The document summarizes three special places in Kyiv, Ukraine: Kreschatyk Street, Podil District, and Taras Shevchenko Park. Kreschatyk Street is the main street of Kyiv known for its shops, performers, and role in political protests. It starts at Besarabska Square and contains important landmarks. Podil District is a historic neighborhood with architectural landmarks and vibrant streets like Petra Sahaidachnogo. Taras Shevchenko Park is a beautiful university park located in the city center that is well-maintained and serves as a community gathering space.

1. THREE SPECIAL PLACES
in KYIV, UKRAINE

2. Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, is defined by
outsiders as a busy metrolopis, immersed
in lavish trees and parks, on the one hand,
and overpolluted with cars and traffic, on
the other hand.
With a history back to the 5th
century, Kyiv
underwent serious transformations over the
course of years, growing from a small
settelement to the capital of Kyiv Rus in 9th
century, further destroyed by Mongols,
becoming a large provincial city of the
Russian Empire and then Soviet Union, and
regaining its capital status in 1991
following Ukraine’s independence.
Nowadays Kyiv is the 7th
most populous city
in Europe, which is growing fast.
What places define the spirit of Kyiv and,
probably, of the entire nation, as the
country’s history takes place on its streets
and squares?
Most locals and foreigners would probably name:
(1) Kreschatyk street, the main arterial road of the capital, which starts from Besarabskyi market and flows into Maidan, where
recent revolutions of 1991, 2014 and 2018 took place, and European Square;
(2) Podil District with lots of historical buildings, cafes and restaurants, which has become a major tourist destination over the years,
and Andriyivskyi Decent as a major highlight for souvenir shoppping;
(3) and Taras Shevchenko Park in the central part of Kyiv across Taras Shevchenko University campus, which provides a relief in
summer days, street music in the evenings and an inclusive playgroud for children.

3. Kreschatyk street
Kreschatyk Street starts at Besarabska Square where a legendary market (rynok) is located. Then it goes into Maidan square (where
revolutions took place) and into the European square which is a traffic intesection. The street has a length of 1.3 km.

4. Why Kreschatyk Street is a great place?
 Kreschatyk is a major street of the city, located in the downtown.
 It is a vivid city, with lots of shops on both sides, some restaurants and cafes.
 Street dancers and musicians entertain the public every day.
 Major cultural events takes place at this street, such as big stage concerts at
Maidan or exhibitions in Ukrainian House (Congress Hall) at European Square.
 National Philarmony and National Thearte are located a few steps away.
 The City Council and Head Post Office are located at Kreschatyk.
 During weekends and public holidays the street is closed for cars and people
can walk or bike along the entire road.
 Major revolutions and protests took place at Kreschatyk Street, especially at
Maidan (Indepence Square), most recently in 1991, 2004, 2014.
 It is famous for chestnut trees in blossom, which was a landmark of the city.
 People like to appoint meetings at the street, do shopping and walking both
at weekends and during busy work days.
 Children like to play in the fountain at Maidan.
 Paintings by Ukrainian artists and clothes by Ukrainian designers are showcased in Globus shopping mall at Maidan.
 It is a great place to buy souvenirs and make memorable pictures for city visitors.

5. Who had a hand in making Kreschatyk a great place?
 The city residents who started the development of the street in 19th
century, following the rapid growth of the city. Before
that Kreschatyk used to be a small river and the area was very much undeveloped.
 The Stalin-time architects who fully reconstructed the street after the World War II and made it more spacious and grandeur.
 People who visit Kreschatyk, perform street dances or play music or exhibit own paintings.
 The architects who made wide pedestrian roads for spacious and enjoyable walking.
Who uses it, and how do they seem to feel about it?
 The street is primarily used by young people, dynamic adults, who go shopping or meet each other after work. It is a very
convinenit meeting point and they feel in the heart of the big city. This is also a transit street.
 At weekends the street usage is extended to all age groups and families with children, as it became accessible for everyone.
 The street has underground crossings, making parents with strollers, people with disabilities and elderly residents struggle to
cross a street through inaccessible underground crossings and a lack of on-ground crossings. This makes around 50% of Kyiv
population to feel excluded from the street experience.
 Children like to go to Kreschatyk street, as it provides different activities for children, especially during weekends.
 During a recent revolution of diginity in 2014, people set up an Educational Stage at Maidan where lectures were given and
workshops were conducted for everyone for free.

