Dominant Concepts of Urban Improvement in Siberia: a Sociological Case Study in Omsk

Abstract

The research featured the conflict between urban communities that arises as a result of the implementation of the urban improvement strategy. The authors used an interdisciplinary approach to study the institutional dissonance in terms of discursive practices, which is a form of urban communities’ discourse. A sociological survey made it possible to describe the institutional dissonance that appeared when Omsk residents started demonstrating their dissatisfaction with the attempts of the local authorities to improve the urban environment. They claimed that the authorities did not understand the residents’ needs. Moreover, the media transmitted a negative image of the city, which made the citizens even more dissatisfied with their life quality. The research involved an empirical study conducted by the case study method. In included 17 interviews with community activists and five interviews with local authorities. The article introduces the results of an overt observation of the activists and an analysis of the regional mass media. The research revealed the dominant concepts of improvement of the city of Omsk. The institutional dissonance proved recorded in the urban discourse. The research also demonstrated how the dominant concepts of city improvement can reveal themselves in the discourse of activists, regional authorities, and regional media.