How will the adjustments made by the war affect the future of Odesa? We talk about the pros and cons of monocentric development, the role of decentralization and the fate of large infrastructure projects, as well as looking for plan "B" for the revitalization of regional subcenters.
Military corrections
Summer without tourists, mines on the beaches, monuments in protective cocoons, camp sites that burned down, cracks from explosions on the facade of the Vorontsov Palace and southern Bessarabia almost cut off from "Greater Ukraine" - a new reality of wartime that cannot be ignored.
The region, unique due to its geographical and socio-cultural features, is going through a difficult historical period. The Odesa region is monocentric, and Odesa is currently in a storm: on the one hand, a numb real estate market, on the other, feverish activity on the urban and cultural fronts. De-Russification of toponyms, dismantling of Soviet-era monuments and the prospect of demolition of historical imperial monuments, news about the confiscation of hotels and new buildings belonging to Russians.
Odesa Duke in an embroidered shirt. Photo: Igor Tkachenko
Maria Yanushkevich
Odesa, with its architectural masterpieces crumbling on the sand, the threat of flooding due to the failure of the Khadzhibey dam, permanent scandals surrounding "nakhalstroys", has always been self-centered. It is clear: too many problems, too much politics and populism.
Maria Yanushkevich, co-founder of the Association of Architects of Odesa, states: "There is not even an approximate concept of the development of the region. All proposals that we (AAO) made to the mayor and governor were not considered, but when it was necessary, our information was brazenly used, attributing our ideas to themselves. The building is chaotic and pointy. The infrastructure is not being developed. And as for the historical and architectural base plan of Odessa, it is a separate story, full of miracles."
Maria Yanushkevich, co-founder of the Association of Architects of Odesa, states: "There is not even an approximate concept of the development of the region. All proposals that we (AAO) made to the mayor and governor were not considered, but when it was necessary, our information was brazenly used, attributing our ideas to themselves. The building is chaotic and pointy. The infrastructure is not being developed. And as for the historical and architectural base plan of Odessa, it is a separate story, full of miracles."
The recent completion of the restoration of the Liebman house and the Russov house, which the Odessa City Hall is so proud of, is a mere drop in the ocean. News about the collapse of one or another historic building in Odesa became commonplace long before the rocket attacks. The Association of Architects demanded the development of a comprehensive program for the restoration and development of the historical center, with clear rules, and proposed implementing a model of public-private partnership: stimulating business to invest in the historical center on mutually beneficial terms. But even with this, according to the words Maria Yanushkevich, "everything is bad."
Photo: Serhii Sheremet / Unsplash
The good thing is that the war accelerated the processes of European integration, so the historical center of Odessa is about to be included in the UNESCO world heritage list. But it would be naive to believe that this will automatically solve the problem of saving historical heritage in a global aspect. However, the Odesa City Hall expects that after the victory, funding from donors will close all the holes and problems.
In 2016-2021, when it seemed that the hostilities that dealt such a blow to the local tourism business in 2014 were firmly localized at a distance of at least 500 kilometers from Odesa, the fathers of the city were gushing with business ideas. Projects for the construction of new and increasingly expensive square meters sprouted like mushrooms after the rain. The lands around Odesa, which could have been used for a green recreational belt, following the example of the Green Belt around large cities in Great Britain, were built up mercilessly and completely incompetently. One of the anti-examples is the "Rainbow" housing estate on the territory of the Tairovskaya OTG, a super-densified district of identical high-rises, built with disregard for any principles of modern urbanism and practically devoid of social infrastructure.
Since Odesa was becoming frankly cramped for the implementation of all business plans, developers actively lobbied for the idea of pushing the boundaries of the city in order to gain access to the territories of coastal communities from South to Zatoka. In the public space, it was called "creating the Greater Odesa agglomeration"
The color and architecture of old Odessa turn the city into a magnet for tourists from all over the world. Photo: Unsplash
Volodymyr Khalin
Architect and founder of the Urban Regeneration & Design Institute Volodymyr Khalin warned that the idea of agglomeration is good only if it is understood correctly: "Agglomeration is the creation of a transport and logistics cluster as a basis, not the expansion of city borders and the absorption of communities. The Odesa agglomeration, which is advanced in the proposals of the city authorities, is impossible without satellite cities. The acquisition of new sites for the construction of high-rise buildings is a dead end."
