Town Hall Meeting “Organization of the Urban Space in Mykolayiv”

On November 21, on the premises of the restaurant “Stargorod Nikolaev” in Mykolayiv-city was held a Town Hall Meeting on the topic “Organization of Urban Space in Mykolayiv. How to Make Soborna Street More Comfortable for Residents of the City”. The event was organized by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives with the help of Mykolayiv Development Agency and Interns’ League, with the support of Western NIS Enterprise Fund and USAID.

Almost 150 residents of the city were looking for answers to the following questions:

  • setting up temporary constructions for trade and entertainment services,
  • setting up various types of advertising inventory (bill-boards, street lights, banners, posters, mobile stands, etc.),
  • changing the original facade appearance in violation of the State Building Regulations.

Opening the event, Oleksandr Zaslavskyi, Deputy Chairman of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, spoke of experience with Town Hall Meetings, which come from the US, and practical cases of its application in Ukraine.
The participants worked in small groups at the desks, accompanied by moderators and note-takers (secretaries), and analyzed opinions via the local network – comments and suggestions were displayed on screens.
They discussed scenarios that had been developed with the assistance of Yevhenii Poliakov, expert from the State Architectural Construction Inspection in Mykolayiv oblast, who actively contributed to the work by helping the participants understand all the city-planning intricacies.
Yevheniya Dulko, Project Manager at Mykolayiv Development Agency, said the following:

“The scenarios are not that fundamental because we, together with experts, tried to draw up something realistic rather than re-invent a wheel; we relied on the experience of other cities and legislation of other countries. It is impossible to demolish, dismantle, and ban everything; it does not work that way. Therefore, the scenarios are realistic and close to the real Mykolayiv, which has its own history and traditions.”

Scenarios for discussion

Problem No. 1
Excessive number of randomly located temporary constructions for trade and entertainment services on Soborna Street
• Option 1
• Option 2

Problem No. 2
Advertising on Soborna Street
• Option 1
• Option 2

Problem No. 3
Change of original facades by private owners of apartments and premises
• Option 1
• Option 2

Voting results:

Photo: Oleksandr Kovalenko

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