The Potential of Territorial Communities as a Factor of

Socio-Environmental Development of Territories

VITALII SEROHIN

Department of Constitutional and Municipal Law, Law School,

V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University,

4 Svobody Sq., 61022, Kharkiv,

UKRAINE

SVITLANA SEROHINA

Department of State Building, Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University,

77 Pushkinska St., 61024, Kharkiv,

UKRAINE

IRINA BODROVA

Department of State Building, Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University,

77 Pushkinska St., 61024, Kharkiv,

UKRAINE

HALYNA HRYTSENKO

Department of Civil, Commercial and Financial Law, Poltava Law Institute,

Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University,

77 Pushkinska St., 61024, Kharkiv,

UKRAINE

OLENA OMELIANENKO

Department of Business Economics and Administration,

Sumy State Makarenko Pedagogical University,

87 Romenska St., 40002, Sumy,

UKRAINE

Abstract: - The aim of the article was to examine the potential of territorial communities as a factor in the

socio-environmental development of territories. Comparison and observation were the main methodological

tools.

The conducted research revealed that the potential of territories in the EU countries serves to increase the

capacity of communities in the field of decentralization and socio-environmental development. A public energy

system in Oberrosphe, which is based on communal heating, is promising. The project of the city of Tartu

which provides for the involvement of the population in the conservation and restoration of biodiversity is

worth noting. The appropriateness and potential of using the integrated modification methodology (IMM) in the

development of design for sustainable urban development were established. The design maximizes the use of

the potential of territorial communities, social and environmental levers. The Porto di Mare eco-project in

Milan, which provides for the transformation of a polluted and degraded area into a self-sufficient ecological

and social territory with the involvement of territorial potential deserves consideration. Similar initiatives can

be implemented in Ukraine in the context of sustainable development of the country in the course of post-war

socio-environmental restoration of the affected territories.

Key-Words: - “green” economy, ecological potential, environment, social groups, sustainable development.

Received: September 4, 2022. Revised: January 13, 2023. Accepted: February 14, 2023. Published: March 7, 2023.

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.17

Vitalii Serohin, Svitlana Serohina,

Irina Bodrova, Halyna Hrytsenko,

Olena Omelianenko

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

197

Volume 19, 2023

1 Introduction

Humanity’s collective ecological footprint is

growing under the influence of population growth

and unsustainable consumption rates. The

transformation has intensified over the past

consequences. The changes include increasing CO2

and global temperature, rapid loss, and degradation

of nature. Increased erosion, reduction and pollution

of natural resources, increased probability of floods

and droughts, reduction of biodiversity, and loss of

aesthetics and recreational functions are also

negative markers. The COVID-19 pandemic,

military conflicts, and a resultant sharp change in

human activity become a clear impulse for the shift

in anthropogenic disturbances. Russia’s invasion of

Ukraine and active hostilities aggravated the energy

crisis, [1]. This modifies some of the persistent

human impacts on land, water, and the atmosphere,

,[2]. Current shocks combined with unsustainable

urban and rural development create challenges for

settlements, exposing their vulnerability and

inadequate governance paradigms, [3]. Recovery

after the economic impacts of the pandemic and

military conflicts and a simultaneous accelerated

transition to a “green” economy requires collective

efforts. This problem can be solved through high-

quality state management and ecologically oriented

activities of local authorities.

The potential of territorial communities is a

factor in the socio-environmental development of

their territories. Socio-environmental development

is supposed to mean the implementation of

environmental solutions, which use ecosystem

processes to meet social needs, [4]. The issue of

effective and rational use of the property of the

territorial community is particularly relevant, [5].

There is a strong connection between social and

environmental sustainability, which is especially

necessary for social groups whose means of

subsistence depend on environmental potential, [6].

Knowledge of governance and social innovation has

become an integral part of the study of socio-

environmental development, [7]. Socio-

environmental development of territorial

communities should be based on evolutionary and

social aspects, consciously research human

adaptation to the environment and human-induced

changes in the environment, [8].

In view of the foregoing, the aim of the article is

to consider the potential of territorial communities

as a factor in the territories’ socio-environmental

development. The aim involved the following

research objectives:

1) determine the modern trends in ensuring a

sustainable ecological future required for the socio-

environmental development of territories;

2) categorize in progress the state, problems, and

prospects of the territorial communities’ potential as

a factor of socio-environmental development in the

EU countries and Ukraine with the aim of further

implementation of the relevant tools and practices

for the post-war socio-environmental recovery of

Ukraine.

