Strong Cities. Strong Ukraine.

The project “Integrated Urban Development in Ukraine” started in January 2016. Its goal is to support local self-government through improved capacities for long term urban planning. Urban planning is one of the core responsibilities of all cities as it is the applied way to shape the future of all inhabitants. Integrated Urban Development works with Lviv, Chernivtsi, Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Poltava and Podil District in Kyiv. It consists of four components.

The main task belongs to the first component and is to develop Integrated Urban Development Concepts for the core cities in line with the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities in close cooperation with civil society, business and city administration. A comprehensive training programme under the title "Qualification 2030 New Thinking. New Acting" builds capacities in the cities to better cooperate and coordinate projects and administrative management vertically and horizontally.

The second component develops Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (Sectoral Plans), demonstration and infrastructure projects. It shows upon selected examples how integrated and participative urban planning works in practice. For example, in Vinnytsia the project has developed a comprehensive plan around the central Kotsyubynskogo Prospekt from the railway station, situated in the former industrial area Zamostia, to the city center with the goal to rebuild the tramline in this urban area.

The third component provides support to reforming the administrative and legal framework for urban construction and development. With an annual "White Book" recommendations are given how to align regulations with European standards. Additionally, the educational offer for modern urban planning is improved through a cooperation with CANactions School for Urban Studies and a new international exchange semester between Lübeck University of Applied Sciences and the Technical Universities of Poltava and Chernivtsi.

The fourth component supports the cities in developing a comprehensive monitoring concept.

The Project “Integrated Urban Development in Ukraine” is implemented by the German Governmental Company “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH”. It is financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and operates in the framework of the International Development Cooperation of the German, the Swiss and the Ukrainian Governments.