Planning Structure Analysis of Izium Town of the Kharkiv Region of XVII–XVIII Centuries Period in the Context of the Historical Town Planning Studies in 2018

Abstract

A lot of cities located in Kharkiv oblast are in the Register of Historic Settlements of Ukraine. Among them, the town of Izium deserves special attention because of its rich history. However, Izium remains underexplored, which makes the historical research of its urban planning a relevant and important issue . Author presents his research findings of the Izium town area, which he made in 2018 being a member of the civil society organization “POG “Instytut Kulturnoi Spadshchyny” under All-Ukrainian Committee on Protection of Cultural Heritage of Ukraine, participating in the creation of the design and specifications for the Historical and Architectural Outline Plan of Izium in Kharkiv region. It defines the boundaries of the protected areas around historical monuments and historical sites and arrangements for their use. The purpose of the research was to study the historic and architectural processes that took place within the town area in the 17th-18th centuries and to determine the peculiarities of the local urban planning. The object of the research includs the area of Izium listed in the Register of Historic Settlements of Ukraine (dated 1639 (Serdyuk, Bobrovsky, & Kirilenko, 2011, p. 562)), the town plan and landscape. The urban space and structure of Izium became the subject of the research . The author followed the commonly used methodology of historical research on urban planning and historical landmarks preservation (Vecherskyi, 2011). The selected methodology of the research of the historical and architectural heritage of the town became the key success factor. The author examined the town area taking into account major historical milestones and key urban structure elements (industrial settlement, town, railway, town-forming enterprises, the historical center of the town, etc.) The author also used the methodology of historical and architectural evaluation of the city structure (the main criterion was chronological, the secondary criteria were composition and landscape), which helped to estimate the condition of the historical center planning. Based on the retrospective and geographic analysis of archival records, literary sources, maps dated 17th-18th centuries and on-site inspection the author studied the prerequisites of urban planning in the town of Izium and surrounding landscapes of the Siverskyi Donets river valley. The study of previously made research and analysis of historical maps helped to get a more comprehensive picture of the urban development processes occurring at different times within the area and dynamics of the town planning development. The originality of the research is in finding the laws of origin and evolution of Izium town planning patterns in the 17th-18th centuries and major peculiarities of the town’s history. The results and conclusions of the research contributed to the creation of historical and architectural outline plan of the city and the determination of the size and dimensions of conservation areas and specification of their use. The historical and architectural outline plan can be used during the design of the General Urban Growth and Development Plan and zoning of the town area.