Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- IPMI experts assessed the impact of the placement of universities on the state of cities, in particular, the problem of traffic congestion.

Since educational institutions are a guarantee of socio-economic progress, their rational placement is becoming one of the important aspects of urban planning. For example, in 2012, in order to reduce the level of traffic congestion in Moscow, it was decided by 2020 to optimize city universities and create educational campuses in the territories annexed to the capital. So, out of the 25 most prestigious higher education institutions included in the QS World University Ranking, 9 are located in the capital, the remaining 16 are in other cities.

In the study, the assessment of the level of traffic congestion in the city of Tashkent was carried out taking into account:

- measurements of average speed on the roads;

- measuring the length of road sections with loaded traffic;

- the results of a sociological survey.

The length of the sections of busy roads is measured based on the QuickMapServices data of the QGIS software. According to the road congestion map, the movement of a car at a speed of less than 10 km/h is indicated in dark red, within 10-25 km/h - in red, within 25-45 km/h - in yellow, above 45 km/h - in green. With this in mind, the study estimated the length of the roads marked in dark red and red.

The results of the study revealed the following:

-Today, the total length of the busy roads of the capital is more than 120 km, which exceeds the distance from Tashkent to Gulistan (119 km).

-43% of the universities of Uzbekistan are located in Tashkent, where 34% (354 thousand) of the country's students study.

-47% of the respondents of the survey, as one of the three main reasons for the formation of traffic congestion, noted cases of increased activity on weekdays due to those attending school. 78% of the students surveyed named traffic congestion as one of the most pressing problems.

-9.3% of the students surveyed said that in their free time they earn extra money by transporting passengers, and 91% of them are students who came to study in the capital from other regions of the country. This indicates the need to work overtime to meet their daily needs, which, in turn, negatively affects the quality of education.

-Increased activity of students during the study period is reflected in the increase in roads overloaded with transport from 8.5 km to 11.3 km.

- Due to increased traffic congestion during the school period, an additional 507 tons of CO2 are emitted into the atmosphere per year, which requires the planting of another 19,031 shrubs and trees or the creation of 53 hectares of urban green space.

It should be noted that the concentration of universities in the capital leads to the fact that most young people from other regions have to come to the city to get an education. The relatively high prices in Tashkent compared to other regions, the lack of student housing and the high cost of renting housing lead to an increase in education spending several times.

The placement of higher educational institutions that train personnel for a particular sector of the economy in the territories, taking into account regional specialization, will help improve the quality of education, ensuring the integration of science, education and production. At the same time, the increase in service facilities and services near universities will have a multiplier effect on the economic development of the territories, thereby reducing interregional disparities.