2 Literature Review

The work, [5], became the main implement and the

background for this research. The study was focused

on the analysis of the peculiarities of

decentralization in Ukraine. Special attention is paid

to the research of the goals of the reform at different

levels of public administration and the actual

condition of legislative support for decentralization

in Ukraine. The risks of forming united territorial

communities and the main trends were identified in

this research. The need to use a comprehensive

approach to ensuring employment, effective

management of territorial communities’ property,

spatial planning, and use of natural resource

potential is emphasized. The problems of organizing

the functioning of the social sector in territorial

communities are considered.

The study, [7], had an influence on the author’s

attitude toward the issue under research. The authors

held an all-round analysis of the aspects of territorial

development and social sustainability. The

problematic issues arising during the

implementation of social, political, and cultural

components of sustainability and socio-

environmental development were considered. The

findings of [9] on the essence of the united

territorial community as a subject of managing

socio-environmental development were taken into

account in the course of the research. The strengths

and weaknesses of local development were

analysed. Proposals regarding the strategic plan for

the development of the territories of united

territorial communities were developed. The study,

[10], deals with the state of the strategic vision, and

compliance with regulatory documents that govern

the development of united territorial communities.

Certain features and additional tools that will

contribute to the successful implementation of the

strategy were also studied. It was concluded that it is

necessary to find prerequisites for increasing

investment attractiveness through the potential of

united territorial communities.

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.17

Vitalii Serohin, Svitlana Serohina,

Irina Bodrova, Halyna Hrytsenko,

Olena Omelianenko

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

198

Volume 19, 2023

The findings of [11] on a new approach to urban

socio-environmental design are worth noting. Urban

form, institutions, discourse, and accessibility

design, which connect people with nature and each

other and contribute to urban changes, are

considered. The work, [8], was used when shaping

the author’s position. It emphasizes the

environmental consequences of human influence on

natural potential. The authors made a detailed

analysis of approaches to modelling global

biodiversity, which is focused on direct

anthropogenic influence. A significant uncertainty

regarding the consequences for the environment and

the population, as well as the lack of

recommendations on biodiversity conservation

strategies, was noted.

The studies, [5], [12], covered the issues related

to district-level integrated actions. The immixtures

for the sustainable provision of services and the role

of the potential of urban areas in initiating urban

transformations are analysed.

The article, [13], on how rural communities are

addressing each of the problems identified in the

European Green Deal at the local level is worth

noting. The author emphasized the importance of

developing eco-villages. The author focused on the

need to orient the rural community to inclusive

development and joint planning of a sustainable

future.

The work, [1], presents an analysis of the impact

of the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war

against Ukraine on the global economy. The

importance of greater diversification of energy

sources and reliance on local potentials in the

development of renewable energy sources was

noted.

The active research of the issues chosen in the

article confirms that the potential of territorial

communities as a factor of social and ecological

development of territories requires special attention.

The diversity of studies in this field is also stated. It

is needful to conduct a study according to new

research criteria.

3 Methods

The research results were obtained through a set of

practical tools and scientific methods tested at each

stage of the research.

Comparison and observation were the main

practical methodological tools. A comparison was

used to identify the variability of aspects of the

involvement of economic entities and social groups

by territorial communities in the socio-

environmental development of territories. The

observation was applied to generalize the types of

the potential of territorial communities in the

context of achieving the declared sustainable

development goals. Both of these practical methods

were used for determining effective vectors of the

post-war socio-environmental development of the

territories of Ukraine in the context of territorial

communities’ effective practices in Europe. The

practical methodological tools helped to predict the

preliminary mechanisms of effective

implementation of the EU practice in Ukraine.

The method of system analysis enabled

achieving the aim and fulfilling the research

objectives set in the article, as well as to

differentiate elements of the studied subject, in

particular when identifying the features, properties,

and characteristics of the legal regulation of the

interaction of the territorial communities’ potential

with the territories’ development confirmation. The

historical method was used during the study of step-

by-step transformations of the territorial

communities’ influence in the context of the socio-

environmental development of territories in the

realities of property management. This method

makes it possible to identify the modern tendencies

in the transformational evolution of the territorial

communities’ potential.

The historical legal method was applied to

identify the promising determinants of international

cooperation in the field of post-war restoration of

Ukraine.

The methodological tools listed below were used

during the research: abstract logical analysis — for

theoretical generalization and substantiation of

research directions and results; dialectical method,

theoretical generalization – for identifying

regularities in the interpretation of basic concepts

underlying theoretical aspects of legal regulation of

territorial development programs and the

involvement of territorial communities in these

programs; system and statistical analysis —

to analyse and evaluate the activities of territorial

communities.