Panorama of Odessa beaches from a bird's eye view. Photo: Dima Pima / Unsplash
Mykola Chepelev
Architect Mykola Chepelev believes that the crisis provoked by the war temporarily curbed the appetites of developers: "In Odesa, the imitation of work on objects started before the war continues. But very weak. I know that several projects are being developed: housing for IDPs and affordable housing, but it is too early to talk about the details, it is still in the initial stages. As for the prospect of total development of the coast outside the city limits, it is unlikely. Only under conditions of rapid economic development of the country after the war, in the perspective of ten years. But then, I hope, we will learn to find a balance and leave a part of the coast intact."
Cruise liner in the port of Odessa. Photo: Vitaly Shmakov / NewsMaker
City and port
Another important correction is the reassessment of the importance of ports and the entire port infrastructure. In the last decade, Odesa confidently followed the mainstream of world trends, shifting the focus from the industrial vector of development to the creative one. Previously, PRAGMATIKA.MEDIA devoted an article describing this process "Resort novel” of the city and the port. Bagnoli, Alicante, Rotterdam and Odesa". Volodymyr Khalin in his blog on the website of the Association of Architects of Odesa, he noted that now the port not only cuts off the historical center from the water, but also creates many other problems: "In the Odesa port, on the Platonov pier, clay is loaded in the old fashioned way by rusty cranes that make sawdust when scooping , transfer and unloading in the hold. This dusty process takes place on the leeward side 500 meters from residential buildings, a kindergarten, the central park named after T. G. Shevchenko. <...> Freight transport, transporting raw materials and fodder grain to the port, destroys the road surface."
Urbanists and officials discussed that, ideally, the port of Odessa should be moved outside the city limits, and the territory should be revitalized. And, in principle, to take the industry beyond the framework and parentheses. Combined with the global upgrade of the entire transport and logistics scheme (new bridges, highways, airports and sea stations), this was to turn the entire coastline of the Black Sea and estuaries into a world-class resort and tourist paradise.
For the past 30 years, the state openly "did not export" the maintenance of seven ports of the Odesa region, and plans for modernization and dredging were postponed from year to year. Ports and state stevedoring companies were planned to be transferred to private hands in order to prevent final devaluation: the sale of the Belgorod-Dniester and Ust-Dauna ports was supposed to take place already in the spring of 2022, Odesa - a little later. The war and the Istanbul Agreements have reminded everyone what "infrastructure of strategic importance" means, and it is possible that the idea of sale will be abandoned in favor of a concession.
Photo: Vitaly Shmakov / NewsMaker
Self-government and local specificity
With the proposal to merge with the satellites into the agglomeration, the people of Odessa were several years late. Decentralization opens up opportunities even for a small village that simply did not exist before.
Evgeny Chernat
Odessa architect Evgeny Chernat — co-founder of the Space Odyssey Architects bureau — participated in the improvement of the square in the town of Sarata and, together with the team, developed the project of the library in Podilsk. He believes that despite small budgets, working in small communities has its advantages: "After decentralization, small cities began to get more opportunities for development and attracting investments. The specificity of planning in different cities depends primarily on the strategic focus of the community and the readiness of the representatives of the municipality to conduct a dialogue. The smaller the city, the closer the authorities are to the residents. Therefore, I believe that in small cities it is much easier and faster to make changes than in large ones, even in the absence of significant budgets."
It happens that residents would like to make their city more comfortable, but for real changes a trinity is necessary: society, government and business must think and act in the same direction.
"I am sure that any city will actively develop if there is a well-established dialogue between the municipality, business and the community. If there is no such thing, decisions will be made behind closed doors and will definitely not suit any of the participants in the process, he is sure Evgeny Chernat. — In my opinion, today it is a successful strategy that determines development, because having good resources, it is not always possible to use them successfully. For the development of tourism, it is not necessary to have such a big magnet as the sea or the mountains, because there are many communities with natural potential that they cannot realize properly."
