This is a sociological study about the Kyiv agglomeration.
On February 10, 2023, during the meeting of the “Kyiv Agglomeration” Association, the presentation of the sociological research report “Opinions and views of residents of certain communities of the Kyiv region and the city of Kyiv about the Kyiv agglomeration in the context of a large-scale Russian invasion” took place.
The study was conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology on the order of the Council of Europe Program “Strengthening Good Democratic Governance and Sustainability in Ukraine” and the Local Association of Local Government Bodies “Kyiv Agglomeration”.
According to the results of the study, compared to 2020, support for the idea of cooperation between Kyiv and neighboring communities increased from 45% to 95%. At the same time, 73% and 67% of respondents, respectively, in Kyiv and other communities of the Kyiv agglomeration believe that everyone will benefit from such cooperation.
“The research showed that residents understand that local self-government has become the basis of Ukraine’s resistance since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia. Strong self-government became possible thanks to the decentralization reform. Now it is important not to allow the reform to collapse, not to stop in the development of local self-government, which is the basis of democracy,” he said during the event head of Kyiv agglomeration, mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klitschko.
He added that the result is quite expected, when the largest number of male and female respondents – 52% – consider the restoration of destroyed housing, communal facilities and infrastructure as a priority area for cooperation. And he emphasized that the Kyiv City Council has already made its contribution — by providing financial support for the reconstruction of territorial communities of the Kyiv region that have suffered significant destruction.
We will remind that the Kyiv City Council allocated UAH 235 million from the capital budget for the reconstruction of territorial communities of the Kyiv region.
The social research also shows how community residents assess readiness to respond to emergency situations. Respondents of the Kyiv agglomeration rated the system of informing the population in the community the best (90% consider the community to be ready).
“It seems to me that before the war, in many communities, the issue of notification was not on the agenda at all. And today there are a lot of different messengers and applications that allow you to quickly receive relevant and useful information. It turns out that the war helped us to digitalize. “Digital Kyiv” also introduced many important and necessary services for communication with citizens during the war, – added the head of the Kyiv agglomeration.
They also commented on the results of the research Fastiv City Mayor Mykhailo Netyazhuk, Nemyshaiv Village Mayor Petro Perevozic and Mountain village head Roman Dmytriv.
In addition to traditional questions, the study pays special attention to the functioning of local self-government in the conditions of a large-scale Russian invasion, the state of affairs in communities, population migration and internally displaced persons.
It is worth noting that the results of the sociological research have already been taken into account in the decisions of the General Meeting of the “Kyiv Agglomeration” association. In particular, in the main directions of the Association’s activity and the Association’s activity plan for 2023.
In October 2019, the association “Kyiv Agglomeration” was established in the capital. Vitaliy Klitschko, the mayor of the capital, was elected as the chairman. The document was signed by 19 communities that were interested in cooperating in the field of transport, health care, education and others.
