More than four years after Mariupol’s residents were forced from their homes by Russia’s war, the Ukrainian city is working to keep its community together by tackling one of the most urgent challenges facing displaced families. Many people still need somewhere affordable and secure to live.
Since May 2022, Mariupol has been under temporary Russian occupation. The city’s local government continues to operate as the legitimate Ukrainian authority from Ukrainian controlled territory. It has been reorganised as the Mariupol City Military Administration, allowing it to expand the services it provides to displaced residents and the wider community.
Over 200,000 Mariupol residents are now scattered across Ukraine and abroad. For the city administration, preserving that community and its people has become one of its biggest challenges.
Housing is at the centre of that effort. Research commissioned by Mariupol in 2024 found that 85% of internally displaced people identified housing as their biggest difficulty. Rent consumes more than half of household income for many families, while 55% are at risk of poverty. Around 30% are unemployed.
Mariupol is responding with a new model of social and affordable housing designed not only to give people somewhere to live, but to help them rebuild their lives and remain connected to their community.
“We are working not just to provide people with a roof over their heads, but to create a model of social integration and economic mobility,” says Vadym Boichenko, Mayor and Head of the Mariupol City Military Administration.
“People are the driving force behind recovery, which is why our priority is the construction of large-scale social housing and the verification of damages in international registries for future reparations.”
Keeping a displaced city connected
Housing forms part of a much wider system Mariupol has built since the occupation of the city. At its heart is ‘I’Mariupol’, a network of support centres created by the city administration to maintain contact with displaced residents and provide practical help wherever they have settled in Ukraine.
Today, the ‘I’Mariupol’ network brings together 45 centres in 22 Ukrainian cities. These include community support centres, household centres, medical hubs, health and recreation facilities, and social housing. Together, they support nearly 70,000 Mariupol families. Since the network was created, over one million humanitarian aid packages have been distributed and more than 304,000 consultations provided.
We are working not just to provide people with a roof over their heads, but to create a model of social integration and economic mobility.
The housing programme follows the same principle. Displaced residents need more than accommodation. Five former university dormitories have already been renovated in Dnipro, Kyiv and Chernivtsi, providing homes for nearly 1,300 Mariupol residents. Further renovations are underway in Kropyvnytskyi and Zaporizhzhia.
The renovated buildings include compact apartments alongside I’Mariupol. Care centres offering laundry facilities, coworking spaces and other services. The aim is to link housing with schools, hospitals, workplaces and everyday services, helping families establish stable lives in the communities where they now live.
The city’s experience has shown that providing a home alone is not enough. Housing also needs to help displaced people avoid isolation and build fulfilling lives in their new communities.
Building a new model for affordable housing
Mariupol is now taking further action through ‘My Home.Ukraine‘, an initiative developed with the Ukrainian government and other partners. The project will construct new affordable neighbourhoods based on a social rental model, with subsidised rents for families who lost their homes because of the war.
One of the first major developments is planned for Bila Tserkva, a city south of Kyiv. “We plan to furnish 1,187 apartments, which will provide quality housing for nearly 3,300 Mariupol residents,” explains Serhii Zakharov, Deputy Mayor of Mariupol. “All the necessary infrastructure including schools, parks, and pedestrian areas will be built alongside the buildings.”
The project is intended to give families greater financial stability by reducing the proportion of household income spent on rent. It is also designed to create neighbourhoods where displaced families can rebuild social ties while accessing education, services and employment.
Mariupol sees the project as more than a local response. If successful, the approach could be expanded to provide social housing for internally displaced people across Ukraine.
It could also help reshape national housing policy. Ukraine did not have an established legal framework for developing social rental housing at the scale required. Mariupol and its partners have therefore had to develop new mechanisms while contributing to changes in the national regulatory framework.
We plan to furnish 1,187 apartments, which will provide quality housing for nearly 3,300 Mariupol residents.
Finding suitable land with access to infrastructure in safer parts of the country has also been difficult. “Implementing housing projects for a community in evacuation is an unprecedented challenge,” Boichenko states. “We realised that we don’t need to wait for the war to end to build the future. We must act now to keep people in the country.”
