from a Renewed Center to New Urban Symbols
A City Reimagining Its Future
Karabash is one of Russia’s oldest centers of copper production, surrounded by mountains, forests, and rare lakes. For decades the city carried the heavy reputation of being one of the most polluted places in the country.
But over the past twenty years, Karabash has been steadily changing. Since the early 2000s, the copper plant that defines the city’s economy has undergone major modernization. Emissions have been reduced, environmental programs have been introduced, and new initiatives are helping the city rediscover its natural surroundings and attract visitors.
For residents, however, Karabash has always been more than the image often seen from the outside. Like many small industrial towns, it has a strong community, a distinctive landscape, and a deep connection between people and place.
What the city lacked were spaces where this life could unfold openly — places to meet, walk, celebrate, and feel proud of the city.
One of its key goals is the creation of a connected network of public spaces that can become new landmarks and gathering points for residents.
Instead of isolated improvements, the city chose a comprehensive approach: inviting external professionals to help develop a unified urban vision and implement individual projects within it.
For this work, the administration invited the urban development team Project Group 8.
These projects are not only about redesigning spaces — they are about building a shared vision of the city’s future. Over the past seven years, the city and its residents have been working together to reshape Karabash’s public spaces and rediscover its identity.
Veterans’ Alley
Creating a New City Center
Veterans’ Alley became the foundation of a new civic center — a place
for meetings, celebrations and everyday life.
Serebry — The Mirror of the Soul
Revitalizing the Lake Shoreline
Families with children, elderly residents, and school students now come here to walk, watch birds, and reconnect with nature.
Copper Ascent
Once an overlooked landscape feature, the mountain is being reimagined as a new urban landmark — a place where the city’s industrial history, dramatic landscape and public life come together.
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A Clear Development StrategyThe “New Karabash” program replaced fragmented improvements with a coherent long-term strategy, bringing together professional expertise and local knowledge. -
Partnership with IndustryAs the city-forming enterprise, the copper plant plays an important role in Karabash’s development. Social partnership agreements help attract additional investment while maintaining public oversight of environmental and industrial processes. -
Cooperation with the City-Forming EnterpriseSigning social partnership agreements to attract extra-budgetary funding, along with continuous public oversight of industrial processes. -
Active Participation of ResidentsAt every stage of the projects, local residents and community groups have been deeply involved. Together with architects and planners, they helped shape concepts, refine design solutions, and define how each place should function.