Urban development in Ukraine is impossible: why and how the problem is being solved in the EU

In Ukraine, urban development has virtually stalled due to the inability to meet legislative requirements for spatial planning.

Law No. 711-IX, adopted in 2020, introduced mandatory updates to urban planning documentation: general plans and spatial development plans for territories. Local authorities were supposed to update all of this by January 1, 2025, but by the end of the transition period, only two territorial communities were able to approve the relevant spatial development plans, and in large cities, not a single general plan was updated during these three years. The war introduced significant adjustments to the initial idea, and now communities have neither the funds nor the opportunities for this.

To motivate communities to update general plans, the law abolished the possibility of approving changes to urban planning documentation from January 1, 2025. Previously, changes in city planning were allowed through detailed territorial plans, which specified certain things and, if necessary, partially altered plans. Now, communities are left without any effective urban planning tools.

In fact, communities and cities can now only carry out planning by approving new general plans and spatial development plans. At the same time, they lack the resources to do so.

"For many territorial communities, the development of such documentation is financially prohibitive. Urban development is, in fact, blocked," the Association of Cities notes.

The total area of industrial zones within Kyiv, according to the current general plan, exceeds 7,000 hectares (for comparison: the area of all residential development in the capital reaches 13,000 hectares). These depressed territories could be transformed into new residential quarters, schools, parks, and offices. But instead, they remain "dead" due to the lack of an effective mechanism for their reconstruction or revitalization. Detailed territorial plans were almost the only tool that allowed for the restoration or development of settlements and the attraction of investments for this purpose. Meanwhile, making changes to general plans has always been a complex and lengthy process, and in wartime conditions, it is practically impossible. The situation in Kyiv is generally a stalemate: the capital will not receive an updated general plan until several years after the end of the war.

"If today local authorities in the former industrial zone want to implement a social housing project, then, despite the availability of money, whether it's grant funds or an investor, they will not be able to do so: they simply do not have the tool to provide for such housing in urban planning documentation. Accordingly, investors and donors also have nowhere to come from, because such a project would first have to be provided for and approved before seeking funds for its implementation. It is paradoxical that we find ourselves in such a situation when so many people need such projects," says Yevhen Favorov, head of the Association of Developers.

In Europe, even in rigid planning systems, flexible mechanisms are provided. For example, in Germany, municipalities can change zones for a specific project by agreement with an investor, and in Poland, the integrated investment plan (ZPI) tool is in effect, which allows for quick coordination of territorial development with businesses.

However, in Ukraine, the situation is even more complex than just the absence of flexible mechanisms. Although the Verkhovna Rada has already allowed the determination of the functional purpose of territories through detailed plans, the Cabinet of Ministers has not yet brought its own by-laws into compliance with the law. As a result, even this tool is practically not working: restrictions remain in force, and communities cannot change the intended purpose of land plots to meet real needs. This is a paradox, because legally the possibility exists, but in practice it is blocked due to bureaucratic uncertainty.

As of today, the President has already signed Law No. 9549 (4321-IX) of August 5, which postpones the effective date of the new rules until 2028. This gives communities additional time, but the postponement itself does not solve the problem. Subordinate acts and Cabinet of Ministers resolutions are needed to bring the operating mechanisms into compliance. The draft resolution "On Amendments to Certain Resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Regarding the Development of Urban Planning Documentation at the Local Level" with amendments has already been registered, but for more than a month it has remained without a final government decision.

In the current conditions, Ukraine needs not prohibitions and strict restrictions, but on the contrary - more effective and transparent planning tools. Instead of blocking DPTs, we should focus on improving procedures, increasing transparency and control. Only such an approach will allow both economic recovery and real urban development in wartime and post-war periods.