At an extraordinary session of the Almaty Maslikhat, deputies reviewed a draft amendment to the city's General Plan through 2040. The document received a positive conclusion from the comprehensive urban planning expert review, infohub.kz reports.
Speaking at the session, Almaty Deputy Akim Beibut Shakhanov said the project's main objectives are to strengthen environmental protection measures, improve the ecological situation, ensure balanced development of the urban environment taking into account seismic microzoning results, preserve natural areas, and protect the foothills from unjustified construction.
"Particular attention is given to developing the transport system, changing the routing of metro and LRT lines, creating new transport hubs, and taking into account Almaty's interconnection with adjacent territories and the agglomeration zone of the city of Alatau in Almaty Region. The amendment to the General Plan will clearly fix and expand the green belt, restricting construction above Al-Farabi Avenue and in water protection and seismic hazard zones. The General Plan's provisions address residents' key concerns: where housing will be located, how accessible schools, kindergartens, medical facilities, public transport, green and public spaces will be, how utility networks will develop, and which areas must be protected from excessive construction," Beibut Shakhanov said.
The deputy akim stressed that the project's first priority is preserving Almaty's natural foundation. It provides for the protection of foothill landscapes, water resources and green areas, as well as the creation of a continuous ecological framework for the city. Its basis will be the foothills, river valleys, parks and public gardens. Developing them as a single system will improve the city's ecological condition, preserve natural connections and increase residents' access to recreational areas.
"Natural constraints, seismic microzoning results and requirements to preserve water protection zones will be taken into account when siting new construction and infrastructure. The city's development must proceed not by reducing its natural potential, but through its preservation and restoration," Beibut Shakhanov noted.
According to him, the project preserves and refines Almaty's polycentric development model, uniting five key areas: "Historical Center," "Eastern Gate," "North," "Southwest" and "West."
"Our task is to evenly distribute jobs, services, social infrastructure and public functions among the city's districts so that residents can access basic everyday opportunities closer to where they live. This will reduce daily trips across the entire city and ease the burden on central thoroughfares. At the same time, the Historical Center should gradually be relieved of excessive transport and functional pressure while preserving its cultural and architectural identity," he added.
The updated document is based on current data and aims at balanced development of the city, taking into account environmental, seismic, transport, social and infrastructure constraints.