Second Leipzig Prize for integrated urban development awarded in Ukraine

The Federal Building Ministry and the Ukrainian Ministry for Regional Development opened the second Ukrainian-German Urban Development Conference in Lviv today. At the conference, the Leipzig prize for integrated urban development in Ukraine was awarded for the second time. Almost 50 projects in Ukrainian cities and municipalities had applied for the prize, worth 30,000 euros in total. State Secretary Gunther Adler commented: "I am delighted that our Leipzig prize competition once again met with such a positive response. Civil society and municipalities in Ukraine are making good progress with their reform processes. It is justified that integrated urban development is high on the political agenda in Ukraine."

This competition, launched in August 2017 for the second time, aims to promote the sustainable development of cities and districts in Ukraine and to further improve cooperation between all relevant stakeholders. Today, Gunther Adler, State Secretary at the Federal Building Ministry and Lev Partskhaladze, the Ukrainian Vice-Minister for Regional Development, awarded the prize to three projects in Odessa, Illintsi and Kherson.

The first prize was awarded to the Changing Places project in Odessa. With a broad range of activities and stakeholders, the project enhances the sense of responsibility of the Odessa residents for their city. With wide public participation, parts of Odessa were enhanced, greened and revitalised to promote a sense of identity. The new communication format Odessa Strategy 2050 is helping develop a common vision of the city’s future, thus triggering the strategic process of a sustainable urban development.

The second prize was awarded to the reconstruction of the central town square in Illintsi. This project has enabled the town to reflect the current transformation of modern Ukrainian society in the restructuring of the central town square. Rather than an ideologically programmed square with a Lenin memorial, a space has now emerged in which the local population, rather than statues, play the most important role. The project serves as a model for other towns and cities in the country, demonstrating that major changes for a liveable town can be achieved with a minimum of expenditure.

The third prize went to the TURBINE platform of public and cultural initiatives in the city of Kherson. Through cooperation between investors, volunteers and the city administration, an old industrial building is being preserved and put to new use. Joint events are being held by and for stakeholders from associations, industry and disadvantaged persons, and artistic activities are being integrated to encourage all population groups to embrace this new use in their city.

At the conference in Kyiv last year, the prize was awarded to projects in Lviv, Ivano Frankivsk and Slavutych.

Today’s conference is part of closer cooperation between Germany and Ukraine in the field of integrated urban development. With just under 300 participants, it is once again bringing together urban development experts from politics, administrations, the scientific sector, industry and civil society, strengthening the regular exchange of experience on integrated urban development. The theme of the conference is liveable cities, reflecting important aspects for Ukraine with the focal areas of participation, sustainable development and creativity.

In his speech, State Secretary Gunther Adler also referred to the new cities’ network: "I am delighted that the joint work of four German and four Ukrainian cities on pioneering urban development projects can now take a more defined shape." These cities are Heidelberg, Leipzig, Nürnberg and Osnabrück in Germany and Charkiv, Kyiv, Lviv and Mykolayiv in Ukraine. The key element of this cooperation is exchanges of experience and know-how of German cities and institutions with Ukrainian partners for sustainable urban development.

The new cities’ network is based on the guiding principle of the Leipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities. Its goal is to bring a more citizen-based focus to urban development in the cities involved, and to shape this development in a cross-sectoral, inclusive and environmentally sound way. The network provides a practice-based forum for discussions on experiences and challenges of integrated urban development, and for finding joint proposals for solutions. It therefore makes an active contribution to strengthening municipal stakeholders and – through vertical dialogue – to improving national framework conditions.