Over the past 23 years, the glory of Kazakhstan has been multiplied by its capital, that is growing literally before our eyes and overwhelming the guests from all over the world with its scale and grandeur.
The centre of attraction
Over the years of its existence, the name of our capital has gone down in global history as the venue for the first summit of the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe in the 21st century, that brought the heads of state and government of 56 countries of Eurasia and North America together. A new capital hosted the VII Asian Winter Games, the XVIII session of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization, the XXXVIII session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The four congresses of leaders of the world and traditional religions, as well as many other international forums have been held here. And, this is not a complete list of the glorious events that have taken place in the capital for 23 years. The world community honorably celebrated the achievements of our new capital, in 1999 Astana was awarded the Prize of UNESCO “City of the world”, in 2011 the capital won the International Review Competition “The Best City of the CIS and EurAsEC”. In 2012, the main city of Kazakhstan fulfilled the honorable mission of the cultural capital of the CIS and Turkic world successfully. In 2017, Astana became the host of the international exhibition EXPO-2017.
An architectural appearance of Astana has already embodied a number of the greatest things in terms of technical level projects of outstanding masters of the modern architecture.
The main city of Kazakhstan has become the focus of not only global events, but also a landmark place for millions of people in the country and the world. The capital of our country has become a center of attraction, a locomotive for all regions and cities of Kazakhstan, that are trying to be equal to it in everything.
Ambitious projects
Nur-Sultan amazes the guests of the city with its futuristic landscapes and daring architectural projects. This was made possible by the openness and willingness of city planners to experiment with various urban solutions. Now, the opportunity to take part in the formation and improvement of the image of the capital has appeared not only for the architects, but also for the residents of the city.
A need for the innovation and creativity in city management cannot be overestimated in achieving a sustainable development of the city. The cities of Kazakhstan were mainly built up during the Soviet era. Moreover, an urban planning was based on the norms of functionalism. When the communal apartments appeared, housing was needed for the construction. Then, when a large-panel housing construction appeared, it was necessary to resettle the inhabitants. At one time they successfully solved their problems. But the industrial-monotonous cities of the Soviet era appeared later.
Now, everything has changed, and we can afford to build ambitious projects. The new buildings in Astana are a vivid example of this. That is why, the Urban Center, that creates a comfortable and safe urban environment, has been opened in the capital since 2017.
It is important to note that the development of the capital implies a creation of equal conditions for its residents, where none of the citizens will be left unattended in the context of rapid growth of the urban population.
More than half of the world's population lives in urban areas now, and the world will see a shift from a predominantly rural to a predominantly urban population in the next couple of decades. However, the large and complex gatherings of people require special attention inevitably. That is why, the program “City without suburbs” was adopted in the development strategy of our capital, in accordance to which all parts of the metropolis will develop evenly.
Moreover, a great attention is focused on the implementation of the “Smart Astana” project, that will develop the city in 6 areas: smart – economy, management, life, mobility, people and the environment. In this direction, along with attracted foreign consultants, the work is underway to implement the “Safe City”, “Smart City” projects. The projects such as “Smart Street Lighting”, “Smart School” and “Smart Polyclinic” have been launched in the pilot mode. All of these projects are aimed at ensuring the safety of residents of the capital, improving the quality of provided services, optimizing the costs and creating a favorable living environment.
Unique innovations
A new paradigm for the development of world cities is becoming the most significant factor influencing the production of products in economically developed countries. This phenomenon opens up opportunities for the implementation of non-standard projects and the creation of capital.
Let`s take Nazarbayev University as an example. It is a unique project that forms a modern model of higher education related to the science and innovation. The university has its own clinics in which the high-tech unique operations are carried out, as well as the structures offering the various fields.
The Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS), whose experience underlies the best practices of the education system, is in the same row. The National Medical Holding is part of a new type of tourism and medicine. The citizens from other countries come to Nur-Sultan in order to receive the world-class medical services.
The EXPO Center, where the international specialized exhibition “EXPO-2017” was held, is adjacent to this row. This project gave impetus to the formation of qualitatively new institutions and initiatives, including the AIFC, the Center for Green Technologies and Startups. And of course, Astana innovation, Astana Ballet, National Defense University are among the bright brands of the capital of Kazakhstan.
Before our eyes, a unique financial project is being implemented, unprecedented in many respects: Nur-Sultan is becoming a new financial center.
The AIFC is in many ways a post-modernization project, in the broad sense of the word, an institution whose activities go far beyond the established structures associated with increasing the investment attractiveness of the state.
In 2019, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, launched the work of the court on the basis of English law and the International Arbitration Center. At the same time, the President stressed that their opening is part of important Kazakhstani economic and financial reforms aimed at improving the image of the republic as a major player in the international arena.
All this constitutes the new economic and political image of the youngest capital in the world.
A spirit of the capital
If we talk about changes in the lifestyle of the townspeople, of course, people have become different. The conditions, quality of life have changed, and the opportunities for the development, organization of leisure have expanded as well.
Nur-Sultan has all the features of the capital city, a high level of social mobility means changes in neighborly-family ties and the system of interpersonal communication, a variety of lifestyles, cultural stereotypes and value orientations.
Our capital is positioned as a transit bridge between Europe and Asia, a cultural and intellectual center of the Eurasian space, a symbol of Kazakhstan's success, its independence and it continues to strive forward.
As Elbasy noted, our capital is a symbol of the people's faith in their own strength and great destiny. Consequently, a resident of the capital must be tolerant, educated, having bold, daring dreams and knowing how to achieve them, being independent and open to everything new.
As a rule, the strong-minded citizens come to the capital and stay here, being ready for high competition, requiring constant self-development and work on themselves. All of them are representatives of different cultures, lifestyles, styles of behavior. Perhaps, it is too early to talk about the formed “Crystal clear” metropolitan way of life, as today the city is mixing different ways of life.
The bearers of the metropolitan way of life, corresponding to the formed image of the city, are the peers of the capital. The youth, whose socialization took place in new conditions and spiritual atmosphere, has great opportunities and prospects.
We can say that the image of a metropolitan is being formed before our eyes. If capitals in other countries of the world have been forming for the centuries, then in our case time has compressed here.