For Mariupol, that experience has reinforced the need for wider changes to housing policy, including the establishment of a Social Housing Fund and financing models capable of sustaining affordable housing over the long term.
Partnerships turning plans into homes
Another lesson has been the importance of cooperation. Mariupol’s experience has shown that projects of this scale cannot be delivered by one community alone. Cooperation with the Ukrainian government, international organisations, financial institutions, businesses and European cities has allowed it to move from emergency assistance towards longer term housing and reconstruction plans.
The city has developed a model combining state, municipal and international finance, including a revolving fund approach intended to reinvest resources in future housing.
European cities are playing a growing role in that partnership. The cities of Vilnius, Warsaw, Gdansk and Wroclaw are sharing their experience on reconstruction, while cooperation with Utrecht gives Mariupol access to knowledge on construction waste recycling, water management and sustainable construction.
European partners are also contributing directly to housing projects. Renovations have been carried out with backing from the French government and the International Organization for Migration, while Mariupol is working with partners from Switzerland, Denmark and France on new housing developments. The planned neighbourhood in Bila Tserkva is being developed using experience from the French city of Le Havre.
For Mariupol, this cooperation shows how city partnerships can move beyond humanitarian relief. European partners are helping it develop the expertise, investment models and relationships needed both to sustain its displaced community today and prepare for future reconstruction.
On 30 September this year, the construction of the first neighbourhood block of ‘My Home. Ukraine’ kicked off in Bila Tserkva. Alongside Oleksiy Ryabykin, Deputy Minister for Restoration, Infrastructure and Transport of Ukraine, the city laid the first foundation block with a commemorative capsule.
“Today marks the beginning of a process that should culminate in an important result,” noted Oleksiy Ryabykin. “People who lost their homes due to Russian aggression will have the opportunity to receive much-needed housing. This is a unique example for Ukraine of joining efforts. I am convinced that this experience of Mariupol will serve as a model for other communities as well.
People who lost their homes due to Russian aggression will have the opportunity to receive much-needed housing. This is a unique example for Ukraine of joining efforts.
Construction is scheduled for completion in 2027. Bila Tserkva will become the first city to implement one of the six projects aimed at providing housing for approximately 10,500 people in total.
Demand, however, remains far greater than the housing currently available. Around 70,000 displaced Mariupol families are supported through the I’Mariupol network, and more than 6,000 families have already applied for social housing.
Mariupol says it now wants to attract enough investment to at least double the number of planned apartments. Discussions are underway with partner governments, as well as the European Investment Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Preparing now for Mariupol’s return
Supporting displaced residents is the immediate priority, but Mariupol is also planning for the future of the city itself. Its work is progressing on two tracks.
The first is a long-term urban vision for the complete reconstruction of Mariupol, based on modern standards of architecture, sustainability and quality of life. The second is a Fast Recovery Plan designed to guide the first phase following de occupation. It covers 12 areas and more than 150 projects and envisages mobilising around 14,000 specialists and 650 pieces of equipment.
The experience gained from today’s social housing projects will become an important part of that future recovery. New approaches to social housing, financing, neighbourhood planning and community services will be tested now and later adapted to the reconstruction of Mariupol. Just as importantly, keeping people connected today increases the chances that the community itself can help rebuild the city tomorrow.
The city administration’s long-term ambition is not simply to reconstruct what has been destroyed. It wants Mariupol to return as a modern, inclusive and economically sustainable city, built to high European standards and able to offer residents a good quality of life when they return.
For Mariupol, rebuilding the city will mean much more than reconstructing streets and buildings. It means preserving the community that will one day bring them back to life.
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Find out more about the Mariupol City Military Administration’s My Home.Ukraine initiative, developed with the Ukrainian government and other partners.
While the City of Mariupol is looking to the future, the months ahead will be deeply challenging for people in cities across Ukraine. A cold, harsh winter lies ahead and Russian attacks continue to target Ukrainian energy, heating and water supplies. In response, Eurocities is calling on all European cities to provide direct additional assistance to Ukrainian cities at this critical moment. Find out what support is needed, how it can be provided, and who to contact. If you can act, or already have, we would be grateful if you could share your initiatives with Eurocities. These may inspire other network members to join our community efforts.
