Thailand, the ICOMOS Representative underlined that the situation in St. Petersburg is critical, but that improvement could be expected. The Committee endorsed this proposal for an expert meeting.