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Bila Tserkva Territorial Community
Kyiv
Population:
The community is located in the Bila Tserkva district of the Kyiv region.
The total area of the community: 394.4 km2
Population: 218,981 people
People of employable age ~ 60%.
Population ratio: women – 54%, men – 46%.
The number of registered IDPs (internally displaced persons) is more than 16,000, of which 8,300 people are of employable age.
The community consists of 17 population centres, including its administrative centre – the town of Bila Tserkva, which has a population of about 210 thousand people, and 16 nearby settlements and villages.
History
The administrative centre of the community is the town of Bila Tserkva (English – White Church), founded in 1032 by Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kyiv. At the time of its founding, the town was called Yuryiv according to the Christian name of Yaroslav the Wise – Yuriy (George). The heart of the town was a mountain with a citadel (castle) placed on it. There was also a white stone cathedral on the mountain – a mandatory attribute of the diocesan centre.
In 1362, Bila Tserkva was joined to Lithuania together with the Kyivan Principality, and after the Union of Lublin (1569), the town became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Bila Tserkva became the centre of the Starostvo (administrative unit in Poland) and the most important strategic point in the south of the country.
In 1589, the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa approved the privileges of the town at the Sejm in Warsaw, granting the White Church and its inhabitants Magdeburg law.
The Bila Tserkva community includes the ancestral village of Hetman of Ukraine Ivan Mazepa – Mazepyntsi.
The tourist gem of the community is Oleksandriya, the State Arboretum of the National Academy of Sciences. It is Ukraine’s largest and oldest arboretum with a total area of about 400 hectares.
It is believed that the construction of the Oleksandriya Park was started in 1787-1788. Europe’s well-known park architects were engaged in the designing of the park, including Muffot and the Italian Dominic Botany.
About 5,000 trees over 200 years old (including approximately 700 introduced trees) grow on the territory of the park. Unique collections of plants include more than 2,500 species and intraspecific taxa of woody and herbaceous plants. The oak forest of the park is the largest of the ancient ones (the average age of the oaks is 250 years, the maximum is over 500 years) and the cleanest of the floodplain oak forests in Ukraine (perhaps even Europe). The large meadow (composite core of the park) occupies an area of 10 hectares.
Economy and Welfare
Competitive Advantages of the Community:
- Advantageous Geographical and Logistical Location
The community is located in the centre of Ukraine and has good transport connections. The distance to the seaport in Odesa is 400 km, to the international airport “Zhuliany” – 82 km, to “Boryspil” – 110 km, to the border with the EU – 640 km.
Priority road and rail transport routes pass through Bila Tserkva and the community, which are designated as the Regional Transport Network of the Eastern Partnership for the Development of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).
- A Favourable Environment for the Development of Creative Industries
Today, creative industries are an integral part of sustainable, safe, ecological, urban development. They accumulate significant human and financial resources around them and accelerate the growth of the community, guarantee structural stability and economic renewal of the community. They are combined with traditional activities – trade, agriculture, processing and chemical industry. Strengthening the cultural and creative potential will retain and attract talent by creating valuable jobs, attract investors, and promote tourism by improving the public image of the territory.
3. Workforce Capacity
The community’s competitive advantage is human capital and a large number of talented young people. Bila Tserkva has university status and great educational, scientific, workforce and innovation potential, which creates additional advantages for investors in terms of starting and running businesses in the community.
- Development of Industrial Parks
The development of industrial parks contributes to the recovery of industry during the war period, and is also an effective tool for meeting the needs of enterprises relocating their facilities to safer regions. Not only do businesses need a site with communications, but also a ready-made space, so that the production, which has lost its premises, can move, install equipment and start work in the shortest possible time.
Currently, 2 private industrial parks located on the territory of the Bila Tserkva urban territorial community – Bila Tserkva 1 and Bila Tserkva 2 – are included in the official State Register of Industrial Parks: the total area of industrial plots is 70 hectares, the total area of industrial and warehouse buildings is 235,400 square meters, 30 assets are expected to be implemented under construction plan, and 4,100 new jobs are planned to be created.
The package of documents regarding the registration of another industrial park in the Bila Tserkva community – Patchwork: Bila Tserkva – is under consideration at the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.
- Business Transparency
According to the results of the Transparent Cities Program, in 2021, Bila Tserkva ranked first in terms of transparency in the field: “Investments and Economic Development”, having obtained the highest economic transparency score among the 100 largest cities of Ukraine.
The “Competitive Economy of Ukraine” Program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the Info Sapiens Company and the Institute of Economic Research and Political Consulting, presented the results of the determination of the second Cities’ Competitiveness Index (CCI). Bila Tserkva ranked 14th out of Ukraine’s 45 largest cities in terms of the quality of business environment in the overall rating, receiving 57.39 points and surpassing most of the regional centres of Ukraine.
Community and War
With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the residents directed all their resources and capabilities to help in the fight against russian aggression. The activity of the townspeople mainly switched to supporting the army, forcibly displaced persons and compatriots who needed help due to difficult life circumstances.
After the start of the full-scale war, the main part of the Mayor’s activities was cooperation with the military stationed in the community, as well as the development of international cooperation in order to attract the European community to help Bila Tserkva. Thanks to the efforts in this area, Bila Tserkva received another partner town – Braunschweig (Federal Republic of Germany) in 2022 and negotiations are underway with several other cities in Europe and North America.
People of the Community
Hennadii Dykyi, Mayor of Bila Tserkva, has been standing at the head of Bila Tserkva (after the decentralization reform – the Bila Tserkva community) for two terms in a row, since 2015 to the present.
In just a few years, in cooperation with international organizations, the street lighting of the community was almost completely modernized and pedestrian crossing lights were installed, which significantly reduced accident statistics. Much attention was paid to international cooperation and investment attraction. For this purpose, Bila Tserkva participated in international rating evaluations and received extremely high scores in several categories.
In 2017, the popular TV show “Ukraine has talent” was won by a 6-year-old girl, Veronika Morska, who impressed the judges and the audience with her singing talent. The girl started singing almost from birth, and Veronika’s insightful performance of folk songs was a discovery.
Development Strategy
The strategy for the development of Bila Tserkva until 2025 is a signpost and an important tool for the transformation of the urban community and, in accordance with the challenges of the 21st century, the result of a wide dialogue and cooperation of various partners: residents of the community, public activists, representatives of the authorities, business circles, entrepreneurs, educators, scientific and expert environment. In total, over 4,000 participants took part in two strategic sessions and eight thematic focus group interviews.
Accordingly, the Strategy is the main document that defines the vision of the community – the business centre of the Kyiv region, a town of dynamic development of entrepreneurship, self-government, education and innovation, a community with a high quality of life.
The “Bila Tserkva 2025” strategy contains four key priorities and corresponding strategic goals:
PROMOTION OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY
- Supporting a proactive approach to business.
- Improving the business climate.
III. Supporting smart specialization.
- Improving the public image of the town and business.
- Reforming the town administration.
INTELLIGENT POWER – BUILDING A SYSTEM OF MODERN EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT
- Open and reasonable management.
STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY IN DEVELOPMENT
- Strengthening the role of the community and citizens.
- Struggling for eradication of corruption.
IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE
- Improving of public services.
- Improving the quality of education.
III. Improving the safety and security of citizens.
- Environment protection.