Almaty's urban revival: How residents are reshaping their city's future
Residents of Almaty are actively engaged in improving public spaces, urban development, and the transformation of the megacity, according to Altai Rakhimbetov, the akim (mayor) of the city's Bostandyk District, who spoke at a press conference organized by the Regional Communications Service, as reported by Almaty.tv.
"Residents of Bostandyk District are taking a keen interest in selecting and discussing projects under the Participatory Budget program, and in return, they receive modern infrastructure for leisure and recreation," Rakhimbetov said. "For example, this year alone, we have renovated nine children's and sports playgrounds and upgraded 13 public spaces."
Two projects are nearing completion: the installation of an elevator and a lift to provide access to underground and overground pedestrian crossings for people with limited mobility.
In 2022, 21 projects are planned for implementation under the Participatory Budget initiative. Residents of Bostandyk have already had the opportunity to identify areas in need of improvement.
Meanwhile, the city continues maintenance work in parks, squares, median strips, public spaces, and along the embankments of the Bolshaya Almatinka and Yesentai rivers, as well as at transport interchanges. Efforts are also underway to clean the city's irrigation canal networks.
The district is actively pursuing greening initiatives: this year, 7,250 tree saplings and 2,220 shrubs have been planted. In spring, flowers were planted across 31,941 square meters, and 319 planters along major streets were refreshed.
District services have completed repainting trash bins, benches, public transport stops, street fences, and guardrails at transport interchanges. Additionally, repairs have been finished on the fountain and surrounding area at the Abylkhan Kasteyev Museum, along with a major overhaul of the fountain in the Park of the First President of Kazakhstan. Current repairs have also been completed on the under-bridge spaces along Altynarba–Bolshaya Almatinka.
