General

Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine, the center of Kyivskii region and Kyivo-Svyatoshinskii district. Kyiv is subdivided on 14 boroughs:  Vatutinskii, Darnitskii, Dniprovskii. Zhovtnevyi, Zaliznychnyi, Leningradskii, Minskii, Moskovskii, Pecherskii, Podilskii, Radyanskii, Kharkivskii, Shevchenkovskii.

Total area of Kyiv is 83,6 thousand hectares ( 01.01.1999)

An analysis of landed municipal fund structure shows, that a leading place in it belongs to woodsy plantation that occupy a territory by total area 36,1 thousand hectares or 43,2 % total municipal area. Municipal building lands occupy a territory by total area 33,8 thousand hectares that is 40,4 % total municipal area.

Housing construction occupies 6,0 thousand hectares, one- and two-storey buildings occupy 6,0 thousand hectares, three- and higher storey buildings occupy 5,2 thousand hectares. Industrial units occupy 5,9 thousand hectares, public building 5,1 thousand hectares. Streets, squares, quays occupy 5,0 thousand hectares, transport units occupy 2,1 thousand hectares. Green plantations at the lands of general use occupy 7,0 thousand hectares, cemeteries occupy 0,4 thousand hectares, consumer and industrial wastes’ landfills occupy 0,2 thousand hectares.

Water units on municipal territory occupy area 6,7 thousand hectares. Small rivers and brooks occupy 5,1 thousand hectares, lakes and littoral reservoirs occupy 1,1 thousand hectares. Reservoirs, ponds and other small reservoirs occupy 0,4 thousand hectares.

A typical and important peculiarity of Kyiv land is its territorial differentiation: alongside closely built-up old regions‚ there are peripheral territories that covered by vegetation of woodsy or meadows structures. These lands occupy about 50 % territory, they are placed near the future building territories and have an exclusive nature forming and ecological importance and need protection and preservations. At the same time municipal designing organizations have a tendency of municipal building-up on such natural areas. That's why the efforts of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of Ukraine organizations direct to non-admission of depreciating or loss of these ecologically valuable lands of the town.

Specific character of landed municipal possessions is influenced by extraordinary length of littoral stripe that, because of exceptionally big amount of river arms, islands and other reservoirs reaches about 35 km.

A Structure of landed fund (for a special purpose destination) and territorial economy organization is shown in table 1.

History

Geography

Kyiv is situated on both banks of the Dnipro river, in its middle course, below the confluence with its left tributary the Desna river. On the right Dnipro bank Kyiv stretches for 21 km, and on the left bank it stretches for 11 km. Originality and diversity of natural conditions is connected with its disposition at the connection of forest-steppe and mixed forests of geographic zones. The north part of Kyiv is disposed on Poliska lowland, south-western (right-bank) is on Pridniprovska height, south-eastern (left-bank) is on Pridniprovska lowland. A surface of the right-bank part of Kyiv is a raised plateau-formed woodsy plain, dismembered by ravines and gorges, dales of small rivers, the left-bank is a lowland alluvial plain. Typical right-bank relief forms are hills, especially Starokyivska, Pecherska, Schekavytsya, Khorevytsya, Zamkova, Zvirynetska, Chorna, Cherepanova, Lysa, Batyeva, and also ravines: Babyn, Smorodynsky, Kmytiv, Protasiv, Tsymbaliv and others. Exceeding of relative heights on the right bank reaches 100 - 105 m. The left-bank part of Kyiv is a terrace dismembered plain with exceeding of relative heights up to 35 m.

Climate of Kyiv is temperate continental with relatively soft winter and warm summer. The average January temperature is -6,0, -6,1, the average July temperature is +19,1, +19,2. The absolute temperature minimum is -35, the absolute maximum is +40°. The average precipitation is 600 mm a year (from 551 to 628 mm). Relative air humidity is from 51 52% in May to 94 95 % in December. Amount of hours of sun radiance is 1843 a year.

Kyivsky and Kharkovsky water reservoirs influence causes reinforcing of breeze circulation, wind speed change and amount of atmospheric precipitation. The of many years supervisions are taken by 6 meteorological stations.

Within the town the Dnipro river is 400 600 meters wide, 6-12 meters deep; on shoals it is 800 -1000 m wide and 4 -5 m deep. A Freezing-up is from the end of November to the beginning of March. On the Dnipro river there are the sand beaches (best of all is on the Trukhanov island). The Dnipro river forms the numerous river arms (Rusanivka, Desenka), bays (Matviivska, Havan, Staryk), flooded lakes (Radunka, Telbyn). On Kyiv territory there are small rivers: Lybid, Syrets, Vita (the right Dnipro tributaries), Horenka, Nivka (the Irpen river tributaries). Considerable Lybed allotments are taken into collectors, some small rivers, especially Syrets and Nivka form the lakes. Configurations of Kyiv flooded lakes increase while flooding. Areas of lakes’ water plane do not exceed 3 5 hectares. Ice depth in winter is about 60 sm. The highest lakes water temperature is in July.

Littoral areas as a rule are connected with valuable natural bio-complexes of vegetable and animal world‚ have recreation‚ sanitary significance and form a typical urban landscape. However, namely such picturesque tracts suffer from cottage building‚ including that within the water protective zone. Safety of such areas as valuable natural factor is an important task of nature protective organizations.

Kyiv is surrounded by almost continuous forests ring. In the North, North -West and West (mixed forests zone) there are coniferous and leaf-beating forests on the turf-podsol soils. In forest-steppe zone under leaf-bearing forests there are prevail dark-grey , grey and light-grey woodsy soils. Within the town there are considerable natural and artificial forest-parks and parks, especially Puscha-Vodytsya, Golosiivsky and Svyatoshynsky forest-parks. They are also the forest-park on the Exhibition Center territory, Central Park (5 parks alongside the Dnipro river), Glory Park, Victory Park, Pushkin Park, Shevchenko Park, Hydro-Park and some others. The green zone area is 43,6 thousand hectares.

The Kyiv rest zones enter to Dniprovsky-Dnistrovsky recreation region. In Kyiv there are 17 sanatoriums and holiday hotels with cure, 5 houses and rest holiday hotels, a balneological hospital, numerous rest bases and camps for children rest. Health-resort localities are Koncha-Zaspa and Puszha-Vodytsya.

Within the town there are 58 territories and units of naturally reserved fund, including 14 National reserve units.

Industry

Kyiv is one of the main industrial Ukraine centers and also a center of Kyivan agglomeration. A leading place in industrial complex are belonged to complicated and exact machine-building and metal-working, especially machine-tool construction, radio-electronics, optics, aircraft, transport and technological machine-building (production plants “Arsenal", “Bilshovik ", “Electronmash’, “Leninska Kuznya”", “Chervony ekskavator ", “Medapparatura" and others.). Chemical and petrochemical industry is represented by production factories “Khimvolokno", “Darnytsya”, “Ukrlakfarby ", “Ukrpobuthim".

Kyiv is a knot of air, river, motor-car, railway ways.

Kyiv has a power energetic base, building industry, housing-communal economy, developed enterprises network of trade, consumer and catering services. For Kyiv big scales and trade variety of industry is typical.

Kyiv is an important scientific educational and cultural center.