The restoration and development of Ukrainian cities should take place according to the principles of Smart Sustainable City, Boris Goldenstein, founder and CEO of Zezman Holding, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

“To win the competition for Ukrainians, it is not enough to ensure basic security. Today, agglomerations and megacities, developing according to the principles of Smart Sustainable City, are able to compete with individual states to attract talented and economically active residents from all over the world. We must create such points of development,” he said.

As reported, at the end of 2023, within the framework of the first Ukrainian Construction Congress in Kyiv, a strategic platform for introducing the concept of creating Smart Sustainable City in Ukraine was launched. The initiative belongs to Zezman Holding. It has already been supported by two development companies - UDP and Ribas Group.

Smart Sustainable City is a set of principles for the development of cities, both from scratch and existing ones, that correspond to the goals of sustainable development, an innovative economy, environmentally oriented, with an emphasis on social and cultural aspects. Smart Sustainable City uses innovation, information and communication technologies and other means to improve the quality of life of residents, the efficiency of the city, while meeting the needs of not only the current population, but also future generations. Such a city includes smart urbanism, smart technology, energy efficiency, proper waste and water management.

The proposed formula for transforming Ukrainian cities includes four steps.

“First of all, it is necessary to study, adapt and implement successful global practices and approaches of Smart Sustainable City. For more than 20 years, sustainable cities have achieved significant changes, which, according to experts, Ukraine will be able to reproduce in five to seven years. The same applies to the use of international standards aimed at improving the quality of life of people. Ukraine does not need decades to find its path of sustainable development - international institutions have already developed dozens of ISO standards and even KPIs for cities and their leaders," says Goldenstein.

The third step involves adapting successful world practices and approaches to Ukrainian realities. The fourth is the synchronization of the values and principles of communities, authorities, developers and other interested parties.