Library in Podilsk. Visualization: Space Odyssey Architects
Library in Podilsk. Visualization: Space Odyssey Architects
Library in Podilsk. Visualization: Space Odyssey Architects
Library in Podilsk. Visualization: Space Odyssey Architects
Library in Podilsk. Visualization: Space Odyssey Architects
Library in Podilsk. Visualization: Space Odyssey Architects
Ukrainian legislation on self-government is not perfect. Sometimes "active development" takes ugly forms. The resort village of Zatoka, for example, became famous with the memes "The worst vacation on the Black Sea coast", "To rest in Zatoka is to disrespect yourself."
The pursuit of quick money turned the Budak spit into a zone of permanent construction wars. A luxurious gift of nature, wide sandy beaches, were walled in concrete at night (so that local activists would not interfere). Another cafe or hotel was immediately built on this symbolic foundation. Kosa quickly turned into a pile of ridiculous buildings interspersed with parking lots. But the monument of functionalism architecture, the complex of children's specialized sanatorium "Zatoka", built according to the project of the Romanian architect Angelo Viecelli (Angelo Viecelli), is being washed away by the sea, because the protective dam is half destroyed. But problems with infrastructure, roads, bridges, as well as the lack of sewage and treatment facilities, remain in the blind spot of local authorities.
At the beginning of 2022, deputies of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky district planned to adopt a series of new decisions on land acquisition, giving the last free plots between Sergiyivka and Zatoka for development. The war got in the way. The Russians shelled the Bay twice with missiles from the sea, in July and August, turning a dozen hotels, shopping pavilions and cafes into mountains of garbage. The houses of local residents were also damaged.
Chornomorsk Photo: Oleksiy Muzaliev / Wikimedia Commons
Decentralization in the Black Sea style
At the beginning of September, the Risoil group of companies announced that it is resuming the construction of a two-sided pier in the Black Sea port, which will be equipped with the most modern cargo system. Earlier in the port, work was carried out to deepen the bottom, and now vessels with a draft of up to 15 meters can be received here. As of February 24, when construction was frozen, the complex was already 80% ready. So they promise to complete the pier by winter.
Valery Pogrebnyak
Urbanist and journalist Valery Pogrebnyak explains that the port itself is the city-forming enterprise of Chornomorsk: "It is worth noting right away that the basis of the functioning of the city of Chornomorsk (until 2016 - Illichivsk) is the maritime complex: several ports, a ship repair plant, warehouses and a powerful logistics network, which provides the city with relative prosperity and further prospects And although the first agricultural settlements appeared here more than two centuries ago, it was the construction of the port that made the city the way we know it today.
Despite this, even in Soviet times, certain steps were taken to develop the recreational capacity of the city: "departmental" recreation centers were built, landscaping of the coastline was carried out, and sand washing on the beach was carried out. People came to the city for sanatorium and preventive treatment, but most of the city's guests came "to see their relatives at sea." In other words, we cannot talk about any systematic work with tourists in Chornomorsk, about the existence of a hotel and entertainment network of establishments similar to Crimean towns in the period until the 2010s."
Chornomorsk Sea Trade Port. Photo source: Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine
Chornomorsk owes its new "resort profile" to the neighboring Zatoka. Despite all its shortcomings, Zatoka became popular and, as a result, there were not enough places for everyone. In search of a bed by the sea, tourists migrated to Chornomorsk. Another factor is the annexation of Crimea, which sharply directed the flow of tourists to the resorts of the Odessa coast.
"Since then, according to local authorities' estimates, 200-250 thousand tourists came to Chornomorsk every year. It became clear that, along with the maritime complex, the city could become one of the resort towns of the Odessa coast. But the relative youth of the city (the first buildings appeared here in the 1950s) immediately cuts off from it the concept of a significant architectural and historical environment, which is Odesa. Therefore, conceptually, in terms of tourism, it can be said that Chornomorsk has occupied a niche between Zatoka and Odessa: yes, we are a small provincial city without a long history and with modernist buildings of the Brezhnev-Khrushchev era, we are not Odessa, but we have an urban environment, civilization, compactness, character, which is not found in the purely resort-oriented Bay and the resort villages around it.
