ABSTRACT
This essay explores human-environment relations through the history of transformations of green spaces in Sub-Arctic Siberian cities. We examine a variety of relations drawing on the examples of cities of Tyumen, one of the oldest created during the Russian colonization of Siberia in 1586, and Nadym, officially founded during Soviet “mastering of the North” in 1972. Using secondary sources on history of urban development and urban planning standards, interviews with local residents and personal observations, we reconstruct and analyze utilization of native and introduced trees for creation and maintenance of green spaces. Using this analysis, we can trace how migration of humans and plants from elsewhere transformed lands of Siberian Tatar, Nenets, Komi and other Indigenous nomadic peoples into urban modern landscapes. As urban planners grapple with the challenges of climate change, they need to take into account the unique local climate and environmental conditions that have emerged within cities, setting them apart from natural landscapes.
