Review article

The article analyzes some variants of assimilation of new territories and development of unbuilt sites on the example of alluvial lands of Vasilyevsky Island.The data on the functional load, architectural and artistic features and principles of investment are regarded. The exclusive role of transport connectivity and framework is emphasized. The authors are of the opinion that the idea of laying a high-speed highway through the city center on Vasilyevsky Island is really a breakthrough significantly increasing St. Petersburg urban development potential. It is underlined that the sale of economy-class apartments, which had been conceived as the main source of financing the work according to the plans of 2017, has failed to become a sufficient basis for the cost of land reclamation and creation of a representative coastal multifunctional complex. According to the authors, the negative factor in this aspect was the inertia of the design and construction system, which has developed in St. Petersburg for many decades and is focused on the mass residential development of vast peripheral territories, and does not envisage the development of a highly urbanized environment. Considerations about the prospects for further development of building on the alluvial lands of Vasilyevsky Island are offered.