A Multi-Level Perspective Analysis of Green Construction Development in Russian Cities

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15826/csp.2025.9.4.361

Abstract

Russia’s sustainable construction transition remains fragmented despite policy alignment with international frameworks. This study applies the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), analysing literature and 40 expert interviews to examine interactions across landscape (macro policies, geopolitical shifts), regime (industry standards, regulations), and niche (innovations, actors) levels. Findings reveal a hybrid pathway characterized by niche innovations and transforming sustainability practices, like green building certification systems, digitalisation, co-creation and urban management, enhancing quality of life, and fostering pro-environmental behaviors aligned with sustainability values and norms. Niche practices shaped regime-level regulations, emphasizing civic engagement and developing strategic city goals for new forms of transformative urban and spatial development. Landscape constraints and challenges (geopolitics, climate, demography, urban economics) create barriers to the broad diffusion of niches, yet techno-institutional synergies are expected to align at the landscape level in future decades to support governmental city planning goals. MLP offers significant potential for analysing transitions in collective sustainability behavior through socio-technical regime interactions. The MLP effectively maps how actor-networks bridge niches and regimes, enabling rules and patterns reconstruction. Russia’s transition adjusts techno-institutional synergies and active stakeholder engagement while addressing challenges to achieve systemic sustainability. Success hinges on leveraging adaptive niche innovations within evolving landscape pressures and governance frameworks.

Author Biography

Yulia V. Ermolaeva, Institute of Sociology of the Federal Centre of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow

Yulia V. Ermolaeva, Researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Federal Centre of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She is an interdisciplinary specialist in social sciences and sustainable development, with over 15 years of experience in scientific research. She has educational background in sociology, ecology, neuropsychology, and coaching. She is the author of about 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications on eco-sociology and sustainable development and a co-author of internationally published monographs. Yulia V. Ermolaeva founded the Future Compass Sustainability Research and Coaching Project, aimed at supporting the professional development of sustainability specialists. She has been awarded a bronze medal and various honors for her contributions to public service and scientific endeavors. Research interests: neurobiology, eco-sociology, sustainable development, ecology, interdisciplinary studies.

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Published
2025-12-29
How to Cite
Ermolaeva, Y. (2025). A Multi-Level Perspective Analysis of Green Construction Development in Russian Cities. Changing Societies & Personalities, 9(4), 961-986. doi:10.15826/csp.2025.9.4.361
Citation Formats
Issue
Vol. 9, No. 4 (2025)
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Articles