Short Biography
Solomiia Tkach is a researcher in the field of urban and regional development whose expertise combines economic, urban, and migration dimensions with the spatial analysis of territorial transformations. In 2015, she defended her PhD thesis at the Institute of Regional Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine on the topic “Mechanisms for Managing Investment Activity Risks in the Region.” She serves as a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Spatial Development and as Head of the Department of International Cooperation and Project Activities at the M. I. Dolishniy Institute of Regional Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Solomiia Tkach is the author and co-author of more than 100 scientific publications in the fields of urban and regional development, spatial transformation, and territorial resilience. She has completed research stays at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences and the Institute of Spatial Planning at TU Wien. In 2022, 2024, and 2026, she joined the ISR team as a guest researcher. Her current research focuses on the spatial integration practices of Ukrainian refugees/displaced persons in Vienna and Prague, their residential patterns, everyday use of urban spaces, the formation of local networks and hubs, and the impact of these processes on the transformation of urban districts.
Research areas
- Refugee integration in urban environments and their spatial practices;
- Urban transformation under the influence of forced migration
- Housing policy and urban housing markets in times of crisis
- Sustainable and resilient development of cities, communities and regions
- Post-war reconstruction of cities and regions and recovery policies
Projects
- Spatial Integration Practices of Ukrainian Refugees in European Cities: a Comparative Analysis in the Metropolises of Vienna and Prague (1 April -1 September 2026), Institute for Urban and Regional Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences (ISR), Austria)
- Institutional Instruments for the Development of Agglomerations in the Context of War and Post-War Recovery of Ukraine: The Case of the Carpathian Region (2024–2026, M. I. Dolishniy Institute of Regional Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (IRR NASU)
- Housing Problems of Ukrainian Refugees: A Comparative Analysis of Vienna and Lviv (28 January-28 May 2024), ISR)
- Transformation of the Spatial Development Model of Ukraine’s Economy (2022–2024, IRR NASU)
- Post-War Economic Recovery of Ukrainian Cities Based on the Experience of European Countries (1 May - 1 September 2022), ISR)
- Globalisation Factors and Risks of the Endogenous Development of Ukraine’s Regions (2021–2023, IRR NASU)
- De-shadowing and Using the Potential of the Commercial Services Sector to Ensure the Socio-Economic Growth of Ukraine’s Regions (2020–2021, IRR NASU)
- Transformation of the Urban Economy Structure of the Western Region of Ukraine (2019–2021, IRR NASU)
- Study of the Sustainable Development Potential of the “Tustan” Tourist Destination Based on Cultural Heritage (2020, Ukrainian Cultural Foundation project “Culture Analytics”)
- Human Resource Management in the Process of Intellectualisation of Management Systems in Industrial Enterprises (2017, Lviv Polytechnic National University)
- Forms of Spatial Organisation of Business and Mechanisms for Its Regulation (2016–2018, IRR NASU)
- Directions for the Modernisation of Fixed Assets in the Region (2013–2015, IRR NASU)
- Assessment of Investment Activity in the Region and Identification of Levers to Improve Its Efficiency (2010–2012, IRR NASU)
- Assessment of the Technical and Economic Condition of Infrastructure Facilities and Production Assets by Regions of Ukraine (2011–2012, IRR NASU)
- Monitoring and Assessment of the Investment Attractiveness of the Regions of Western Ukraine (2008–2010, IRR NASU)
- Monitoring the Development of Industrial and Agro-Industrial Territorial Systems in the Western Region of Ukraine (2007, IRR NASU)
Memberships and additional functions
- Member of the Editorial Board of Regional Science Policy & Practice
- Member of the Regional Studies Association
- Member of the urban coalition Ro3kvit
- Co-author of the Culture Development Strategy of the Lviv Urban Territorial Community 2035
- Co-author of the monitoring and evaluation framework for the City of Lviv programme “Responsibility to Be” for the EU competition “European Capital of Culture”
Awards
- Laureate of the Regional Award for Young Scholars and Researchers of the Lviv Regional State Administration and the Lviv Regional Council for scientific achievements that contribute to socio-economic transformations in the region and strengthen the high reputation of Lviv region scholars in Ukraine and worldwide (2017)
- Recipient of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Award Scholarship for Young Scientists (2014–2016)
- Recipient of the Scholarship of the Lviv Regional State Administration and the Lviv Regional Council for talented young scientists and specialists of research institutions of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and higher education institutions of Lviv region (2009)
Recent publications
- Tkach, S., Kohlbacher, J. (2025). Herausforderungen der Wohnungsmarktintegration für ukrainische Vertriebene in den zwei unterschiedlichen urbanen Kontexten von Wien und Lwiw. Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Geographischen Gesellschaft, vol. 167, p.103-138.
- Tkach, S., Kohlbacher J. (2024). Housing market integration of Ukrainian refugees: a comparative analysis of Vienna and Lviv. ISR Research Reports, HEFT 61, Institute for urban and regional research of Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna, 2024, ISBN 978-3-7001-9720-1, DOI: 10.1553/ISR_FB061 (in English, German and Ukrainian).
- Tkach, S., Giffinger, R. (2024). A smart indicator concept for post-war resilient development of Ukrainian cities. Rozwój Regionalny I Polityka Regionalna, 18 (68), 29–49. https://doi.org/10.14746/rrpr.2024.68.04
- Tkach S.M. et al. (2024). Institutional Problems and Challenges of Agglomeration Functioning in Ukraine. Scientific Report. Institute of Regional Research of the aational Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, p. 72
- Resilience of endogenous development of regions in the face of global challenges and shocks: electronic monograph / State Institution “Institute of Regional Studies named after M. I. Dolishnyi, NAS of Ukraine”; scientific editor M. I. Melnyk. Lviv, 2024. 307 p