Introducing Belligerative-Recreational Systems: A Spatial Analytical Framework and Clustering Approach for Post-War Smart Specialisation in Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine

Post-war recovery requires new spatial planning approaches capable of integrating the consequences of military impacts with the recreational potential of affected territories. Existing studies have examined belligerative systems and recreational systems separately; however, no integrated spatial category has been proposed to support post-war smart specialisation. The paper introduces Belligerative-Recreational Systems as a new category of spatial systems emerging under the combined influence of military impacts and recreational potential.

The study aims to develop and demonstrate a spatial analytical framework and clustering approach for identifying Belligerative-Recreational Systems in Kyiv Oblast as a basis for post-war smart specialisation planning. The proposed framework integrates recreational objects, areas of recreational attractiveness, natural landscape components, and war-related constraints within a unified GIS environment. Spatial clustering is applied to differentiate Belligerative-Recreational Systems according to their combined characteristics and development potential.

The approach was tested using Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, as a representative post-war region where military-induced landscape transformations coexist with significant recreational resources and diverse natural conditions. The results enabled the identification of distinct clusters of Belligerative-Recreational Systems characterised by different combinations of war-related impacts, recreational attractiveness, environmental conditions, and post-war development potential. These clusters provide an operational spatial basis for supporting smart specialisation and identifying territorial priorities for sustainable regional recovery.

The proposed concept expands the theoretical basis of post-war spatial planning by introducing a new analytical category of spatial systems and demonstrating its practical applicability through a spatial analytical framework and clustering approach.