The city of Moscow has faced the challenge of directing and encouraging urban growth and promoting increases in social and political services to the city’s population.

The primary issue facing the government planners was the lack of a sound decision making process. More importantly, there was a critical need for reliable information on which to build development plans. The absence of an accurate base map and the resulting lack of a system capable of establishing transparent and strict “rules of the game” led to an inconsistent and often, difficult to manage decision-making process. As a result, municipal authorities were unable to promote sustainable city development.

It was clear that an accurate base map of the city upon which urban plans could be drawn did not exist. It was also clear that there was a need to control the newfound growth in a way that would also protect environmental, social and infrastructure interests.