The regulatory acts and documents in the area

under research were interpreted through the formal

legal method. The functional method opened up the

opportunity to describe the activities, tasks, and

main prospects in the sphere of interstate

partnership in view of the realities and

transformations of approaches to the socio-

environmental development of territories in the

context of the impact of military operations on the

territory of Ukraine on global socio-environmental

processes. The dogmatic method was used to draw

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.17

Vitalii Serohin, Svitlana Serohina,

Irina Bodrova, Halyna Hrytsenko,

Olena Omelianenko

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

199

Volume 19, 2023

conclusions in line with the aim of the research and

the outlined objectives.

4 Results

Socio-environmental development of territories

should be carried out by using the potential of

territorial communities. The territorial potential is

supposed to mean the capabilities of residents of

territorial communities, which are related to work

and life processes. This definition also includes the

participation of local institutions in the

configuration of development and day-to-day

activities together with participation and

inclusiveness plans. Knowledge, skills,

relationships, values, motivation, and conditions

allow individuals, organizations, and institutions to

perform their functions and achieve the

development goals there were made responsible.

Development potentials are elements that make up

the structure of a territory, based on issues ranging

from physical characteristics to elements of identity.

Figure 1 demonstrates examples of the potential of

territorial communities.

Fig. 1: Potentials of territorial communities

The European Union established the administrative,

fiscal, and political independence of local

authorities, [14]. Local and regional

authorities (LRAs) are playing an important role in

all policy spheres. Their actions have a major

impact on supporting the European Green Deal and

climate neutrality.

Policy instruments such as the European Fund

for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+), the

New Leipzig Charter, the Climate Neutral and

Smart Cities Mission, and the New European

Bauhaus are used. They help in the socio-

environmental development of amalgamated

territorial communities. The development and

implementation of tools aim to achieve more

HUMAN CAPITAL

POTENTIAL

considers the analysis of the

demographic background and

existing relations with production

factors. It reveals what

opportunities the residents have

and how adequate the territory is

for their development.

FINANCIAL POTENTIAL

refers to the identification and

description of units capable of

supporting the exploitation of the

community's factors of

production. This requires

recognition of the initiatives of

existing corporate, financial and

credit institutions, both public

and private.

PRODUCTION POTENTIAL

is related to units, activities,

production chains necessary in

the organization, exploitation of

production factors that make up

the production structure in the

territory. It also relates to the

actions of residents, which are

based on their resources and

skills

MATERIAL POTENTIAL

consists of basic services,

housing and equipment. It

considers the establishment of

the characteristics, use,

availability, quality of the

specified elements in the territory

as part of the assets within the

framework of the economic

structure for the community

development

SOCIAL CAPITAL

POTENTIAL

involves the analysis of

relationships, networks of

residents in the territory with the

aim of developing the activities

of the territory, paying special

attention to collective actions

NATURAL RESOURCE

POTENTIAL

It includes landscape, relief, land

resources, hydrological and

climatic conditions, minerals,

nature reserve fund. Attention

must be paid to the types of use

to establish relationships and

relevance to the activities of the

community

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.17

Vitalii Serohin, Svitlana Serohina,

Irina Bodrova, Halyna Hrytsenko,

Olena Omelianenko

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

200

Volume 19, 2023

ecologically clean and more socially liveable cities.

For example, the New Leipzig Charter, [15],

provides a key political background for the

sustainable development of European cities. The

Charter determines three characteristics of ideal

cities – green, fair, and productive. Digitization is a

necessary component of implementation. An

important factor in this process is the optimal

practice of the potential of territorial communities.

The EU will direct its efforts to support efficient and

smart agriculture because of the military aggression

of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, [16].

This is required to minimize or avoid repurposing

land for food or energy production. This should be

done both inside the country and in other developing

countries. Besides, the EU can play an active role in

assisting Ukraine in its increasingly dangerous

environmental situation.

In November 2022, the European Commission

approved funding of over €380 million for 168 new

projects across Europe, [17]. The projects are aimed

at supporting biodiversity, restoring nature, and

circular economy. These initiatives will contribute

to the transition to clean energy across the continent.

Territorial potential should be used to the maximum

possible extent. The priority tasks of local self-

government bodies include the creation of nature

conservation areas, and the increase of vegetation

areas, which is a component of the planning of open

spaces and microdistricts, [14]. The goal of the

European project urbanLIFEcircles is to improve

city-wide biodiversity management in Tartu

(Estonia) by involving human potential, [18]. Tartu

implements the project in cooperation with Aarhus

and Riga. Planned activities include the involvement

of the population in the work on conservation and

restoration of biodiversity. Together with partners,

the project will improve the diversity of green

spaces and the functioning of green corridors, and

also improve the accessibility of the rich natural

environment of the city. Information about

biodiversity will be disseminated among city

residents. The project involves cooperation with

private gardeners. The budget of the project is € 3.7

million, it is expected to be completed by 2027.

