Kyiv: It is time to be different
The article is about the current state of Kyiv quarantine and a Ukrainian way of handling COVID-19ю The text is written during the 7th week of quarantine when measures are to be revised if coronavirus spread declines. According to the latest information the first stage of quarantine relaxation will start on May, 12th.
Current status
The plan to combat coronavirus was adopted on March, 9th and updated on the 10th by the Cabinet of Ministers. The state of emergency was imposed gradually on the territory of Ukraine. It was announced in Kyiv on March, 18th. Law experts argue that the restrictions violate human rights, while the President claims that all those measures are “care” and are far from the violation. The quarantine measures were imposed at the state level, their authorization and localization were delegated to local governors.
- Ukrainian companies are recommended to shift to the remote mode where it is possible
- Shopping malls, cafes, restaurants, beauty and hair salons, sports clubs and cultural establishments are closed. Only supermarkets, grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations and banks are allowed to work. Restaurants are opened for take-away or delivery service only.
- All types of medical facilities deal only with urgent and emergency cases. All planned medical procedures are postponed.
- Public transport is forbidden to carry more than 10 passengers at a time. The subway was closed in all the cities. There are three metropolitans in Ukraine, however, only the two of them in Kyiv and Kharkiv are significant means of urban mobility.
- Intercity transportation of any kind is banned.
- Schooling and daycare are stopped in all educational institutions. They are required to continue the learning process online.
Ukrainians are encouraged to keep self-isolation and avoid close physical contacts with each other. The listed measures were not implemented simultaneously throughout the country. They were accepted by cities’ governments depending on the local situation.
On April, 6th quarantine measures were tightened up. They implied wearing masks in all public spaces, forbid entering parks and playgrounds, walking outside with more than one person by your side (except emergency cases and accompanying children), visits to palliative care institutions, social protection institutions, and social care institutions. Those measures were criticized by law experts as they violate human rights. Furthermore, restricted access to public spaces will have a negative implication on the physical and mental health of citizens who do not possess private houses or cars to enjoy fresh air and nature.
Regulations
Unlike many cities around the world, Kyiv does not track citizen’s trajectories and control the radius from the house. The only exception is retired people (60+ y.o.). Those are allowed to visit pharmacies and other places located within 2 kilometres from the place of self-isolation. According to tightened up limitations, citizens must take their IDs when leaving home. Quarantine rules violation will result in a fine of $629 to $1,259. Observation proves that rules are systematically broken without any fines applied.
Mobility
Even though the metropolitan is the major mean of transportation in Kyiv, it was closed for the quarantine period. Because supplementary to subway lines public transport is undeveloped in Kyiv the only available vehicle is private cars and bicycles. However, the use of the latter can be quite challenging because of hills and danger during the dust storm and smoke from burning fields.
In many cities quarantine seems to make streets empty. This is also true for Kyiv, but with some exceptions. The graph based on the data of Apple users trajectories shows both, walking and driving decreased. However, this decrease is significantly less in comparison to other countries. Since the metro is closed and public transport loses its carrying capacity, connectivity between districts is significantly lower. While central streets look empty and apocalyptic, new-built Kyiv districts on the left bank of Dnipro river look more alive than ever. Residents of high-rises got time to experience the “space between buildings” of their high-density districts.
Even though the issue of poor mobility infrastructure has always been on the surface, Kyiv citizens and activists hope that inspired by other cities’ experience Kyiv municipality will focus on public transport and bicycle infrastructure development.
Healthcare
In Ukraine, 240 institutions have been designated for hospitalization of patients with COVID-19. These are the first wave hospitals that will be the first to receive patients with coronavirus. Even though it is said that hospitals must provide medical workers with personal protective equipment, many of them fail to do it. Citizens and businesses launch crowdfunding campaigns to gather money for masks or do them by themselves. Kyiv municipality provides information about coronavirus safety measures on city-lights and bulletin boards near the porches. However, pharmacies are often out of such basic means as masks, or they are significantly overpriced.
