Urban Recovery Efforts in Ukraine for a more Inclusive, Green and Resilient Urban Future

The Government of Ukraine’s nation-wide agenda for recovery and reconstruction of urban areas, territories and communities, seeks to Build Back Better while making progress towards the SDG’s, resilient urban solutions and addressing climate change.

The impact of the full-scale invasion can not be underestimated, including the loss of lives and disruption of homes. Society is under severe stress affecting the economic, social and cultural capital, in particular internally displaced people, livelihoods and workforce. Further, the destruction of the built and natural environment is evident.

The event will contribute to Ukraine’s national recovery efforts by exploring means for an
effective, transformative and impact-oriented urban recovery. A holistic approach to urban recovery and reconstruction can advance and accelerate efforts towards an inclusive, green and resilient recovery, promoting an inclusive, economically
sustainable, resource efficient and prosperous urban future adapted to local conditions and needs. The event will bring partners to demonstrate interventions explore opportunities and enablers for a transformative and impact-oriented urban recovery and reconstruction.

A sustainable outcome of urban recovery and reconstruction calls for integrated approaches, addressing economic, social and environmental recovery and development potential, from the immediate to long-term perspective. Enabling frameworks and a conducive policy environment linking recovery efforts horizontally and vertically, from national to local levels and across institutions, can also inform viable financing options to transformative recovery and development solutions. Supporting mechanisms and tools, such as digital solutions and technologies, can help catalyze and accelerate urban recovery across the country.

Shifting from humanitarian to development approaches requires an agile and responsive
approach to urban recovery. The event will explore how local and regional governments and other stakeholders are equipped to ensure that urban recovery efforts can become relevant and effective in both the short and longer term perspective, informing the preparedness for decentralized urban governance and management models. Building the human capital and applying people-centred approaches to urban recovery is critical to ensure buy-in among communities, but also steward- and ownership among local governments.

Hereby, the event will reflect on the key drivers and barriers for urban recovery, including the interlinkage between policy and practice as well as the catalytic potential of close collaboration and partnerships among stakeholders (government, academia, private sector, civil society etc) to advance an effective and coordinated urban recovery and reconstruction.