Chornomorsk Photo: Maxim Nyporada
So, while the level of cargo handling in the port was falling (due to a number of objective and subjective reasons), public catering establishments, medium-capacity hotels, and a little later - hotel complexes were growing in the city like mushrooms. Chornomorsk has also "felt" its niche: event tourism (primarily festival and congress tourism). Music, sports, and cultural events were regularly held in the city in "pre-war times". "Koktebel Jazz Fest" and "August Song" are worth noting among dozens of them," he says Undertaker.
Accordingly, there was a request for a new positioning of the city. And since Illichivsk was renamed Chornomorsk in 2016, the relevance of rebranding the city has increased even more. Already in 2017, a team of city activists created the concept of the tourist brand of the city of Chornomorsk (its logo, slogan and other visual elements). The brand was popularized on public grounds, and it began to be used more and more in commercial products and urban design. Accordingly, the city council, taking into account the recognition of the city brand, recognized it as official and purchased it from the authors as an intellectual product, the popularization of the city brand was laid as the basis of the city's tourism development program.
Chornomorsk New stops and public transport traffic scheme
Among the city's urban planning initiatives, it is worth noting the creation of a public transport scheme, the replacement of stops with modern ones. The city came to an understanding of creating a design code. The forces of the communal architectural bureau created a fundamental concept for the development of cycling infrastructure in Chornomorsk, which, due to the beginning of a full-scale invasion, has not yet been presented to the community. It is not surprising that the prospect of a merger with Odesa did not receive a response here.
"Regarding the question of whether Chornomorsk should be included in the development concept of Odesa, in my opinion, the Chornomorsk community is quite independent (both financially and mentally) from the regional center. All talks about the unification of the Black Sea community with Odessa or even with neighboring communities met with resistance from the local population. In addition, Chornomorsk, on the one hand, competes with Odesa (for cargo and tourists), and on the other hand, these cities are quite different in terms of their cultural, social, and urban content. Therefore, it will not be possible to "cosplay" Black Sea Odessa," he notes Valery Pogrebnyak.
Panorama of the Bay. Photo: Wikipedia
Doubtful megaprojects: "Danube"
Officials of the Odesa regional administration have a rather strange idea about the revitalization of coastal areas. On the eve of the war, in December 2021, the Odesa Regional State Administration gave the "green light" to the construction project of the Zhebriyansky Peresip and spit between Lake Sasyk and the sea, an ecologically sensitive area included in the "Emerald Network" of the European and national list of natural objects of special environmental interest .
Spit of Lake Sasyk. Photo: fbc.ua
On a narrow strip of land, it was planned to create a year-round resort with a gaming area: to build more than 80 hotels and infrastructure facilities. Even the visualizations, which the initiator of the "Dunaya Resort Ukraine" project, businessman Fazil Askerov, proudly posted in open access, are simply terrible. These plans caused a real shock among Odesa urban planners and ecologists. In the opinion of Iryna Vykhrystiuk, head of the National Park "Tuzlovsky lymani", construction of such a scale on the border with the reserve can cause irreparable damage to the adjacent protected areas and finally destroy the ecosystem of the Black Sea estuaries.
In addition, the implementation of the "Danube" automatically put an end to the possibility of demolishing the artificial dam built in 1978 and opening Sasyk to the sea. The grandiose experiment of the Soviet reclamationists to turn Sasyk into a part of the Danube-Dniester irrigation system failed, and in the last decade a number of public environmental organizations purposefully advocate the idea of "damming" the lake and turning it into a natural estuary.
Visualization of the Danube project
Askerov announced investments in the development of resort and recreation infrastructure of the region, which are measured in billions of dollars. Under the spell of numbers and ordering "there are no analogues!" even the president's office was hit. In any case, in all recent (pre-war) announcements of "Danuija" the phrase "With the support of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi" appeared, and in the last month of 2021, the governor of Odesa signed a decision on the establishment of SE "Danuija" with a statutory fund in the amount of... 10 thousand hryvnias . The promise of turning a desert spit into a Ukrainian "Las Vegas" sounds very Odessa-like, but that's probably why the idea seemed so attractive. It is implied that a modern business-class resort should have a developed infrastructure, that is, the project could really work as a catalyst for solving many problems of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi and Izmailskyi districts.
