Geography of the new residential housing in Lviv

Abstract

Ukraine has been noted for the most rapid increase of built-up territory area in calculation per capita for the last several decades. Lviv is the second city in the country after Kyiv in the amount of new housing. The peak of housing in Lviv was in 2015. Later, the building rates slightly shortened. Building stock increased to 736.2 thousand m2 in 2019 and residential area provision grew to 22.4 m2 per the person. If 5 years ago the half of homes were constructed in historically formed districts of Lviv, today housing shifts to the periphery, especially in north-western (Holosko district) or southern (Stryiska street or Sykhiv) directions. Shevchenkivskyi and Sykhiv districts are noted for the biggest growth of housing stock in calculation per 1000 inhabitants. Group development on free areas within the housing of the Soviet period is dominating in Lviv. There is also a revitalization of neglected territories of industrial enterprises and warehouses, in particular, the biggest apartment complex Pasichnyy is being built within the southern industrial zones, gentrification processes are tracked in Pidzamche District. There is also building up of garden cooperatives and old military units within the city. The spatial transformation of the city is defined by the highest rates of building up consolidation. The highest consolidation of new housing is in the area of Chornovola-Varshavska and Shevchenka-Zolota streets. Spot residential housing takes place within old downtown districts of Austrian and Polish periods, close to parks and on demolished mansions places in homestead building area. The price of a new home differs five times due to districts: economy class is dominating in the most remote area Riasne with weak transport connection and prevailing industrial functions, and the most expensive apartments are close to the city center (the beginning of Lychakivska, Pekarska, Chuprynky, Novyi Svit streets). Lviv remains to be socially homogeneous like all post-socialist cities, however, tendencies of poor and rich neighborhoods have already appeared. Although new housing is marked for functional intensification (there are service sector establishments on the ground floor; sometimes there is a combination of living and office functions), there is a residential deficit of sociocultural sphere, big public transport problems, and road infrastructure is not adapted to an increasing number of private vehicles. Key words: new residential housing, residential housing, residential area, spatial city transformation, Lviv.