Geographia Polonica (2016) vol. 89, iss. 4

"Seasonal suburbanization" in Moscow oblast’: Challenges of household waste management

Maria Gunko, Andrey Medvedev

Geographia Polonica (2016) vol. 89, iss. 4, pp. 473-484 | Full text
doi: https://doi.org/GPol.0069

Abstract

Second homes used for recreation are widespread, in Russia they are located mainly in the suburbs. Our research is aimed at contributing to the debate on environmental impact of second homes. We focus on the issue of household waste management drawing empirical evidence from Moscow oblast’. The paper proposes a spatial analysis of remote sensing data concerning the number and localization of illegal landfills and tests the spatial relation between illegal landfills and second home settlements. The significant number of identified illegal landfills and their location reflect the inefficiency of region’s waste management system and population’s low environmental awareness.

Keywords: second homes, suburban development, illegal landfills, Moscow oblast’, Russia

Maria Gunko [msgunko@igras.ru], Institute of Geography Russian Academy of Sciences Staromonetny pereulok 29, 119017 Moscow: Russia
Andrey Medvedev, Institute of Geography Russian Academy of Sciences Staromonetny pereulok 29, 119017 Moscow: Russia