How to Develop Integrated Urban Planning Documentation?

Whereas the article on “How to Navigate the Urban Planning Landscape in Ukraine” provides an overview and evolution of integrated Urban Planning in general, here the development of integrated Urban Planning documentation will be discussed.

Currently, there are two types of integrated Urban Planning documents that hromadas are expected to prepare:

• Comprehensive Recovery Programs (CRP) — short- to medium- term strategic document;
• Integrated Urban Development Concept (IDC) — long-term strategic document.

Although CRP and IDC have different timeframes and contexts for their development (the degree to which the hromada has been affected by the war), the key processes to develop any integrated Urban Planning documentation in Ukraine can be described as:

• Legal procedure;
• Document development;
• Public engagement.

Legal procedures and their timelines, such as document adoption, working group formation, key document contents, and community engagement, are outlined in the relevant law of CRP or IDC or relevant methodological guidelines. However, the Ukrainian planning system continues to evolve and adapt to the war-created challenges as well as the new conditions of EU accession, meaning that legal procedures in the near future might undergo changes. 

This is one of the reasons why it is helpful to understand the other key processes underlying the integrated Urban Planning documentation (document development and public engagement) independently of the legal requirements. Experience shows that allocating a dedicated team with relevant expertise for each of the key processes outlined above will support the coordination and development of high-quality CRP or IDC documents.

The document development includes data collection and analysis, strategic directions, a list of projects or operational goals, and requires the expertise of spatial planning (GIS). The team responsible for the document development will need to work across various hromada departments to collect the information about different sectors, which typically include: mobility, socio-economic development, environment, housing, culture, tourism, heritage, education, public infrastructure, and services. Additional sectors can be added (such as safety during wartime), and priority sectors for future development should be identified. During the workshops, representing citizens, hromada administration, and key stakeholders, the document contents can be validated and any knowledge gaps covered. 

Therefore, it is advised that hromadas extend the public engagement efforts beyond the formally required collection of public proposals and public hearings in order to establish effective communication channels with different community groups that will help to build trust between the hromada administration and the hromada citizens. This is an opportunity not only to provide bases for meaningful community engagement in hromadas where it is currently lacking, but also to foster new partnerships that will support hromada's future development. 

Comprehensive stakeholder mapping is recommended to identify key stakeholders for each sector — local businesses, Civic Society Organizations (CSOs), active citizens, vulnerable groups, public service providers, and hromada departments. 

The development of high-quality integrated Urban Planning documentation requires multi-level coordination and strategic alignment with oblast and neighbouring hromadas. 

Legal procedure, document development, and public engagement are interdependent processes that inform and support one another. In order to assess the hromada capacity and coordinate the document development process, it is helpful to identify separate workstreams for the legal procedure, document development and public engagement.