Published on: 2026-05-27
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
“We necessarily need to restore the city despite the war,” said the mayor of Kharkiv Igor Terekhov in an interview with the UN News Service on the sidelines of the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku. “Because we perfectly understand: if we do not engage in restoration, only ruins will remain, people will leave and will not return anymore.”
Kharkiv, once a thriving industrial, scientific, educational, and cultural center located near the northeastern border of Ukraine, ranks among the cities most severely affected since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.
According to the mayor, about 13 thousand buildings in the city have been damaged or destroyed, of which approximately 10 thousand are residential buildings. Around 160 thousand people have been left homeless.
“The shelling goes on every day, and it’s terrible,” Terehov shares. “People are very tired of constantly trying to survive.”
And yet, despite daily attacks, urbanists, architects, engineers, and international organizations work hand in hand with Ukrainian authorities to present what the city can become after the war.
At the center of these efforts is the initiative UN4UkrainianCities (“UN for Ukrainian Cities”) under the leadership of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). It supports the restoration and modernization of Kharkiv, as well as Mykolaiv.
The goal of the project is not just to respond to emergencies, but also to help cities rebuild according to smarter, greener, and more sustainable standards.
For many, long-term urban planning in the midst of war may seem premature. But for those who work locally, waiting is not an option.
“The country is still being attacked, and emergency works are still necessary,” noted Tamara Fortes in a conversation with the UN News Service at the forum in Baku. “But the elimination of consequences and large-scale restoration must proceed in parallel.”
Fortes explains: the project is designed so that today’s urgent repairs work towards the development of the city in the future.
“If you build something right now without thinking about the long-term perspective, in ten years it may turn out to be a useless city,” he says. “That is why we help cities not only to think about the current emergency situation but also about how emergency measures will fit into tomorrow.”
Tomorrow is taking shape in a new concept of the general plan of Kharkiv. Its foundation is sustainable infrastructure, affordable housing, innovative public spaces, and economic revival. The project combines strategic planning with pilot projects, within which ideas are tested at the level of specific districts.
One of the largest projects is being deployed in Severny Saltovka — a heavily damaged residential area. What began as an architectural competition has moved into the stage of technical implementation. New projects with energy-efficient insulation, modular extensions, and reinforcement of load-bearing structures are being developed for five residential blocks and a kindergarten. The goal is purely practical: to prepare detailed technical documentation that the city authorities will be able to immediately present to donors, investors, or development banks as soon as funding appears.
“We are moving from concepts to action,” emphasizes Fortes. “We don’t just analyze and evaluate, we give cities what they can realistically build.”
A broad vision for the future of Kharkiv includes five major pilot initiatives, combining heritage conservation, environmental friendliness, and innovation. One of the projects is dedicated to the restoration of the war-damaged historical center with the adaptation of old interiors to modern public and cultural needs. Another project aims to transform industrial waterfronts into green public corridors along the entire 25-kilometer river system of the city.
The science and technology quarter next to leading universities is designed to attract young talents and help diversify the economy. And industrial zones, formerly dependent on coal, are being rethought as environmentally clean production areas operating on renewable energy sources.
This work goes far beyond infrastructure. UN-Habitat, together with Ukrainian partners, is developing a housing policy reform at the national level, including laws on social rental housing and housing fund management.
Meanwhile, local authorities are facing harsh realities of war on a daily basis.
“It is impossible to get used to this,” says Mayor Terehov. “Perhaps there is some dulling of feelings, but people are constantly living under threat.” He talks about children forced to study underground due to air raids, about passengers caught in shelling on public transport, and about families living under conditions of endless psychological stress.
And he still emphasizes: restoration cannot be postponed. “If we do not think today about how to restore the city and how to live in the future, then there will be nothing,” he is convinced. “People live today hoping that we will rebuild everything.”
This hope is especially important for the city, known for its architectural heritage. Museums, libraries, and historic mansions of Kharkiv have suffered serious damage. Terekhov recalls the strikes on the famous V. G. Korolenko Kharkiv State Scientific Library and the historic buildings next to the Art Museum.
“These are the pearls of Ukraine,” he says. “Some buildings cannot be restored to their former appearance because several ballistic missiles struck them at once. But we try to preserve this architecture.”
The planning process itself changed according to the course of the war. According to Fortes, one of the main priorities became flexibility. “Sometimes there is no electricity. Sometimes there is no internet. Sometimes people are sitting in bomb shelters,” he says. “Therefore, we understood that the project must constantly adapt to urban realities.”
Crisis is not a reason to stop thinking about the future
Weekly meetings with local authorities allow designers to adjust schedules and priorities in real time. Ukrainian specialists, students, and local residents are deeply involved in the process. International familiarization trips — including recent training in Italy on decentralized energy systems — help municipalities prepare for future problem-solving.
At the same time, Fortes believes that the exchange of experience is mutual. “The world has something to learn from Ukraine,” he says. “A crisis is no reason to stop thinking about the future.”
The war forces architects and designers to rethink the very concept of urban space. Now, new residential projects in Kharkiv incorporate underground spaces with a dual purpose: in peacetime, they serve as regular public infrastructure, and during an attack, they become shelters.
“In peacetime this can be a parking lot. In wartime— it turns into a shelter,” Fortes explains. The same approach is applied to kindergartens and schools, some of which are designed right away with underground classrooms.
According to Fortes, this facility is partially inherited from Finland, where in many cities civilian defense infrastructure has long been integrated into everyday life. Underground facilities, which are usually used for sports activities, car parking, or recreation, can quickly be converted into emergency shelters if necessary. “People do not always notice them,” he says, “but they are already there.”
She believes that such ideas can become relevant far beyond Ukraine, as cities around the world face not only the threat of wars but also climate disasters and other crises requiring increased resilience.
“The crisis occurs at the local level – on your street, in your home,” he concludes. “Cities must be prepared.”
In Kharkiv, readiness now means much more than just having shelters and emergency repairs. It means that it is necessary to preserve the community, protect the identity of the cities, and give people a reason to stay – or to return home someday.
“Our cities will no longer be the same as before the war,” says Mayor Terekhov. “We need a new vision.”
Please note; this information is unprocessed content obtained directly from the source of information. It represents an accurate report of what the source claims, and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.