The city of Kaliningrad: Planning the future and young people’s needs

Abstract

A comparative analysis of the views of 20-year-olds (first generation, born and raised in post-Soviet years) about the cities where they live was conducted based on surveys of students in three neighboring largest cities on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea: Kaliningrad, Klaipėda, and Gdańsk. The most important aspects of urban life for young people were identified. The needs of Kaliningrad students were compared with the forecast scenarios of city development. It was shown that young people request improvement of public spaces and development of historical memory policy, while the city administration is more concerned with solving quotidian tangible problems and searching for large investments. It is concluded that the lack of consideration for young people’s interests in the project for development of Kaliningrad hampers improvement in living standards in the city in general and human capital accumulation.