Housing in Dushanbe

After posting about our courtyard apartment, I thought some of you might like to know in what kind of other housing people live. Traditionally, Tajiks prefer a "compound" or havli.

Behind a wall is a courtyard--often with a grapevine for shade, a platform that can be covered with a carpet for sitting outside, and a place for kids to play--surrounded by one-story buildings/rooms (a few or many, depending on the size of the compound) in which various members of the extended family live.

 In the city, some people are using their plot of land to accommodate extra family members (sons and their wives and children) by building up and creating "mansions":

Many people live in the four-story walk-up apartment buildings the Soviets built in the 1930s.

Some include stores on the ground floor facing the main street. Others are more completely residential.

To tackle a housing shortage in the city, high rise apartments began to be built, not necessarily in desirable neighborhoods, in an appealing style, or with high quality.

 Other more recent apartment buildings seem to be fairly nice:

Others seem unnecessarily fancy (favoring a grand scale), and very likely, un-affordable:

Although many of these high rise shopping/apartment complexes along the central boulevard of the city appear to still be largely empty,  there are many more being built. The following three photos are within a mile of each other (and the photos above):

Next to the schematic and drawing of this future bank/apartment building, the statement on the sign is a quote from the president. "The national currency is one of the main pillars of the state. It definitely plays an important role in the development of the country."

Will people be able to move to a fancy high rise from a neighborhood like this one below even if they wanted to?

An article from 2011 describes "an expensive urban makeover that is exacting a high social cost." The pace continues now in 2017.

All this makes me grateful for our apartment, with its seasonal views from the kitchen window and its courtyard full of life.