The European Green Deal requires a significant

response from rural Europe. The agricultural sector

is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions. It is

directly related to the reduction of biodiversity and

the threat to water quality in Europe. To promote a

circular economy, one of the Spanish projects will

promote hybrid tractors for use in vineyards and

gardens. This will help to reduce fuel costs by 45%

and lubricant use by 30%. Community heating

initiatives often become the basis for public energy

developments in rural areas of the EU countries. For

example, they have been successfully implemented

in Germany. There are 240 families living in the

village of Oberrosphe in Hesse. By 2020, almost

half of all households have agreed to receive energy

from a district heating system which is based on the

use of local energy, including wood. The heating

cooperative began to get waste heat from the CHP

plant, which provided about 50% of the heat

demand. This resulted in an annual reduction of

about 700 tons of carbon emissions. Community

households connected to the heating system didn’t

need oil anymore, and there was no longer a need to

pay for the maintenance of oil-fired boilers.

At the same time, the territorial community in

Ukraine fulfills tasks of local importance, [19]. It is

a component of the local self-government system,

the primary subject of local self-government, and

the implementer of its functions and powers, [20]. In

2015, 159 amalgamated territorial communities

(ATCs) were created. In 2020, those settlements that

did not join any amalgamated territorial community

were amalgamated according to the established

criteria. This was a way to approve a new

administrative-territorial system, territories of

territorial communities, and determine

administrative centers. As of January 10, 2022,

1,470 communities, 136 districts, 119 district

councils, and 119 district state administrations were

established in Ukraine, [21].

Local development of territorial communities of

Ukraine should be based on the location and socio-

economic development of territorial communities.

These processes should be carried out through the

use of endogenous potential. Territorial

communities of Ukraine are elaborating

development strategies for the purpose of

sustainable development. There is a document that

is based on the strategic planning of state regional

policy, [22]. The strategy sets long-term strategic

and operational goals and objectives for the

sustainable economic, social, and environmental

development of the territorial community. Such

strategies are implemented on the basis of action

plans for their implementation, which are approved

by the relevant village, settlement, and city council.

The system of monitoring and evaluation of the

implementation of the development strategy of

territorial communities is a special focus.

Ukraine has created the conditions for the

implementation of the Strategic Environmental

Assessment (SEA), [23]. The main component of

the vision of the progress of territorial communities

of Ukraine is improving the state of the

environment. Figure 2 presents the environmental

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.17

Vitalii Serohin, Svitlana Serohina,

Irina Bodrova, Halyna Hrytsenko,

Olena Omelianenko

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

201

Volume 19, 2023

weaknesses identified in the course of SWOT

analysis (strategic planning method) in cities and

villages, [24].

Fig: 2: Factors of the negative state of the environment of the territories of cities and towns of Ukraine

Settlement initiatives, especially in the context of

effective use of property, are an example of

successful practices of socio-environmental

development through the use of community

potential. The powers of territorial communities in

the field of the communal property include

ownership and disposal in their own interests of

property that belongs to them both directly and

through local self-government bodies, [20]. In 2022,

four communities of the Poltava region signed a

contract on cooperation in the establishment of a

joint utility company for the development of the

waste management system, [25]. The financial

potential of the territorial community can be

involved in joint financing (maintenance) of

communal enterprises. In 2022, the Polianska

Village Community of the Zakarpattia region signed

inter-municipal cooperation agreements with 16

nearby communities on the creation of a waste

sorting plant for 80 jobs. The volume of investment

in construction is €12 million. The future plant will

process about 60,000 tons of waste per year.

Moreover, one hundred percent processing is

expected. The plant should produce about 3

thousand tons of fuel for industrial furnaces every

year from plastic, [25].

Territorial communities can also direct the funds

of local budgets for the implementation of

innovative projects, by allocating, for example, a

share of the land potential of the community. The

Piadytska Village Community of the Ivano-

Frankivsk region receives about 30% of the funds

from special technology for growing blueberries on

an allocated plot of 16 hectares. The drip irrigation

system was purchased through the USAID DOBRE

program. In 2022, the community will use its

equipment to repair the road, make drainage, and

widen riverbeds having used ₴20 million from the

local budget. The problem of flooding was also

solved. The Prylisnenska Community in Volyn

united the community’s natural resources and

human potential for socio-ecological development,

[26]. Besides, it was able to successfully lease a

share of land and attract investors. More than 65%

of the territory of the community is under forests,

which are most suitable for growing berries.

Currently, almost 20% of the population of the

community is engaged in berry cultivation. Human

potential is increased because young people who

worked abroad began to return to the community.

