Morphology of a frontline city: space, time, (re)movement, noise

The author’s research analyzes the morphology of a frontline city not as a sum of destruction and limitations, but as a dynamic system in which spatial, temporal, and acoustic factors are mutually constitutive. Based on participant field observation, with elements of an ethnographic approach, conducted in Severodonetsk (October 2025), the article develops the methodological concept of a “presence regime”. The methodology includes participant observation, field diary keeping, photo and video documentation, informal interviews with residents and volunteers (n = 21), and acoustic monitoring. The theoretical framework is built at the intersection of social morphology (M. Halbwachs, E. Durkheim), the concept of spatial production (A. Lefebvre), and the “new military urbanism” (S. Graham). The presence regime differs from Foucault’s heterotopia in its dynamism, the multiplicity of sources of constraints (military commandant’s office, the topography of destruction, the acoustic field of threats), and the absence of a single center of power. It correlates with de Certeau’s (M. de Certeau) distinction between strategies and tactics, concretizes B. Labelle’s concept of acoustic territories, and opens up opportunities for a comparative analysis of other crisis spaces (emergency zones, quarantine territories, etc.). Within the presence regime, residents develop a mechanism for comprehensive adaptation through four interconnected methods (spatial, temporal, acoustic, and socialnetwork). These methods are viewed as passive survival tactics. Based on these, the author of the article has formulated practical recommendations for organizations working with the population of frontline cities, aimed at a gradual transition to active forms of adaptation (acoustic reconnaissance training, the creation of joint maps of safe routes, the development of local warning systems).