<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>What impact will the war in Ukraine have on urban structures? Historically military doctrines, tactics and technologies have shaped our cities. As such it is imperative that we better understand the nature of contemporary urban conflicts in order to prepare and protect our cities, to make them safer and more resilient. The article analyses the course of the war in Ukraine, the tactics employed to attack cities and infrastructure, the resistance of various building types to explosive munitions, as well as the degree of protection they offer to inhabitants. This study indicates that civil defence requirements must once again become an important element of urban planning. New defensive strategies must be developed. We need to improve our understanding of how military affairs intersects with civilian infrastructure in our cities. The relations between infrastructure, density and spatial components that make up the city model must be re-evaluated. It appears that polycentric, sparsely distributed, ‘15-minute’ cities are more in line with requirements regarding quality of life, sustainable development and resilience in comparison to large and dense urban structures.</p>
</abstract>

What impact will the war in Ukraine have on urban structures? Historically military doctrines, tactics and technologies have shaped our cities. As such it is imperative that we better understand the nature of contemporary urban conflicts in order to prepare and protect our cities, to make them safer and more resilient. The article analyses the course of the war in Ukraine, the tactics employed to attack cities and infrastructure, the resistance of various building types to explosive munitions, as well as the degree of protection they offer to inhabitants. This study indicates that civil defence requirements must once again become an important element of urban planning. New defensive strategies must be developed. We need to improve our understanding of how military affairs intersects with civilian infrastructure in our cities. The relations between infrastructure, density and spatial components that make up the city model must be re-evaluated. It appears that polycentric, sparsely distributed, ‘15-minute’ cities are more in line with requirements regarding quality of life, sustainable development and resilience in comparison to large and dense urban structures.

The urban dimension of war in Ukraine

Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Kraków University

Środowisko Mieszkaniowe/Housing Environment

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"The urban dimension of war in Ukraine"}

What impact will the war in Ukraine have on urban structures? Historically military doctrines, tactics and technologies have shaped our cities. As such it is...

The urban dimension of war in Ukraine

Published Online: Jul 31, 2023

Page range: 44 - 55

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700sm.23.012.18171

Keywords
civil defence, de-electrification, destruction, urbicide, resilience

© 2023 Artur Jasiński, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

The urban dimension of war in Ukraine

Published Online: Jul 31, 2023

Page range: 44 - 55

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700sm.23.012.18171

Keywordscivil defence, de-electrification, destruction, urbicide, resilience

© 2023 Artur Jasiński, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
civil defence, de-electrification, destruction, urbicide, resilience