There are also investors who lease land and invest in

berry cultivation in the community. The utility

company also earns by helping the investor with the

cultivation of the land. As a result, the community

began to receive revenues that finance kindergartens

and leisure centers. One of the main goals of the

development strategy of the Prylisnenska

community is the creation of a berry cluster, which

lack of research on the effect of the state of the environment on the health of residents of territorial

communities

pollution rates of big and small rivers, lack of water network improvement programmes

incoherence of social, economic, urban planning and ecological aspects of development, inadequate

development of environmentally safe types of transport

high air emission rates from industrial enterprises and transport

solid waste landfills, which have almost exhausted their resources, lack of an effective solid waste

management and recycling programme

the problem of accumulated industrial waste, a low level of their processing

location of large industrial enterprises in the centre of cities, lack of alternative water supply

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.17

Vitalii Serohin, Svitlana Serohina,

Irina Bodrova, Halyna Hrytsenko,

Olena Omelianenko

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

202

Volume 19, 2023

was developed in cooperation with U-LEAD.

Another, larger-scale goal of the community is the

creation of profitable production of an alternative

source of energy — wood chips — financed from

the local budget of the community.

Strengthening the role of business in solving

social and environmental problems is an example of

expanding the socio-environmental orientation of

using a municipal property. Zaporizhzhia uses waste

heat from PJSC “Zaporizhstal” to provide a hot

water supply to the city’s districts. This initiative

also contributed to solving environmental problems

in addition to helping the population in solving

social needs. In 2018, the volume of natural gas

replacement amounted to 15.559 MCUM, a

reduction of greenhouse gas emissions into the

environment — 5.0%. In 2019, respectively, 10,820

MCUM (4.1%), and in 2020 — 2,670 MCUM

(1.7%), [27].

Current interconnected crises seriously threaten

the implementation of the SDGs by 2030, [26].

Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine led to

the large-scale destruction of energy infrastructure

and the infrastructure of populated areas of Ukraine.

The war caused damage to Ukraine’s environment

of over ₴1.35 trillion, [26]. The number of

pollutants in the atmospheric air exceeded 67

million tons. 3 million hectares of forests were

affected, and about a third of the territory of Ukraine

will require demining. The currently mined dam of

the Kakhovska HPP and the nuclear threat at the

occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP is one of the biggest

dangers at the moment.

The restoration of the affected territories

becomes a necessary direction in Ukraine in view of

Russia’s military aggression. A set of priority

organizational, financial, social, environmental, and

other measures are being developed in the country.

They are aimed at the accelerated restoration of

critical and social infrastructure, and residential and

public facilities. These facilities should become

ready for the return of internally displaced persons

and refugees to the region, and favourable

conditions should be created for the activities of

business entities. Special functional types of

territories are determined accordingly, [22], [28].

They include restoration areas. These are territorial

communities on the territory in which hostilities

took place. These are also territories that are

characterized by a sharp deterioration in the level of

socio-economic development.

Territorial communities with significantly better

geographical, demographic, and socio-economic

indicators of development compared to other similar

territories of the region are regional poles of growth.

The level of socio-economic development is low in

territories with special conditions for development.

Or there are natural, demographic, international,

security, or other objective restrictions on using the

potential of the territory for development. Self-

sufficient territorial communities with existing

socio-economic potential are territories of

sustainable development. They are capable of

balanced economic, social, and environmental

development. In July 2022, in Ukraine, the National

Council for the Recovery of Ukraine from the War,

[29], developed the Draft Ukraine Recovery Plan.

The Environmental Safety working group was

created to deal with ecological restoration issues.

The post-war recovery of cities, rural areas, and

their communities must take into account all current

social, economic, and environmental factors.

5 Discussion

It can be concluded that world integration and

globalization processes require the implementation

of the idea of sustainable development. Sustainable

development is supposed to mean an equilibrium

between the reception of the needs of mankind and

protecting the needs of future generations, [10]. The

sustainability of the territorial community reflects its

ability to accumulate and effectively use the existing

potential. The territorial community identifies and

uses the reserves to meet the current needs, and

ensure the development of the territory and the

competitiveness of the community in the short and

long run, [9].

It can be stated that the understanding and

assessment of interdependencies and feedback links

between social and environmental systems is an

important link in advancing the necessary social

transformations. The concept of sustainable

development emphasizes the need to ensure the

existence of social and environmental systems to

support human life, [6]. These relationships must be

recognized both locally and globally. This enables

the development and implementation of effective

management systems and institutions, [30].

According to researchers, a completely new look at

territorial planning and the use of territorial

potential based on awareness of the value of nature

is required. A clearer understanding and awareness

of the benefits of nature for people and the

ecosystem, in general, is becoming important.

