Post-conflict housing in Ukraine: The Baugruppen model as a catalyst for sustainable urban regeneration

The aim of the study was to analyse the possibilities of applying the Baugruppen model in Ukraine as a tool for affordable housing and post-war reconstruction, combining legal, institutional, and spatial dimensions. Comparative analysis of legal and policy contexts between the two countries identified gaps in Ukraine’s regulatory environment, such as insufficient municipal authority, lack of financial incentives, and absence of intermediary organisations. This study explored the potential application of the Baugruppen (community-led development) model for addressing modern housing challenges in Ukraine. The paper examined the historical trajectory of cooperative housing in Germany and Ukraine, highlighting how Germany’s supportive legal frameworks and institutional mechanisms had fostered Baugruppen initiatives. Using the Vauban district in Freiburg, Germany, as a case study, the research demonstrated how participatory design, ecological principles, and collaborative governance contributed to the success of Baugruppen projects. The findings underlined the need for Ukraine to reform its housing policies, incorporating lessons from Germany’s Baugruppen model, and highlighted the possibilities for cooperation between municipalities, local communities, and international partners to create conditions for Baugruppen projects. It was determined that these changes should encompass a reorientation of land-allocation policies, the introduction of concept-based tendering mechanisms, and the establishment of new development frameworks, in which end users were directly involved in decision-making processes and exert a substantially greater influence over project outcomes. If such institutional gaps were addressed, the model could help Ukraine rebuild destroyed housing, provide homes for displaced people, and support sustainable urban development in line with national and international reforms