Building Resilience of Agglomerated Urban Settlements of Coastal Odesa Agglomeration

Abstract

Modern cities and their agglomerations are experiencing significant threats related to climate change and its consequences, pandemics, wars, etc. It is difficult for large agglomerations to mitigate the consequences of such challenges in a coordinated manner. The small cities have even fewer resources to effectively respond to threats, which makes them more vulnerable and unstable to new challenges of development. Coastal agglomerations face significant challenges to resilience in the face of internal and external threats. The research purpose is to identify features, opportunities, as well as problems and potential risks of forming the resilience of agglomerated urban settlements of the coastal Odesa agglomeration. The authors' attention was focused on a comparison of the resilience potentials of two types of cities according to their socio-geographical location: coastal (Chornomorsk and Yuzhne) and internal (Biliaivka and Teplodar). The research results were formed on the basis of content analysis of municipal official documents and local mass media from January to May 2023 as well as developing a SWOT analysis determining the problems and prospects of implementing resilience mechanisms in the cities. The different components of resilience potential were analyzed for the selected cities, especially economic, social, and environmental ones. It was revealed that the level of economic and social development of agglomerated settlements in the Odesa agglomeration is uneven. Coastal cities have a higher level of economic and social development due to the presence of the largest seaports in the country. However, the dependence of the urban economy on the activities of few large enterprises does not guarantee economic resilience. At the beginning of the full-scale russian military invasion, these cities felt the greatest vulnerability due to the temporary shutdown of businesses and ports. Yuzhne and Chornomorsk require an increased level of climate change preparedness due to the vulnerability of the sea coast, so rewilding measures can improve their adaptation to climate change and natural events. The active work of local authorities and public involvement, positive migration growth, a high proportion of children and adolescents, transparent support for small businesses, and improved tourist attractiveness are beginning to form the high level for the economic and social resilience of Biliaivka. The potential for economic and social resilience in Teplodar is low due to the significant shortage of jobs and large flows of commuting labor migration to the core city, therefore it is necessary to create attractive conditions for small and medium-sized businesses in various spheres for economic diversification. The creation of an industrial park or business incubator can compensate for the absence of the city-forming enterprise. The deep research of all threats and possible challenges, as well as the integration of urban resilience instruments into official documents based on the cooperation of all stakeholders, should be a further step in the introduction of economic, social, and environmental resilience in urban management process for the cities of the coastal Odesa agglomeration.