It can be stated that an important link in

advancing the necessary social transformations is

the understanding and assessment of

interdependencies, and feedback links between

social and ecological systems. The concept of

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.17

Vitalii Serohin, Svitlana Serohina,

Irina Bodrova, Halyna Hrytsenko,

Olena Omelianenko

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

203

Volume 19, 2023

sustainable development emphasizes the need to

ensure the existence of social and ecological

systems to support human life, [6]. These

relationships must be understood and recognized

both locally and globally. Only then will it be

possible to develop and implement effective

management systems and institutions, [30].

According to the researchers, a completely new look

at territorial planning and the use of territorial

potential is needed, based on awareness of the value

of nature. It was established that a socio-

environmental focus is necessary to regulate the

sustainability of the ecosystem, which returns to the

human system through ecosystem services, [2]. The

socio-environmental treatment to the development

of a sustainable development strategy of territorial

communities becomes an important innovative

mechanism. It will help communities to realize their

potential based on the sustainable development

concept. A policy discourse sensitive to climate

change, the ongoing global loss of biodiversity is

required to increase the sustainability of urban

socio-environmental systems, [11]. It should also be

sensitive to the social potential that the urban

framework can provide.

It can be concluded that the main component of

the vision of the city’s development is the

improvement of the environment. The Porto di Mare

eco-district is a possibility to show the potential

results of the sustainable recovery for territorial

low-carbon energy planning strategies, [12].

According to the researchers, significant socio-

environmental development will affect most of the

city.

The example of Oberrosphe village in

Hesse (Germany) demonstrates the use of the

territory’s potential, and the diverse nature of

initiatives and institutional forms. It paves the way

for Green Deal results in rural Europe, [13].

It can be stated that military conflicts cause the

devastation of territories and communities, and the

destruction of territorial potential. This results in a

deteriorated quality of life in view of instability. In

this case, the responsibility for ensuring socio-

environmental sustainability should be a nationwide

consensus, [31]. The framework of a prosperous

solution to the socio-environmental objective is

strengthening the principles of equal international

cooperation. It is closely related to many worldwide

matters of the progress of civilization, and above all

to the problem of war and peace, [32].

6 Conclusions

Ensuring the growth of citizens’ well-being is the

primary right direction of the evolution of

democratic states. This aim can be reached through

high-quality public administration. The interaction

of society with the surrounding natural environment

is changing in order to ensure a sustainable future.

Strategies for the sustainable development of

territorial communities are implemented in the

context of socio-environmental growth.

The main component of the vision of the

development of EU cities and towns is improving

the state of the environment and the social sphere. In

this context, the reuse of old territories takes on a

new significance for cities. The regeneration of

these spaces with the intensification and mixing of

their uses can create sustainable urban spaces that

improve the excellence of existence. The application

of an integrated modification methodology (IMM) is

becoming mandatory in the elaboration of

sustainable urban development design. The main

goal of IMM design is the enhancement of the

environmental characteristics of complex adaptive

city systems by modifying their components and

optimizing architecture. The social lever of IMM

design depends on services, assistance, healthier

lifestyles, solidarity, and sharing. The Porto di Mare

eco-district project in Milan is an example of

combining economic, social, and environmental

aspects in the course of sustainable urban

regeneration.

Ukraine’s territorial communities are elaborating

on sustainable development strategies. One of the

strategic courses of the progress of territorial

communities in Ukraine is a healthy environment

and resource conservation. International projects

and programs provide assistance in achieving the

socio-environmental progress of territorial

communities. Urban and rural communities of

Ukraine implement successful practices of socio-

environmental development through the use of

community potential. Russia’s military aggression

continues to damage the environment,

infrastructure, housing, energy, and other facilities.

The restoration of the affected territories is the

necessary direction of socio-environmental

development in Ukraine.

References:

[1] Zakeri, B., Paulavets, K., Barreto-Gomez, L.,

Echeverri, L.G., Pachauri, S., Boza-Kiss, B.,

Zimm, C., Rogelj, J., Creutzig, F., Ürge-Vorsatz,

D., Victor, D. G., Bazilian, M. D., Fritz, S., Gielen,

D., McCollum, D. L., Srivastava, L., Hunt, J. D.,

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.17

Vitalii Serohin, Svitlana Serohina,

Irina Bodrova, Halyna Hrytsenko,

Olena Omelianenko

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

204

Volume 19, 2023

Pouya, S. Pandemic, War, and Global Energy

Transitions, Energies, Vol.15, 2022, pp. 6114,

https://doi.org/10.3390/en15176114 URL:

https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/17/6114

[2] Gaiser, E. E., Kominoski, J. S., McKnight, D. M.,

Bahlai, C. A., Cheng, C., Record, S., Wollheim,

W. M., Christianson, K. R., Downs, M. R.,

Hawman, P. A., Holbrook, S. J., Kumar, A.,

Mishra, D. R., Molotch, N. P., Primack, R. B.,

Rassweiler, A., Schmitt, R. J., Sutter, L. A. Long-

term ecological research and the COVID-19

anthropause: A window to understanding social–

ecological disturbance, Ecosphere, Vol.13, No.4,

2022, pp. e4019, https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4019

[3] Krueger, E. H., Constantino, S. M., Centeno, M.

