Bucha

In 2022, the city of Bucha endured a series of tragic events that drew significant attention from the media and political spheres. As it stands, the municipality is actively seeking ways to effectively manage the potential support it has received, using the resources at its disposal.
Bucha is at a crossroads, aiming to redefine its identity. It is contemplating whether to position itself as a city of memory, a green city, or a city of innovation. Regardless of the chosen path, the goal is to harmoniously integrate economic developments with the growth and character of the city center.
The city is considering various initiatives, including hosting public events at the stadium, memorializing its history, enhancing public spaces, and erecting a monument near St. Andrew’s Church. Other proposals include extending the highway and implementing thermal insulation in central houses.
The municipality is in need of both capacity and knowledge to manage the potential support effectively. Bucha is committed to rebuilding and redefining its identity in the aftermath of the conflict, with a strong focus on community recovery, sustainability, and resilience.

Pre-war and War-related Issues

Bucha grapples with its reputation as a “sleeping suburb” or “city of single mothers,” a need for jobs, lack of quality public spaces, and the impact of war, including collective trauma and “dark tourism.”

The analysis of the main directions reveals the following:

● The primary recreational and green spaces are predominantly situated along the city’s northern and southern perimeters.● The city center is home to the majority of healthcare and educational facilities.● Commercial entities are primarily located in the city center and within new residential complexes.● The area south of the railway station is largely devoid of public functions and services.● Small cultural establishments and sites are dispersed throughout the city, often at significant distances from one another.

Blue-green structure analysis

Bucha has a unique identity as a green city with a natural landscape that attracts both locals and visitors.
The main green corridors are located on the northern border of the city, next to Antonov Airport. They include Municipal park and extends its green qualities over the western part of the city. Due to the small scale of development in this area, as well as the large proportion of preserved pine trees, the city is perceived as “green”. Irpin-river together with several lakes creates an important blue-green corridor in the south, bordering with Irpin and serving as an important destination for both cities and nearby villages.

Recent and planned development and its consequences for the city

The city of Bucha has been rapidly growing in recent decade due to construction of multiple "residential complexes" with high-rise apartment buildings. Together with attractive nature qualities and vicinity to Kyiv, it facilitated influx of high number of new residents (est. 16 000) to the town represented by predominantly young families.
Although the town provides with the new houses and contributes to its fast growth, the development of new residential areas is lacking integration into existing city fabric. Therefore, the new residential areas with high number of commercial functions on the ground floors appear as high dense enclaves with newly designed semi-private spaces poorly integrated into its surrounding. For this reason the town is often called as the sleeping district of Kyiv.

Our analysis revealed broader issues in central Bucha:

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Future plans and developments strategies

The city of Bucha has ambitious plans for its future development and economic growth. Nevertheless, dramatic transformation presented in vision for Bucha Techno Garden as well as current zoning plan indicate that development is planned in periphery of the city on land that is not exploited yet.

Spatially central Bucha is divided by two main infrastructural barriers: railway and the highway. New development implies even more pressure on existing infrastructural connections, that would lead to more car-traffic through the centre. 

Memorialisation

● The issue of arranging places of memory is an urgent problem that requires not only the organisation of international competitions but also thorough work with the community. ● Narratives imposed from the outside can become a tool of manipulation, while self-reflective memory of the community forms the basis for mutual trust, cooperation, and dialogue about the future.● Commemorative spaces should be inclusive of personal memory and prioritise the interests of the local community when organising official and tourist visits. 

Team: Fulco Treffers, Andrii Vorobiov, Daryna Pasyuta, Anastasiia Borodienko