Instructor: Nathan Hutson
Client: Ro3kvit: The Urban Coalition for Ukraine
MGPS Seats: 18
Ideal for: students interested in international development, humanitarian crises, urban planning, transportation planning and resilience
Travel: TBD, based on need and funding availability
Meets: Friday 9-12
Skills: No special skills required
The goal of this PRP is to develop a systematic strategy for rebuilding and reconstituting Ukraine’s urban economies while incorporating the ongoing ecological, economic, and military risks. In coordination with the client, students will design city planning and reconstruction strategies for Ukraine’s “frontline” cities that have experienced substantial damage to their housing and critical infrastructure. Ukraine’s economy, demographic and social structure will be substantially changed regardless of the eventual war outcome. One of the main planning challenges is projecting where and when the current refugee and IDP population will resettle. In addition, core industries like steel manufacturing are imperiled by physical destruction and the end of subsidized energy inputs. Despite the unconscionable loss, Ukraine has a unique opportunity to rebuild a greener and more resilient future.
In the first semester, students will acquire a broad understanding of Ukraine’s economic and urban conditions and the path-dependent challenges of its post-Soviet legacy. Students will divide into teams based on their policy interests and prior skillsets and partner with Ukrainian experts to develop both thematic and case-based intervention strategies. Initial findings will be presented to representative city councils and select members of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament).
In the second semester teams will codify these strategies and draft articles aimed at peer-reviewed journal publications. Another goal during the second semester will be to develop a short synthesis report whose target audience is international aid organizations responsible for financing Ukraine’s reconstruction. If sufficient external travel funding is secured, students may participate in a final workshop with the client and other stakeholders in Lviv.