6. Is Kreschatyk Street changing or stable?
 The city is constantly evoloving, so does the main street. As a prominent example, a new Department Store was totally
renovated with preservation of the façade of the older building upon the community request.
 The residents became vocal in demanding inclusive barrier-free urban environment at Kreschatyk Street, as a result an
experimental pedestrian crossing was set up a week ago, and it proves its efficiency and popularity. The Transport Institute
researchers made traffic calculations, proving that pedestrian on-ground crossings will not affect dramatically traffic.
 City activists demand full closing down of the street for card and making it pedestrian not only on weekends, but every day.
The City Council cannot provide an alternative solution for car traffic, and “Walkable Kreschatyk” initiative has not been
realized yet. However, during the Revolution of Dignity in 2014 Kreschatyk Street, together with Maidan and European Square,
were closed down for traffic due to mass gatherings for half a year.
 Biking Association is actively advocating for adding biking routes to Kreschatyk.
 New-generation architects advocate for renewing the Kreschatyk River and opening it up, after cleaning, for the public as a
part of landscape design. The river is now underneath the street in the collector.
Pic. 2. Experimental pedestrian crossing at
Kreschatyk Street becomes very popular
Pic. 1. Proposal by architects shows how uplifting of
Kreschatyk river will change the look of the main city street

7. Podil District
Kontraktova
Square
Petra Sahaidachnogo Street

8. Why Podil is a great place?
 Podil is a historic district located in the lower part of the city. It used to be a trading and crafting center, had Magdeburg law
(since 15th
cent.) and had own Magistrate, located on Kontraktova Square. First open air markets took place in Podil. Here was
built first pharmacy, the first mill, the first water supply, the first power station, and the first higher educational institution.
 Following the devastating fire in 1811, when wooden houses were burned to ground, the district was fully reorganized
according to a grid scheme, which exists up to this day. Today Podil is looking for new ways of urban regenaration and many
ideas were proposed by local comunnity and experts.
 The district has direct access to water since its inception, and used to be a free “port city within a city”. Nowadays, the access
to the river is blocked by a highway.
 Podil contains many architectural and historical landmarks, and new archaeological sites are still being revealed, such as
remains of wooden houses and gates of Kyiv Rus times (9th
century).
 The two landmark places of Podil, Kontraktova Square and Petra Sahaidachnogo Street, are hilghlighted on the map above.
Kontraktova Square provides also access to the metro station. However it is largely fragmented, used for parking and
overwhelmed with disogranized forms of street retail. There are ideas how to make Kontraktova Square a coherent and
enjoyable public space. Petra Sahaidachnogo Street is a vivid human-scale street with low-height historical buildings, ground-
floor cafes and shops, and remains vibrant even on weekends, when it is closed for cars and is used for pedestrians only.
 Numerous attractions of Podil particularly include: National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Florivsky Monastery, Mother of
God Church, Andriyivskyi Descent, Borychiv Descent, Poshtova Square, Gostynnyi Dvir, Zamkova Gora hill, House of Ivan
Mazepa, House of Peter the Great. Although some of these attractions are not within official limits of Podil District, many
people associate them as located in Podil.

9. Who had a hand in making Podil a great place?
 Local residents who started to inhabit area since 9th
century or even earlier. They lived in predonimantly wooden houses. After
Mongol invasion in mid-13th century and destroyal of Upper City, Podil became a main city for some time.
 After the 1811 fire, Podil was reconstructred according to the grid layout proposed by Kyiv architect Andriy Melenskyi (1766-
1833) and by St. Petersburg architect William Hastie (1763-1832). Mr. Melenskyi designed classic outlook of the buildings at
reconstructed Podil, and many of them are still present today.

