Participation of online communities in the formation of social capital in the process of participatory design of architectural and landscape space of the city

Introduction. The purpose of the study was to analyze the state of social capital of the local community, the characteristics of its formation in the process of participating in the design of architectural and landscape space of the city by online communities as the basis for developing an effective social technology to create a comfortable living environment for citizens and one of the most important factors in the formation of the civil society. The research results outlined in the article are of relevance and have scientific and practical significance when introducing local self-government bodies into practice in order to improve the mechanisms of interaction with the actors of online communities and the decision-making process on creating a comfortable architectural and landscape environment of cities. Materials and Methods. The study used general and particular methods of scientific research, comparative and system analysis, questionnaire survey, analysis of documentary sources. Results. The state of social capital of three urban communities of the Belgorod Region, formed in the process of participatory design by members of online communities, has been revealed. The levels of formation of ten structural components of social capital were identified in accordance with the research model proposed by the authors of this article. By comparing the identified levels of formation of the social capital components, subordinate connections have been established between them and their hierarchical structure has been identified, which is necessary for the development of social capital formation and reproduction technologies by online communities in the process of participating in designing a comfortable living environment for citizens. Discussion and Conclusion. An analysis of the results of a sociological study has shown that the participatory design of the architectural and landscape space of the 355 city is an important area of consolidation of the collective activities of the local community; the state of social capital depends on the degree of involvement of online communities in the participatory design of the architectural and landscape space of the city and the process of practical solution of socially significant problems; consolidation of the local community to solve the problems of creating a comfortable architectural and landscape space of the city has been carried out by involving the immediate environment. The research materials will be the basis for creating a social technology for forming a comfortable living environment for citizens at the scientific, organizational, formalized, descriptive, procedural and activity levels.