The goal of this project was to address the challenges and opportunities faced by small cities in Ukraine as they rebuild during and after the war. We focused on Bucha, a city located 15 kilometers from Kyiv, which suffered significant damage and loss of life during the February 2022 Russian invasion. Despite these hardships, Bucha has shown remarkable resilience and a strong commitment to rebuilding. Our task was to develop a conceptual plan that addressed the city's changing demographics, strengthened its economic base, memorialized recent history, and promoted a green and just recovery. Throughout the project, we actively collaborated with representatives from the Bucha City Council, C40, and utilized data from the Ukraine Rebuilding Action Group (URAG) and RO3KVIT, Urban Coalition for Ukraine. By engaging in ongoing communication with local stakeholders, we tried to incorporate the vision and aspirations of Bucha's residents. By the end of the project, our team developed a roadmap for a rebuilt, sustainable, and economically vibrant Bucha, which has the potential to be developed into a model for other war-affected cities in Ukraine. This project was presented to the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, and several officials from the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in February 2024.
