Urban planning and preservation policies in communist and post ‐ communist time, in relation to the memory of vanished population groups.
D.phd., Iryna KOROTUN, head of the Department of Architecture, Yuriy Fedkovych
Chernivtsi National University, Ukraine, Chernivtsi 58012, Kotsjubynskyi Str. 2,
Tel.: +380-372-526331, Fax: +380-372-584732, i.korotyn@mail.ru
The city of Chernivtsi is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast. Its territory, based on the materials of the general development plan constituted
15275.33 hectares or 153 km² in 2009. [1]
Urban development of Chernivtsi took place at certain historical intervals, which were marked by the long wars, changing of borders and political systems and subsequent phases of stagnation and growth. Tables 1-3 give an idea of the dynamics of demographic processes and spatial growth area.
Table 1.
Years/
Population
Change of the demographic situation in Chernivtsi
1880 1900 1930 1990 2004 2014 GP till
2032
Thousands 44,600 65, 767 112,4 257,3 243,5 262,13 285,5
The historic center of Chernivtsi is worked out by national experts in detail and recognized by the world scientific community as a particularly valuable area with a unique ensemble building. Environment is formed by an outstanding architectural ensemble of streets and squares. Registers of objects of cultural heritage contain more than 1,000 buildings that belong to the monuments of architecture, history and industrial development of the city. The UNESCO World
Heritage List includes the architectural ensemble of the Residence of the
Metropolitans of Bukovina and Dalmatia, now - central buildings of Yuriy
Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University. According to the census, Table 1, the city's population shows a relatively stable increase at present, and as of January 1st
2014 is 262 thousand people.

Table 2.
Changea in ethnical composition of the population of Chernivtsi
Ethnicity Germans Jewish Ukrainians Russians Romanians,
Moldovans
Poles
1880 year 25,3 25,7 18,5 0,05 14,4 15
1900 year 19,5
1930 year 23
32,8
29
19,8
11
0,06
0,07
14,3
26
13
7
1990 year -
2001 year -
6,1
0,01
66,5
79,9
17,8
11,3
4,9/2,5
4,5/1,6
1
0,6
Multiethnic composition has always been the distinctive feature of the population of Chernivtsi. This was reflected in the unique style of the city architecture. Historical habitats of ethnic populations found their reflection in the names of the streets: Upper Jewish, Lower Jewish, Armenian, Ukrainian, Rus,
Synagogue, as indicated on historic maps. In the late 19th century a significant growth of the city begins. This process is accompanied by the integration of the urban environment, and the territories populated by ethnic - religious communities grow with city blocks of Gründerzeit building, where ethnic groups mix.
Table 3.
Years
Territory, hectares
1965
Changes of the area of Chernivtsi city
1974 2009
6000 11, 7 thousand square kilometres
15275,33
2014
15635,33
The first general plan of the city was made in 1956 by Kharkiv branch of the
Institute Dipromisto. It is known from the sources that the GP suggested refusing the selective building in the historic center and the envisaged development of the city to the south [2]. The draft detailed planning of the general plan of the city of
Chernivtsi, scale 1: 2000 was made in 1965. The authors of the project were staff of Lviv branch of the Ukrainian State Institute of Urban Design "Dipromisto".
The draft of the detailed planning GP made by Lviv branch of of the
Ukrainian State Institute of Urban Design "Dipromist" envisaged devastating changes of the historic part of Chernivtsi. Expansion of the traffic areas of many

streets with valuable historic buildings which were later included into the registry of monuments of architecture of Ukraine.
Along with the trend towards the destruction of historic buildings, there was a tendency to historic heritage preservation. The first decisions to preserve cultural heritage objects begin to appear in 1963. A considerable number of sites were taken under state protection in 1986 and 1994. Significant positive changes in the urban environment occurred during the reconstruction of Kobylianska Street into a pedestrian zone.
Historic and cultural reserve area . Since gaining independence Ukraine intensified social and scientific activities on historic preservation. Based on
Historical and architectural support program , the Designing Institute
Ukrzahidproekt-restoration, in 1995, by the decision of the City Council,
Chernivtsi city center, an area of 226 hectares, was proclaimed HCPA - historic and cultural reserve area.
In 2003 the first international scientific conference "The architectural heritage of Chernivtsi of the Austrian period" took place at Yuriy Fedkovych
Chernivtsi National University.
UNESCO Site . For a long time scientists of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi
National University were preparing a nomination dossier for inclusion of the architectural ensemble of the Residence of Metropolitans of Bukovina and
Dalmatia in the UNESCO World Heritage List. On June 24, 2011 by the decision of the 35th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee the central buildings of Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University in Chernivtsi, were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The buffer zone around UNESCO Site . According to the Convention for the Protection of World Heritage monuments a buffer zone, an area of 244.85 hectares which is designed to effectively protect the environment and create natural surroundings of world heritage sites was defined.
After the entry into force of the Law of Ukraine "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" in accordance with Art. 17: "The use of property that is owned by the state, NGOs, religious organizations or citizens” buildings and property were returned free of charge to religious organizations. In this way all of the old religious buildings were returned to those registered religious communities which addressed the Chernivtsi Oblast State Administration on this matter.

The penultimate general plan of the development of the city was developed and approved in 2004. A long financial crisis suspended the development of the city for an indefinite period and forced to review the foundations of its future functioning. Agreement №1 / 12 from 26.01.2012, between the department of city building and land resources of the Chernivtsi City Council and the State Enterprise
National Institute of Urban Design "Mistoproekt" provides manufacturing of the planning documentation "Adjusting the general plan of the city of Chernivtsi". The estimated cost of the works is 978 102 UAH. The structure planning documentation includes: 1.Project of amending the general plan; 2. Plan of land and business arrangement; 3. Plan of zoning of the city.
In accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On access to public information", which came into force in 2011, the public access to "public information", which included materials, and general plans of cities was provided. In 2014 the procedures of the approval of the General Plan of Chernivtsi, which is designed for
25 years took place. The area of the city will increase by 360 hectares at the expense of land of Novoselytsia rayon from the direction of village Mahala and
Storozhynets rayon from the direction of Pivdenno-Kiltseva st.
With the further strengthening of the foundations of the state, positive changes in the urban environment take place.
New conceptual approaches to improve the quality of residence of citizens and the revival of the city as a major cultural center of Eastern Europe are being developed. It is believed that the preservation of the historical memory of the missing ethnic groups is a historical obligation of the citizens and that it will help to improve relations between different ethnicities of Europe.
Thank you for your attention!