From War into the Future: Historical Legacies and Questions for Postwar Reconstruction in Ukraine

Following the large-scale invasion by Russia, the future of postwar Ukraine is being sketched: in social media and public discussions, by launching reconstruction initiatives, and, most recently, by establishing the National Council for the Recovery of Ukraine from the War. These discussions, both in Ukraine and internationally, invite revisiting the histories of previous 'postwars', mostly the recovery and rebuilding efforts after WWI and WWII, but also post-Chornobyl (Chernobyl) and post-Cold War. Contemporary discussions may shed new light on the previous story of postwar recoveries, while recoveries in the past may offer valuable perspectives for ongoing debates, such as those about the entangled relations between political and expert powers; participation and shared authority; the challenge of navigating local and international expert knowledge in rebuilding communities and localities, and the potential of architecture in coping with trauma. Architecture and urban planning have a key role in the process, which can bring change not only to the physical materiality of place, social relations and communities, but also to the ways architecture and planning are imagined and practiced.