Volunteers sought for Ukraine rebuilding charrette

CNU practitioners are invited to participate in a design charrette to help war-damaged Ukrainian communities. Team 11, a Congress for the New Urbanism member-led initiative, is working with the nonprofit Neo-Eco Ukraine on a pilot project to replan three Ukrainian villages near the City of Mykolaiv, recaptured from the Russians in late 2022. 

Team 11 co-founder Stephen Goldie has assembled a steering committee of CNU co-founder Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, architect and planner and Team 11 member Dhiru Thadani, and Andrew Martschenko, principal of Parataxis Design and Development (A Canadian of Ukrainian descent based in Toronto).

“We hope that peace is soon restored, and that Ukraine can soon rebuild more sustainable and liveable communities in the wake of the devastation the war has brought,” said CNU President Mallory Baches, in a letter expressing the organization’s support for the project.

The anticipated week-long, in-person charrette could occur between April and September 2024. “The basis of volunteering is that it is pro bono, but not self-funded—Neo-Eco will pay for flights, accommodation, insurance, meals, etc.,” Goldie explains.

The selection criteria (subject to steering committee confirmation) are that the volunteers are degree qualified in a relevant discipline and are financial CNU members (if they are not CNU members they can still apply, but must apply to join CNU and be accepted and paid-up before the team is confirmed). National Charrette Institute qualification, charrette experience, Ukrainian, or other European language skills, employer support (preferably paid leave), are all helpful, but not mandatory, Goldie explains.

Neo-Eco Ukraine announced that CNU is a partner in its ARCHES program, which is described as follows: “Our international response teams accompany Ukrainian communities through their urban planning and sustainable design challenges while training them for future self-sufficiency.”

Those who are interested can contact Goldie by email (stephen@team-11.org).