Place of Power. A Proposal for a Local Community Centre in Moscow

This paper has studied residents’ civic engagement practices on the example of Moscow district, Troparevo-Nikulino. Within the scope of the research the grassroots local self-governance precedents, the current condition of local self-governance institute in Moscow and their interference has been analysed and reviewed. In addition the subjective division of the district into vernacular districts has been revealed as well as their influence on residents’ involvement into civic activities. Thus the results of the research demonstrate that the growing demand amongst Troparevo-Nikulino residents for civic engagement activities can be enhanced by the provision of the physical place that should be located within the close proximity in the each vernacular district. Considering the limitations as well as the potential of the existing institutions in the area the proposal suggests the reformatting of local leisure clubs into the district community centers.