Nizhny Novgorod is divided into eight municipal districts that took shape during the Soviet period and have been retained as the city's principal administrative units. In addition, the city is historically divided into two major parts along the banks of the Oka River — the Upper Town and Zarechka — each of which encompasses several districts.[1]

The Upper Town and Zarechka

The Upper Town (Nagornaya) part is situated on the high right bank of the Oka, around the kremlin hill. The elevation difference between it and the low-lying Zarechka is over 100 metres. It is here that the city's administrative and historic centre is concentrated — most notably the Nizhegorodsky District. Historically, the Upper Town was synonymous with the very concept of "Nizhny Novgorod".[1]

Zarechka (the Lower part) occupies the left bank of the Oka. Settlement of these territories began in the first half of the 19th century: this is where the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka — the largest in Russia — was held, and in 1862 the Moscow Railway Station was built, connecting the city with Vladimir and Moscow. Zarechka is the city's main concentration of residential and industrial zones.[1]

The Eight Districts

The city comprises eight districts. The Upper Town contains Nizhegorodsky and Sovetsky Districts; Zarechka contains Kanavinsky, Avtozavodsky, Leninsky, Sormovsky, Moskovsky, and Prioksky. Kanavinsky District serves as the city's main transport hub: the majority of routes between the two parts of the city pass through it, and it is home to Moscow Railway Station, a tram depot, and the Volga freight port.[1]

The Proposed Division into Six Okrugs

The Master Plan of Nizhny Novgorod, submitted to City Hall on 29 December 2008, envisaged replacing the eight districts with six administrative okrugs. The plan called for the creation of: Borsky Okrug (41,000 residents), Central Okrug based on parts of Nizhegorodsky and Kanavinsky Districts (286,500), Western Okrug formed from Sormovsky and Moskovsky Districts (111,300), South-Western Okrug combining Avtozavodsky, Leninsky, and part of Kanavinsky District (464,800), Southern Okrug formed from Prioksky and part of Sovetsky District (96,200), and Eastern Okrug formed from parts of Nizhegorodsky and Sovetsky Districts (147,400).[2]

Chief Architect of the municipal enterprise "NizhegorodgrazhdanNIIproekt," Yuri Kartsev, stated at a press conference on February 25, 2009, that the proposals for the new administrative division were advisory in nature. According to him, the new scheme was intended to improve the manageability of territories and social services for the population. Only the sections regulating construction had binding force in the new version of the Master Plan: they introduced restrictions on building height and prohibited the placement of industrial facilities in the central part of the city. Approval of the Master Plan by the City Duma was planned for no earlier than June 2009.[2] The transition to six districts was never carried out, and the division into eight districts was preserved.

Sources

  1. gorodnn.com — Real estate and residential districts of Nizhny Novgorod with the GоrodNN real estate agency
  2. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — "The new administrative division of Nizhny Novgorod into districts is advisory in nature," (archive)