Recovery and Reconstruction of Ukraine – Towards Joint Multi-Level, Green and Inclusive Action

Numerous initiatives have been launched to rebuild Ukrainian cities. A working group on urban planning has been set up under the National Council for the Reconstruction of Ukraine (created by the President of Ukraine), while a number of city administrations, NGOs, businesses, research institutions and individuals have started their own  initiatives.  Unfortunately, the social and environmental sustainability issues are currently not being integrated into the concepts of restoration. There is a need to rebuild better concept development taking into consideration best practices of inclusive and sustainable urban planning, nature-based solutions, net-zero cities that are widely implemented by European cities.  The Government is currently articulating its National Recovery and Development Plan which will establish its key strategic priorities, amongst other, on urban reconstruction which the UN system will be supporting through its Transitional Framework over the next 18 months. The networking event will discuss the following questions, building off also concrete examples of good practice, including but not limited to: 1) What are the key challenges in supporting recovery and development interventions in urban areas? 2) What are the relevant lessons from the recovery response to 2014 crisis in eastern Ukraine? 3)How can current and future assessments further inform and support urban recovery and reconstruction? 4)What should be the focus for building back better in Ukraine? On what issues is further policy support needed? Which of them converge with pre-war priorities/ challenges?