Low-rise housing as a priority in raising housing space availability to families in the Russian Federation

The article considers several issues of low-rise housing construction as one of the systemic solutions to the problem of raising the quality of life of the population of the Russian Federation as well as the demographic problem. The study is based on the results of the Rosstat’s surveys «The Comprehensive Monitoring of the Living Conditions of the Population» that were carried out in 2011, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022. We examine how new housing construction in 2011-2022 influenced general housing space availability for families in the Russian Federation by considering the dynamics of total housing space and number of rooms in individual houses and apartments in urban and rural areas, shares of different households experiencing certain or severe overcrowding and changes in livable housing space per household’s member. The article analyses the issue of relative underdevelopment of the utilities’ and social infrastructure and lower quality of amenities in areas with predominantly low-rise buildings as well as accessibility of state and municipal services in such spheres as education, healthcare, public transport and road infrastructure. We demonstrate the advantage of individual houses in comparison to apartments in terms of larger housing space and opportunities for upbringing children. The article reveals the dichotomy in housing space availability and quality of amenities between families with and without children, between families living in individual houses and apartments, between families living in urban and rural areas where families with children, in private houses and in rural areas systematically face lower quality housing conditions than families from other corresponding categories. And this pinpoints the issue of fairness and priorities in distribution of newly built housing across the country.