On a narrow strip of land, it was planned to create a year-round resort with a gaming area: to build more than 80 hotels and infrastructure facilities. These plans caused a real shock among Odesa urban planners and ecologists
"I think that it can rather be called a project." In all seriousness, the city project from scratch has its advantages, but... In my opinion, it looks like an attempt to avoid solutions to the problems of existing resorts: Zatoka, Karolino-Bugaz, etc. But getting the city without problems. It's like Las Vegas in the desert. Only there is no desert in the region. This Danube is planned in natural areas, although there are several small resorts nearby that can be developed. Environmentalists against. On the other hand, local residents see this project as an impetus to the economic development of the region. In my opinion, this project is not well thought out, crude," he believes Mykola Chepelev.
If the war did not nullify "Danube", then, at least, it postponed it for an indefinite period. And this is rather a plus.
Ackerman fortress. Photo: Oleg Morgun / Unsplash
Budget corner
Bujak is the southern part of Bessarabia in the confluence of the Danube and Dniester rivers, which extends to the Black Sea. Historians claim that the toponym "Bujak" comes from the Turkish word "corner". In fact, it is an "island" connected to the territory of Odesa region and Ukraine only by two bridges: a drawbridge on the coast in Zatoka and in Mayaky on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border. Due to the lack of reliable transport connections across the Dniester, this part of the region appears to be isolated. In addition, the multinational Bujak has a pronounced authenticity.
Serhii Dyachenko
"The indisputable highlight of the region is the cultural features, which consist of both the southern steppe Black Sea multiculturalism in general, and the local - individual national settlements or districts: Bulgarian, Moldavian, Gagauz, Cossack, Lipovan, and even one Albanian village," explains Serhii Dyachenko, architect-historian, active member of the Ukrainian National Committee of ICOMOS, project manager of the NGO Urban Re-Public.
The multiculturalism and isolation of Bujak caused the Kremlin propagandists to consider this part of Bessarabia as an easy target, a place for another separatist entity, the Bessarabian People's Republic, in the fantasies of Kremlin propagandists, and in the spring of 2014, the city in Zatoka was hit by rocket attacks several times. They tried to cut off the area physically.
Photo: Serhii Sheremet / Unsplash
Serhii Dyachenko emphasizes: the war did not provoke the problem, but only revealed it: "The bridge in Zatoka is periodically closed for repairs, and besides, it is divisible, that is, traffic is constantly blocked. It should also be recalled that this bridge was built in 1954, and its project was drawn up in 1913, that is, it is extremely outdated and can currently be used only for passenger transportation, as well as attract tourists with its 100-year-old engineering structure."
The idea of a ferry crossing or the construction of a new bridge across the Dniester estuary is not new. Several options were discussed. Back in 2008, the mayors of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi and Ovidiopol proposed to the government, under the terms of a concession, to build a 5-kilometer bridge before Euro-2012. This would open up an opportunity to represent unique sights to foreign tourists - the Izmail and Akkerman fortresses, as well as the "Ukrainian Venice" of Vylkove. The technical concept provided for the construction of an arched bridge with moorings for yachts and cargo-passenger ships. But the matter did not progress further.
Tatarbunar district, Odesa region. Photo: Ivan Rogovchenko / Unsplash
In 2013, the Association of Architects of Odesa proposed to take the Öresund bridge between Sweden and Denmark as a prototype and build a combined railway and road bridge across the estuary. At the beginning of 2021, the Odesa State Regional Government mentioned the new bridge as part of the European route E-87. The project of the Kyiv Research Institute of City Planning "Dipromisto" provided for the construction of a part of the highway "Odesa-Reni" through a new bridge from the village of Roksolany to the village of Salgany. The length of the bridge has increased to 5,7 km. Designers proposed to build a dam in the middle of the estuary to reduce costs, but even in this option, the bridge would be "delayed" by half a billion dollars. And a new hydraulic construction could disrupt the ecosystem — then the Dniester estuary could repeat the fate of Sasyk.
