Stages of Settlement Design in Ukraine: District Planning, Master Plan & Development

Settlement design in Ukraine is carried out in four sequential stages, moving from broad regional planning down to the detailed development of individual plots. Each stage resolves a defined set of issues — planning and development, landscaping and gardening — at progressively finer detail, so that decisions made at the regional level guide every later drawing.

What are the four stages of settlement design?

The design of settlements in Ukraine proceeds through four stages, each producing a specific planning document at a defined scale:

1. a district (or regional) planning project;
2. a city planning project, or master plan;
3. a detailed planning project (DPP) for a part of a city or settlement — for example, a residential area with its network of streets;
4. a development project (DP) for the urban territory of residential neighbourhoods, highways, squares, and the public centre.

For small towns and villages, a simplified design procedure applies. In this case the district planning scheme is developed in a generalised manner, and the master plan is combined with the detailed planning project, reducing the number of separate documents required.

What does a district planning project cover?

A district planning project sets the regional framework, drawn up on the basis of natural factors and landscape features of the area while complying with economic, technical, architectural, planning, and sanitary-hygienic requirements. It is the broadest of the four stages and shapes where cities, industries, and recreation areas are located across an entire district.

The first step in a district planning project is preparing the technical and economic basis. This identifies the prospects for the development of the district's productive forces and proposes the location of industrial and agricultural enterprises, power plants, cities, towns, and recreation and tourism areas.

Next, a district planning scheme is developed in the form of a drawing at a scale between 1:5000 and 1:25,000. The scheme is drawn up for two horizons: the development of the district over 10 years (the first stage) and over 25 years (the perspective), so that immediate needs and long-term growth are planned together.

The district planning scheme defines several core elements:

• the settlement system and the estimated population of the district;
• the district's boundaries and zoning;
• the organisation of transport links and engineering equipment of the territories;
• the principles of architectural and planning organisation of the district's cities and towns, taking into account landscape features and the character of development.

The main drawing of the scheme is accompanied by separate plans of settlements, protected areas, and recreation areas, together with an explanatory note. These supporting materials document how the generalised scheme translates into specific localities.

What is a master plan, and how is it prepared?

A city planning project, or master plan, is the main urban planning document for a settlement. It defines the prospects for the development of the city, a comprehensive solution to all its functional elements, and the technical and aesthetic level of its planning and development. Where the district project plans a region, the master plan plans a single city in full.

The order of preparation depends on the size of the city. For the largest cities — those of 500,000 people and above — a detailed planning project is drawn up first, and only then is the master plan developed directly. For small towns, a single combined master plan is prepared, which also includes the technical and economic basis within the same document.

The master planning project assembles a set of drawings and schemes, each at its own scale:

• the main drawing of the master plan at 1:25,000 for the largest cities or 1:5000 for other cities and towns, showing the planning structure of the settlement;
• the layout and panorama of the city at 1:2000;
• a functional zoning scheme;
• a scheme of transport facilities and the main street network;
• a scheme for the location of cultural and consumer services;
• a landscaping scheme;
• plans and maps showing engineering preparation at 1:2000;
• a scheme of the suburban zone.

An explanatory note and technical and economic indicators are attached to the master planning project. Together they justify the design decisions and record the quantitative targets the plan is expected to meet.

What does the detailed planning project add?

The detailed planning project (DPP) clarifies and develops the decisions made by the settlement's master plan for a specific part of the city. It elaborates individual planning zones or districts — including the placement of greening-system elements that serve as recreational facilities for the population — turning the master plan's broad intentions into workable local layouts.

The detailed planning project includes the following materials:

• a scheme showing the location of the projected area within the city system, at 1:5000 to 1:10,000;
• a sketch of the adjacent areas for the first stage of construction, at 1:2000;
• schemes of landscape zoning and vertical planning at 1:2000;
• schemes of engineering preparation of the territory and engineering equipment at 1:2000;
• schemes for the organisation of transport and of cultural and household services;
• landscaping of the residential area, with master plans of individual large objects;
• cross-sectional profiles of streets at 1:100 to 1:200;
• an explanatory note and technical and economic indicators.

The finer scales used in the detailed planning project — down to 1:100 for street profiles — mark the shift from regional schematics toward buildable detail, bridging the master plan and the final development stage.

What is included in the development project?

The development project (DP) is the final stage of designing a city or town. It involves the detailed development of individual plots, neighbourhoods, industrial enterprises, and public and shopping centres, fixing the exact placement of everything that will be built.

At the development project stage the materials are no longer schemes but detailed plans and working drawings. These show the location of buildings and structures, underground utilities, street and driveway layouts, and building layouts, together with drawings of engineering improvements, vertical layout, and engineering equipment with specifications.

A construction estimate is also drawn up at this stage, accompanied by technical and economic indicators and a detailed explanatory note. With the estimate in place, the development project provides everything needed to move from planning to actual construction on the ground.