LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR TBILISI ... - LED

Thus, the creation of the new CBD will strengthen the positive trends of functional
specialization in the territorial structure of Tbilisi entire city center: the representative
center – Rustaveli Avenue, the tourist center – “Old Tbilisi”, the medical center – Dighomi,
the recreational centers – Mtatsminda and Tbilisi Sea, etc.
The concept also involves the development of technological park and logistic zone
in the eastern part of the city, in the vicinity of the Airport and in the direction of Rustavi,
where “new generation” industrial and logistic objects will be moved.
Apparently, the restructuring of the entire city center must be based on the
convenient scheme of infrastructure development, the implementation of which will be
possible within a higher taxonomic unit – the metropolitan area, due to the establishment
and implementation of the spatial arrangement defined in the Georgian Law on the “Basis
of Spatial Arrangement and Urban Planning” (2005). Thus, the transportation
infrastructure is crucial – first of all linking the outer city with the inner one by means of a
highway constructed within the metropolitan area (supplemented by a railway roundabout,
the extension of the railway line from Airport to Rustavi, etc.).
The significant changes could be recently observed in the sector of housing, which
is likely to become a clear trend. The early housing projects had an individual character
and were persistently spreading towards prestigious districts (Vake, Vera). Nowadays
housing estates (one family houses, town-houses) are more and more popular and there
is a tendency to build facilities for services (security, sports, recreation) around the
estates, including the attempts to create gated communities. As for the location of the new
housing, developers are more daringly assimilating the districts that were earlier neglected
– Didube, Ortachala, not to mention Avlabari district which is rapidly rising on the city
scale of prestige and prices. First signs of suburbanization process should also be paid
attention to, for example contemporary Didgori district territory has been incorporated in
the administrative borders of Tbilisi.
Tbilisi spatial order has significantly changed its structure after assimilating
territories of Didgori district, yet this change has only a quantitative character. What will
Didgori district add to Tbilisi in terms of quality, it will entirely depend on the urban
development policy and documents developed on its basis, primarily, on the “Tbilisi Land
Use General (Operative) Plan”.
So far, almost fully privatized housing resources, the tendency of mass formation
and the activation of Home Owners’ Associations have become a positive trend, which is
mainly determined by the program that has been successfully implemented by the
Citizenship and Integration Agency (Tbilisi Corps.).
Thus, according to the above presented analyses may be made the conclusions
that major aim of the contemporary urban development of Tbilisi is to highlight, develop
and implement such partial and general and “leap-like” city constructing axis idea which
under the conditions of strong economic competitiveness among the world and regional
cities, directly or indirectly will ensure the role of this capital of the independent state as a
metropolitan area as well as the center of South Caucasus. Such a vision sets
significantly new and unprecedented requirements to Tbilisi functional and spatial
arrangement, mainly in terms of structural and architectural solution of the city center
system.
Careful examination of submitted proposals must be realized within the frame of
the “Tbilisi Land Use General (Operative) Plan”, with the participation of all the
stakeholders and taking into consideration the principle of transparency.
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