Kolomina K.N., Starovoytenko A.D. (2025). Between “The Fringe” and “The Garden”: Conceptualizing “The Warehouse City” on the City Edge. Urban Studies and Practices, 10(4), 74-91. https: ...

Òåêñò ñòàòüè íà ñàéòå æóðíàëà URL: https://usp.hse.ru/article/view/31461/25214 (äàòà îáðàùåíèÿ 02.04.2026)

Abstract

This article conceptualizes “the warehouse city” to describe residential areas characterized by three features: non-centrality (the space cannot be defined as a local, symbolic, or urban center), marked spatial isolation, and proximity to the key service and logistics hubs of the modern urban economy. The study focuses on residential areas located more than 20 km from the centers of major cities, adjacent to logistics zones such as retailer and marketplace warehouses, distribution centers, and logistics parks. This is examined through the case study of the urban-type settlement of Yanino-1 in Leningrad Region. The research reveals that, in addition to its geographical remoteness from the urban center, “the warehouse city” is also situated on the social periphery. Its residents experience unequal access to social and cultural practices and the infrastructure associated with metropolitan life. The transient and transitional nature of “the warehouse city” space structures the social practices and life trajectories of its residents, imparting a temporary and provisional character to them. The proximity to warehouse complexes frames the perception of life in the area as “a warehouse for people”—a space whose primary function is reduced to the temporary storage of physical bodies en route to their final destination: the major city.