Urbanism in a Time of War

This is the second in a series of posts reflecting on urbanism and rebuilding efforts in Ukraine following the Russian invasion in 2022. Read the first post here.

I often find myself talking about energy when trying to describe what it’s like to live and work in Ukraine during the ongoing invasion. Since I first arrived in the country in June 2022, I became acutely aware of some hidden, powerful current flowing through Ukraine’s streets — a kind of organic, sustainable energy generated by the resilience of its people. It is a power source to be reckoned with, fueling a collective spirit to rebuild war-torn neighborhoods and inspiring fresh visions of better urban lives.

A similar energy is present in any war zone or area struck by disaster or crisis. You saw it during the Los Angeles fires: everyone interviewed by journalists spoke with a certain intensity as they described what was happening.

“Crises create not only severe devastation, but a unique opportunity for systemic change and fundamental re-invention,” write the authors of Effective Crisis Communication: Moving from Crisis to Opportunity. “In normal times, such fundamental change would require long-term strategic efforts as well as major investments of time and resources without guaranteed success. Crises, however, disrupt the status quo in basic ways allowing for new assumptions, methods…