GIZ knowledge transfer for resilient neighborhood development in Ukraine - WiReQu I

The WiReQu I project is being carried out by the Chair of Urban Planning at RPTU Kaiserslautern in cooperation with Lübeck University of Applied Sciences and an external planning office. It is part of the "Strengthen Urban Resilience in Ukraine" (SUR) program initiated by the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which has been supporting the reconstruction of war-torn cities in Ukraine since autumn 2023.

The aim of the WiReQu project is to embed immediate reconstruction measures in resilient and sustainable neighborhood development. Reconstruction is to be used as a modernization leap to make neighbourhoods more resilient to the consequences of war, climate change and other risks in the future, in line with the "building back better" approach.

The project follows the guidelines for sustainable district development set out in the EU's Leipzig Charter and the German government's Memorandum on Urban Resilience. It aims to restore or create basic municipal infrastructure, including critical infrastructure, social facilities for women and vulnerable groups, and private housing in selected Ukrainian cities.

The aim is to enable integrated planning in cities by developing resilient, integrated solutions and improving urban skills through training and the introduction of digital systems. In addition, those responsible in the selected municipalities will be qualified in terms of municipal planning sovereignty and modern urban development planning.

This creates an interdisciplinary knowledge network for resilient reconstruction, which includes representatives from city administrations, non-governmental organizations, construction companies, the housing industry, universities and other stakeholders.