The multiculturalism and isolation of Bujak became the reason that, in the fantasies of Kremlin propagandists, this part of Bessarabia was considered as an easy target, a place for another separatist entity, since 2014
"Just before the large-scale invasion, at the end of 2021, representatives of the management of the Bilhorod-Dniester sea trade port, the Association of Architects of Odesa and the Institute of Urban Regeneration and Design presented to the general public the concept of the construction of the Akkerman Bridge, which will solve the most important transport problem. The fundamental difference between this solution and other options for the bridge crossing is the location north of the water area of the Bilhorod-Dniester port," she said. Maria Yanushkevich.
The new functional concept would allow shortening the bridge to 4295 meters. At the same time, the flyover structure is 5-6 times cheaper than the arched structure, he noted Volodymyr Khalin: "Construction of a bridge to the north of the water area of the Bilhorod-Dniester port does not cross the access to the sea for ships and will allow a horizontal overpass to be built across the estuary, instead of a long-span bridge, which is an order of magnitude cheaper. The shipping dimensions under the overpass of 15x100 meters will allow the development of river shipping and yachting."
Visualization of the bridge project across the Dniester estuary, developed by AAO
Serhii Dyachenko agrees that the role of a purely local transition is envisaged for the bridge over the Bay, but believes that the main transport corridor should not be the Akkerman Bridge, but a new bridge in the upper reaches of the estuary: "The main route should be the new Mayak railway along the Moldovan border, so that cross the territory of Moldova. It should be on stilts along the banks of the Dniester estuaries and not disturb the fragile ecosystem of these places - it is not difficult to do even for our poor country. A bridge crossing (with a railway) across the center of the Dniester estuary between Ovidiopol and Bilhorod-Dniestrovsky should be secondary, precisely secondary, and not the main one, as was proposed until now. The light modern construction of the bridge should, among other things, be aesthetically balanced to emphasize and complement the landscape of the extremely important architectural monument — Akkerman Fortress: this is actually the most difficult task for the design, not the actual engineering and technical design. Approximately the same transport problem exists in the port city of Reni. A new overpass with a railway along the Moldovan border and along the northern shore of Lake Cagul should also be built for it to have a direct connection with the city of Bolgrad, and the port of Renia itself should also be revived."
Ishmael Photo: Igor Tkachenko
Ishmael's self-sufficiency is a utopia
Serhii Dyachenko I am sure that the post-war future of all cities, in particular Izmail, regardless of their degree of self-sufficiency and identity, must be considered in the context of the development not even of Odesa region, but of the entire Ukrainian Black Sea region. But such a concept was never proposed or considered at the level of the central government.
"The Moldavian influence is pronounced in the urban buildings of Izmail and Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. In addition, a community of Old Believers — Lipovans — stands out in Izmail. They have preserved their ancient church in the center of the city, Lipovans have some peculiarities in the architecture of their homes. But Izmail is known to the average Ukrainian primarily as a city - a Turkish fortress. And here everything is very bad with this monument. It looks abandoned, more like a huge wasteland and garbage dump. There are many ways of modern presentation of ruined fortresses and even archaeological monuments that are invisible on the surface. And so such a "visualization" of the Izmail fortress in any modern way (the simplest — as a landscape park with special landscaping along the defensive lines and outlines of the blocks of former buildings with the restoration of individual objects or their fragments) would be a good proposal for submission to the European grant together with the creation of a continuous Danube pedestrian embankment along the entire city. It is worth mentioning one of the most outstanding architectural monuments of Izmail — the Turkish mosque of the XNUMXth century. (now a museum space). But it also needs the restoration of the minaret and the gallery."
The port remains a city-forming enterprise of Izmail. Photo: Igor Tkachenko
The fact that the war forces to focus primarily on logistics issues does not mean that the development of the tourist cluster is canceled, the expert believes: "It is impossible to separate the development of tourism and the development of the port city concept — this is the case when one reinforces the other. Izmail is unthinkable without tourism. Also, Izmail is unthinkable without a port, in particular a passenger port, as well as a harbor for private yachts and boats. A transport and logistics infrastructure is needed for the full development of both the port and tourism.