10. Who uses it, and how do they seem to feel about it?
 Local residents who like old “spirit” of Podil, old buildings, streets, but who feel that this part of the city needs renovation and
proper maintenance, as well.
 New residents who add diversity and dynamism to Podil, new businesses, such as cafes, restaurants.
 University students who are in love with Podil and proud of their institution – Kyiv Mohyla Academy – due to leadership skills,
human values and patriotism it builds up in the students all over Ukraine.
 I think parents with strollers, people with disabilities and elderly people can feel discriminated by the streets of Podil, as some
lack accessibility or artificial barriers are incorporated into the design such as stairs, elevated borders of pavements, etc.
Is Podil changing or stable?
 Podil’s landscape is less changing compared to other parts of the city, as it is densely constructed area with little space for new
residential or commercial developments. The major concern of local community, urban activists and city administration is to
preserve, maintain and renovate the buildings and streets.
 Another major challenge is transport organization in Podil. Many acitivists advocate for making Petra Sahaidachnogo Street and
Kontraktova Square a pedestrian route. Now it is closed for cars on weekends only. See a proposed picture below.
 There are architect proposals to rethink Kontraktova Square and access to the metro station in terms of human design,
inclusivity, friendliness to people. To make it a coherent enjoyable place instead of current framentation. See a proposed
picture below.
 A major building on Kontraktova Square, Gostynniy Dvir, is now in bad shape. There were attempts to redevelop the old
building int a shopping mall, but there was strong opposition from activists who want to make it a public space like Mystetskyi
Arsenal or Art Zavod Platforma. The confict has not been resolved yet.

11. Taras Shevchenko Park
Inclusive playground for kids
Chess & domino corner for males
Ukrainian food restaurant
Info center & coffee in old tram

12. Why the Park is a great place?
 It is a university park designed in 1860 and opened in 1896, located in the heart of Kyiv city. It is only 5 min of walk from
Kreschatylk, the main street of Kyiv, and 2 min of walk from Lva Tolstogo metro station. It has a free water point for people.
 Student demonstrations take place here, as well as Kyiv Gay Parade.
 It is a place where people like to meet, relax, chat, sit on the benches or on the grass, play with kids, eat, walk through, bike.
 It is well maintained, green, beautiful, with well-thought landscape design. The park is beautiful in every season.
 It is in close proximity (10 min of walk) to the Botanichny Garden located behind Taras Shevchenko University.
Monument to Taras Shevchenko, a
renowned Ukrainian poet
New modern benches were set up
in the park for people

13. Who had a hand in making it a great place?
 Turning the pasture land for cows and pigs in front of the university campus into a beatiful park was led by a gardener Karl
Christiani, who managed to make skilful use of a relatively limited area of 5.4 hectares. The whole park was reasonably divided
into two parts by two perpendicular axial alleys and additional diagonal ones, to which a bypass road along the entire
perimeter was added.
 Following Ukraine’s independence, Kyiv City Council attached major significance to the park, keeping it clean and nicely-
maintained. Major transformations happened when Kyiv was hosting EURO-2012.
 Private companies invested into the park infrastructure, such as a pharmaceutical company established an inclusive playground
for kids and private donors sponsored specially designed benches across the park.
Who uses it, and how do they seem to feel about it?
 Residents of Kyiv city of all ages and groups: elder people like to walk and rest here, take water at a free point (called buvet),
elder males like to play chess or domino in the park corner (called sadochok), parents with children head to an inclusive
playground or just walk around the park, bikers like to bike, and all citizens like to walk, rest, or sit here, both on benches and
grass, some like to hold dance or yoga sessions, open air workshops. It is truly a public place.
 Tourists try not to miss an opportunity to come to the park, especially during hot summer days or in early autumn, when trees
and fallen leaves add amazing colors to the park. It is on the top list of Kyiv attractions for city visitors.
Is Taras Shevchenko park changing or stable?
 The park is always changing due to the people: e.g. local designers add benches, or design small-scale interventions.

14. * Prepared by Alina Samko, Ukraine
** Google Map and photos from open sources in the Internet were extensively used in the work