A., Elmqvist, T., Weber, E. U., Levin, S. A.

Governing sustainable transformations of urban

social-ecological-technological systems, NPJ

Urban Sustainability, Vol.2, 2022, аrticle number

10, https://doi.org/10.1038/s42949-022-00053-1

[4] Ushakova, Zh. S., Chvalyuk A. M. Regarding the

determination of strategic priorities of the regional

policy of Ukraine. Manager. Bulletin of the

Donetsk State University of Management. Vol.84,

No.3, 2019, pp. 54-61.

https://doi.org/10.35340/2308-104X.2019.84-3-06

[5] Kravtsiv, V. S., Storonyanska, I. Z. (Eds.).

Territorial communities in conditions of

decentralization: risks and mechanisms of

development, Lviv: State Institution “Institute of

regional research named after M.I. Dolishniy of

NAS of Ukraine”, 2020, Online available from

https://ird.gov.ua/irdp/p20200001.pdf

[6] Deshkar, S., Sukhwani, V., Dakey, S.

SocioEcological Resilience as a Sustainable

Development Strategy for Remote Rural

Settlements in Different Geo-climate Zones of

India, IRDR Working Paper Series, 2019, Online

available from

https://www.irdrinternational.org/uploads/files/BI

CCQxyekFep8fwCsnHUCT0Js4U1wsEpaMugRW

Kf.pdf

[7] Parra, C., Paidakaki, A., Mehmood, A., Van den

Broeck, P. Bringing the social back in sustainable

socio-ecological development. In book: Social

innovation as political transformation. Thoughts

for a better world, Social and Political Science,

2019, pp.148-154.

https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788974288.00050

[8] Cepic, M., Bechtold, U., Wilfing, H. Modelling

human influences on biodiversity at a global scale

– A human ecology perspective, Ecological

Modelling, Vol.465, 2022, pp. 109854,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2021.109854

[9] Dobryanska, N. A., Vechtomova, G. V.,

Dobryansky, R. A., Slyusarchuk, M. United

territorial community as a subject of strategic

planning of territory development, Economic

Journal of Odessa Polytechnic University, Vol.2,

No.16, 2021,

https://doi.org/10.15276/EJ.02.2021.6

[10] Sologub, S. I. Assessment of the state of

development of strategies for socio-economic

development of the OTG, Actual problems of the

development of the economy of the region, Vol.18,

No.2, 2022, pp. 46–56, Online available from

http://lib.pnu.edu.ua:8080/bitstream/123456789/12

628/1/6076-Article%20Text-16990-1-10-

20220629.pdf

[11] Colding, J., Samuelsson, K., Marcus, L., Gren, Å.,

Legeby, A., Berghauser Pont, M., Barthel, S.

Frontiers in Social–Ecological Urbanism, Land,

Vol.11, 2022, pp. 929,

https://doi.org/10.3390/land11060929

[12] Biraghi, C. A., Mauri, T., Mazzucchelli, M. C.,

Sala, E., Tadi, M., Masera, G. Urban Morphology,

Environmental Performance and Energy Use:

Holistic Transformation of Porto di Mare as Eco-

District Via IMM, In: Piselli, C., Altan, H.,

Balaban, O., Kremer, P. (Eds), Innovating

Strategies and Solutions for Urban Performance

and Regeneration. Advances in Science,

Technology & Innovation (pp. 139–152), Cham:

Springer, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-

98187-7_11

[13] Slee, B. Smart Villages and the European Green

Deal: making the connections, The European

Network for Rural Development, 2020, Online

available from

https://enrd.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/enrd_pu

blications/tg6_smart-villages_sv-green-deal-bill-

slee.pdf

[14] UN Sustainable Development Summit.

Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development, 2015, Online available

from https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda

[15] UNDP. Decentralised Governance for

Development: A Combined Practice Note on

Decentralisation, Local Governance and

Urban/Rural Development, 2004, Online available

from https://gsdrc.org/document-

library/decentralised-governance-for-development-

a-combined-practice-note-on-decentralisation-

local-governance-and-urbanrural-development/

[16] European Charter of Local Self-Government. ETS

No. 122, Strasbourg, 15.10.1985. Online available

from https://rm.coe.int/168007a088

[17] EU Ministers. New Leipzig Charter – The

transformative power of cities for the common

good, 2020, Online available from

https://base.citego.org/docs/new-leipzig-charta-

2020.pdf

[18] Tartu City Government. Tartu to create a green

circle of biodiversity, 2022, Online available from

https://tartu.ee/en/news/tartu-create-green-circle-

biodiversity

[19] Boldyriev, S. V., Steshenko, T. V., Frolov, O. O.,

Chyrkin, A. S., Shestopal, S. S. Institutional

transformation of the financial basis of the local

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.17

Vitalii Serohin, Svitlana Serohina,

Irina Bodrova, Halyna Hrytsenko,

Olena Omelianenko

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

205

Volume 19, 2023

self-government, Transformación Institucional de

la Base Financiera del Autogobierno Local

Opcion, Vol.35, No.90-2, 2019, pp. 614–630.

[20] Law of Ukraine of May 21, 1997 No. 280/97-BP,

On Local Self-Government in Ukraine, Online

available from

https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/280/97-

%D0%B2%D1%80#Text

[21] Ministry for Communities and Territories

Development of Ukraine. Monitoring of the reform

of local self-government and territorial

organization of power as of January 10, 2022,

Online available from

https://www.minregion.gov.ua/en/eng-about/

[22] Law of Ukraine dated February 5, 2015 No. 156-

VIII, On the principles of state regional policy,

Online available from

https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/156-19#Text

[23] Protocol SEA UN. Protocol on Strategic

Environmental Assessment to the Convention on

Environmental Impact Assessment in a

Transboundary Context, New York and Geneva:

UN, 2017, Online available from

https://unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/documents/2

017/EIA/MOP7/ECE_MP.EIA_SEA_8_T.pdf

[24] Zaporizhzhia City Council. Strategy for the

development of the city of Zaporizhzhia until 2028,

2017, Online available from

https://zp.gov.ua/upload/content/o_1bvi15shg1mh

9je61iooc13u7ae4.pdf

[25] Decentralization. Catalog of successful practices,

2022, Online available from

https://decentralization.gov.ua/success-stories-

table?area_id=&community_id=&year=&theme_i

d=&article_id=&project_id=

[26] Ukrinform. The community in Volyn is engaged in

berry production and exports abroad, 2022,

Online available from

https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-regions/3396219-

gromada-na-volini-zajmaetsa-agidnim-

virobnictvom-ta-eksportue-za-kordon.html

[27] Zaporizhzhia City Council. Monitoring of the

implementation of the Development Strategy until

2028 and the 1st stage of the Action Plan for its

implementation based on the results of 2018–2020,

2021, Online available from

https://zp.gov.ua/upload/editor/zvit__strategii_roz

vitku_zaporizhzhya__ta_planu_zahodiv__z_ii_real

izacii_2018-2020_roki.pdf

[28] Babin, B., Chvaliuk, A., Plotnikov, O. Attempted

annexation of Crimea and maritime environment

legal protection. Lex Portus, Vol.7, No.1, 2021,

pp. 31-52. https://doi.org/10.26886/2524-

101X.7.1.2021.2

[29] National Council for the Recovery of Ukraine

from the War. Project of the Recovery Plan of

Ukraine. Materials of the working group

“Environmental safety”, 2022, Online available

from https://www.kmu.gov.ua/en/national-council-

recovery-ukraine-war/about-national-council-

recovery-ukraine-war

[30] Hessen, D. O., Vandvik, V. Buffering climate

change with nature, Weather, Climate, and

Society, Vol.14, No.2, 2022, pp. 439–450,

https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-21-0059.1

[31] Suarez, A., Árias-Arévalo, P. A., Martínez-Mera,

E. Environmental sustainability in post-conflict

countries: insights for rural Colombia,

Environment, Development and Sustainability,

Vol.20, No.3, 2018, pp. 997-1015,

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-017-9925-9

[32] Kopytko, M., Grabar, N., Storozhuk, O., Borutska,

Y., Doroshenko, T. Influence of Negative Factors

of War: Economic, Legal, Regional and

Environmental Aspects, International Journal of

Computer Science and Network Security, Vol.22,

No.6, 2022,

https://doi.org/10.22937/IJCSNS.2022.22.6.3.

WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

DOI: 10.37394/232015.2023.19.17

Vitalii Serohin, Svitlana Serohina,

Irina Bodrova, Halyna Hrytsenko,

Olena Omelianenko

E-ISSN: 2224-3496

206

Volume 19, 2023

Contribution of Individual Authors to the

Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting

Policy)

The authors equally contributed in the present

research, at all stages from the formulation of the

problem to the final findings and solution.

Sources of Funding for Research Presented in a

Scientific Article or Scientific Article Itself

No funding was received for conducting this study.

Conflict of Interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare

that are relevant to the content of this article.

Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)

This article is published under the terms of the

Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en

_US