Izmail still needs a bypass road from the Reniya intersection of the Bolgrad highway (in the west) to the village of Saf'yani (in the northeast) and further to Staraya Nekrasivka (in the east). We must separate the tourist transport infrastructure and the transport and goods infrastructure. And if this had been done earlier, many of the current problems would not have arisen either. Therefore, the complex Danube route Reni — Izmail — Kilia — Vylkove is extremely important for the development of tourism. And it should be duplicated by river tourist transport and passenger transport all the way to Odesa."
Military summer in Izmail. Photo: Ksenia Kazak / Unsplash
Back in 2018, the EU allocated grants for the development of tourism in Izmail, in particular for the repair of the local history museum and the improvement of the city garden near the Intercession Cathedral. But, in my opinion Dyachenka, such acupuncture projects play almost no role in the development of tourism: "As for the city garden, its problem at the moment is that it interrupts Suvorovskyi Avenue as a transport highway. And it would have to be restored, but brought underground, so that both directions of traffic would be underground, and the garden itself would not be crossed by highways. It would also be good to connect the pedestrian green boulevard of Suvorovsky Prospekt more closely with the garden. In this form, the city garden project would be more significant in the understanding of the European Union.
However, programs for the development of so-called "green" tourism, which in this region are perhaps the most developed in the entire country, were and remain more useful for Izmail. But once again, transport logistics becomes an obstacle to its development. Izmail has a huge tourist potential, but without an increase in the influx of tourists, without quality roads, this business will not be able to develop. As without a duplicated railway, as well as a direct connection with Moldova and Chisinau, Izmail port will not develop. Strictly speaking, Bujak should be a free economic zone."
Sanzhiyka is a still little-known and sparsely populated resort village in the Ovidiopol district. Photo: Igor Tkachenko
If not tourism, then what?
No one is ready to promise that even in the case of a quick victory, tourist activity will resume by next summer. According to experts, it may take several years to completely clear the water area, which means that the ban on staying on the beaches and swimming will be extended. Rest in beach clubs with swimming pools is not affordable. But tourism, as it has been in recent years, is primarily an attraction, and the war creates an ever-increasing demand for medical and health services.
"The healing properties of the sea, as well as the healing mud and oil of the estuaries, mineral water sources make the Odesa region a unique place for restoring health and improving well-being," reminds the main resource Maria Yanushkevich. — I consider the revival of the sanatorium-resort base to be the main topic of the post-war development of the region. It is logical that restoring the health of a huge number of people crippled by war should become a priority in our country."
Balneological resort "Kuyalnyk" on the shore of the Kuyalnytsky estuary. Photo: Igor Tkachenko
There is not much left of the once powerful sanatorium-resort industry with hundreds of sanatoriums and prophylactics in Odesa, in fact, it needs to be formed anew. Insurance companies could conclude agreements with the owners of private hotels, but so far, neither at the regional nor at the state level, such a possibility has been discussed.
No one is ready to promise that even in the case of a quick victory, tourist activity will resume by next summer. According to experts, it may take several years to completely clear the water area
Mykola Chepelev believes that in the post-war period, the bet on tourism will not play: "The development of the coast is smart - it will be. You can't move the sea. But the development of other regions of the region is not based on tourism. Agricultural and processing industry, light, development of medium and small cities as a comfortable environment that will attract online workers - should be. This will bring Odesa more than tourism. Although local cultural, food tourism also has great prospects for development."
Khadzhibey estuary. Photo: Igor Tkachenko
"We need to consolidate the efforts of specialists, create an intellectual center to jointly formulate a strategy and ways of its implementation. The problem is the lack of real interest on the part of the authorities," he adds Yanushkevich.
But all experts are united in one thing: without the modernization of the transport network and the creation of new corridors, none of the scenarios can be justified. The new district road around Odesa, the highway between all Black Sea ports, new crossings through estuaries and a series of median roads are connections that will help to stitch together the motley patches of Odesa.
This publication was created with the financial support of the European Union. The content of the publication is the sole responsibility of DW Akademie / Mediafit Program for Southern and Eastern Ukraine and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
