TRANSACTIONS of AESOP: Podcast – Planning Ukraine’s Recovery

Abstract

The podcast offers a thirty-minute conversation between the two editors, Oleksandr Anisimov and Dominic Stead, and Marco Cremaschi for the journal, providing an accessible introduction to the latest issue of Transactions. This special issue addresses a major blind spot in current debates on Ukraine’s recovery: the role of spatial planning. By filling this critical gap, it provides an analytical foundation for rebuilding Ukraine’s territories in ways that are resilient, democratic, and aligned with European integration. Despite war devastation on a scale unseen in Europe since 1945, most policy discussions continue to focus on financial, military, or governance dimensions, overlooking the central importance of geography, land use, and the built environment for meaningful reconstruction. Post-war recovery in Europe historically relied on new planning approaches and welfare institutions. Ukraine is now facing a similarly transformative moment, where the alignment of its spatial governance with EU directives will have far-reaching implications for land, the environment, infrastructure, and regional development.