Economics
Government resolution dated by March, 18th implies relaxation of tax policy under quarantine. It includes temporary cancellation of state business control, a moratorium on tax audits and “tax holidays”. According to the survey carried out at the end of March, most Ukrainians are going to face significant financial troubles due to the quarantine. Almost 60% of those polled said that their savings would last for less than a month if they stopped earning income. 16% of respondents said they would have enough savings for up to 2 months. During the first month of the quarantine, the number of registered unemployed in Ukraine increased by a third — up to 400 thousand people.
Under current conditions, ineffective housing policy in Ukraine also puts tenants at risk. From one side, quarantine law forbids the eviction of tenants from flats in case they are not able to pay for housing and communal services. From the other side, people who do not have a lease agreement are insecure in the face of job loss. Regulation of such cases relies solely on ethics and interpersonal relations, while the legal framework has failed to provide right for a home far before the quarantine.
Social justice
Despite calls to #stayhome a lot of Kyiv citizens are unprivileged to follow this rule. The number of homeless people in Kyiv is estimated from 5 to over 20 thousand. Most of them lost decent shelter and access to hygiene infrastructure after public buildings and toilets were closed. Additionally, such people are being marginalized even more since they cannot afford following all the sanitary measures (masks, sanitizers, washing hands and staying home). However, no actions are taken by the local government to support this social group. Homeless receive clothes mostly from organisations or individuals willing to help. The position of Kyiv administration can be illustrated by the recent comment of the director of the Department of Social Policy “I even quarrel with them [- NGOs helping people]. They feed them, clothe them, shelter them [them — homeless]. I say — for what? There will be more of them. We need organizations not to corrupt the homeless. Let them go to work. “
Environmental conditions
During quarantine Kyiv also experienced dust storms and smoke. For several days it was in the top cities with the most polluted air in the world. The fire was caused by farmers burning deadwood. This harmful practice takes place in spring and autumn and leads to large-scale fires which destroy ecosystems and pollutes the environment. This year the fire started in Zhytomyr Oblast and reached the Chernobyl zone. The fire destroyed part of the forests, 12 remote villages, cemeteries. On April 13, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law raising the fine for destroying or damaging vegetation by fire by 18 times.
However, the dust storm is the result of the absence of the green belts in Kyiv, and air erosion of soils and lowering the groundwater level. The dust and smoke were so intensive that citizens were recommended not to open windows and leave their apartment for several days. Ironically, environmental conditions made people keep isolation more effective than any formal rules. Only car-owners had an opportunity to move around the city and leave it for a safer place. Those who could afford to buy air humidifiers were privileged to breathe normally in their apartments.
Change in urban design after COVID-19
Quarantine made the dysfunctionality of Kyiv evident once again. The poor social infrastructure, socio-spatial inequality, unaffordable housing, air pollution constitute the ordinary context of Kyiv citizens. Absence of public spaces and green zones, the impossibility of urban mobility for everyone except car owners makes inequality explicit. Isolation shrank our urban life to our stratification bubbles. The green zone accessible for one can be a forest 100 km away from Kyiv, private yard, city park, balcony in the flat or nothing of mentioned. This logic can be extrapolated for all the life domains where the position of the unprivileged are worsened. Observed conditions of urban life are not the consequences of quarantine, they are results of institutional issues, poor urban management and centralization. The question is whether this evidence will influence urban policy.
If lessons are learned, we should expect rethinking of urban management and planning strategies to achieve a more sustainable, liveable and resilient city. For Kyiv, it means to start from the very basics:
- Development of the public green zones within walking distance. Accessible infrastructure for sport and recreation.
- Creation of hygiene infrastructure: pump rooms, public toilets and showers.
- Focus on public transport, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.
- Provision right to housing by implementing housing policy.
- Decentralization of urban governance, mobility, employment and recreation.
- Community building and strengthening of social cohesion.
- Systematic gathering of diverse urban data for evidence-based decisions and prompt reaction to upcoming challenges.
- Universal urban design and safe public space for representatives of all social groups.
Kyiv is particularly beautiful in May when chestnut, lilac, apple and cherry trees are blossoming all-around. Public works department does seasonal planting of tulips in the centre of road junctions. But beauty makes sense only in case it is affordable for observation, perception and interaction. To enable this, Kyiv authorities must adopt the new paradigm of urban development and management.
