The International Scientific and Practical Seminar "Interdisciplinary Studies of Urbanized Spaces in the Context of Sustainable Development Concept"

On February 4-5, Karazin University hosted the International Scientific and Practical Seminar "Interdisciplinary Studies of Urbanized Spaces in the Context of Sustainable Development Concept."

The event was organized by the Department of Socio-Economic Geography and Regional Studies named after Kostyantyn Nemytsia at the School of Geology, Geography, Recreation, and Tourism, as part of the "Competence Aid For Ukraine (CAFU)" project, with the support of the Swedish Institute.

The first day of the seminar was held remotely, with over 40 researchers, scientists, postgraduate students, and students from Ukraine (V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Volyn National University named after Lesia Ukrainka, Sumy State Pedagogical University named after A. S. Makarenko), Serbia (University of Belgrade), Spain (University of Girona), Turkey (Akdeniz University), and Finland (University of Eastern Finland) participating. Presenters addressed important and current issues of urbanicide and post-urbanicide, perspectives for the post-war reconstruction of Ukrainian urban agglomerations, renaturalization and green transition of cities, sustainable development strategies amid the global ecological crisis, as well as the application of Earth remote sensing methods and GIS in urbanized area studies. The discussions were lively.

The second day took place in a hybrid format, with events held both on-site at the university and via Zoom. A workshop titled "Urban Kharkiv: Planning a Sustainable Urban Future" and an EXPO exhibition were held within the seminar.

The workshop began with welcoming remarks from the event organizer, Professor Lyudmyla Nemyts, Deputy Director of the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Marina Pakhomova, Head of the Urban Planning Department, Anatolii Babichev, Vice-Rector, and Vilina Peresadko, Dean of the School of Geology, Geography, Recreation, and Tourism. After the official opening, participants took part in two panel discussions:

• "Sustainable Development as the Foundation for the Successful Reconstruction of the City" (moderator: Professor Kateryna Sehida)
• "Kharkiv Today — A Path to a European Future" (moderator: Associate Professor Kateryna Kravchenko)

The event brought together specialists from various scientific fields, representatives of authorities and business for the sustainable future of Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region. Among the invited speakers were Kateryna Kubytska (architect-restorer, member of the Advisory Board on Cultural Heritage Protection at the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration), Artem Sosipatrov (sustainable urban mobility expert, coordinator of the NGO "Platform for Urban Development"), Viktor Dvornikov (architect-restorer, head of the public organization "Platform for Urban Development" and deputy head of the cultural heritage preservation working group of the Kharkiv City Council), Olga Vovk (Deputy Director of the Center for Ukrainian Studies and Local History named after Academician P. T. Tronko, lecturer at the Department of Historiography, Source Studies, and Archaeology of Karazin University), Iryna Skryli (Associate Professor, Head of the Local History Department at the Kharkiv Regional Station for Young Tourists), Mykhailo Lazarev (co-owner of the "Volkhov" cookie and gingerbread production, "Snydanishna" café, and the "Lyatyusho" city coffee shop and souvenir shop), and others.

The event concluded with the awarding of participants and winners of the EXPO exhibition.

Vice-Rector Anatolii Babichev summarized: "During wartime, Karazin University has developed a new mission — social responsibility. Today, we presented projects that are truly focused on fulfilling a social mission, improving living conditions with ecological, design, and architectural components. All of this is extremely important. This means that we are on the right track for the reconstruction and recovery of our city, our region, and our country. So, once again, thank you to everyone. I believe we will soon see the practical implementation of these ideas and projects. And we will succeed."

The EXPO exhibition featured students and postgraduate students from Kharkiv universities who presented innovative ideas for the restoration and sustainable development of the city in the following areas:

• Energy-efficient materials, renewable energy sources, "smart lighting"
• VR solutions
• Smart city solutions
• Modern waste sorting and management systems
• Urban installations and memorial objects

Visitors had the opportunity to explore interesting projects, including "Kharkiv Blooming: Sustainable Design and Innovations for the Post-War Reconstruction of the City" by Vadym Hololobov from the Institute of Ecology, "Intelligent Energy Management System for Buildings" by a representative of the Institute of Computer Physics and Energy, and "Parking" by Olga Holubova from the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts.

The award for the best social initiative went to the project by Olga Hryhorova from the Kharkiv State Academy of Design and Arts, "Project for the Restoration of Gymnasium 46 in Kharkiv." The award for the best smart initiative went to the project by Serhii Kovalov from the Institute of Computer Physics and Energy, "Sustainable Energy: Hydrogen, Gas, and Storage. Production and Accumulation of Energy." The award for the best project according to public voting went to the project by Orest Dunikov from the School of Geology, Geography, Recreation, and Tourism, "Integrated Platforms for Urban Transport Management."

Congratulations to the winners! We thank the workshop participants for their important ideas and current projects, motivation, and care for the future of Kharkiv. We believe that through joint efforts, mutual support, and hard work, we will restore our city as soon as possible!