⟪Clean Off or Get Out⟫. (Self)Governance, Community and Citizenship in New Large Housing Estates in Russian Cities

The article presents an analysis of the (self)management of the newly constructed large housing estate "Severnaya Dolina" (St. Petersburg, Russia). Built within the neoliberalization of Russian housing policy, this housing estate is an urban space where intervention and control by the state is limited, the provision of social goods is partially shifted to a private development company that manages the territory, and social control is mostly exercised by residents. I analyze this situation as an example of neoliberal communitarianism, or a governance model based on community mobilization, responsibilization of citizens, and an emphasis on the notion of "active citizenship". In contrast to existing approaches to the analysis of neoliberal communitarianism and responsibilization as programs initiated by governments, I consider its real existence>> in the practices of the inhabitants of the new LHE. Referring to the materials of the focus groups conducted, as well as the analysis of the online communication of the residents of "Severnaya Dolina", I demonstrate, firstly, what ideas they have formed about the management of the territory of the district, focusing on the distribution of responsibility for solving problems and especially the role that the residents assign to themselves. Secondly, I demonstrate how elements of neoliberal communitarianism are manifested: these are practices of management arising beyond the state, as well as responsibilization of the residents and the formation of a version of urban citizenship. To describe these elements (not provided top-down within a state/city campaign but deriving down-up from the local practice), I propose the notion of "violent neighborness," which reflects the radical form of responsibilization that residents exercise towards each other, as well as the concept of local urban citizenship, which captures the connection between the inhabitants of the "Severnaya Dolina", local community, and territory.