Central and Eastern European capital cities: interpreting www‐pages – history, symbols and identity

Cultural factors affecting urban planners’ intentions to regulate public space in Prishtina, Kosovo

“…Po njegovem ti »[p]rostorski simboli sooznačujejo zgodovinske dogodke« ter »potrjujejo obstoj preteklih kultur in dokazujejo ,veličastno' preteklost ,zlate dobe' in predhodnosti« (Edensor, 2002: 45). Laura Kolbe (2007) navaja, da so vlade v mnogih postkomunističnih vzhodnoevropskih glavnih mestih podpirale proizvodnjo prostora, ki naj bi ustvaril vtis obuditve prej zatiranega narodovega kulturnega razvoja.…”

From socialist to post-socialist cities: Narrating the nation through urban space

“…As a result, post-socialist urbanism is simultaneously intertwined with efforts to reconcile new urban and national identities with broader "European" or "Eurasian" narratives. While some of this involves rather superficial "place-marketing," campaigns to project global stature and cultural inclusiveness have indelibly impacted post-socialist cities (Czepczyriski 2008;Kolbe 2007).…”

Cultural factors affecting urban planners’ intentions to regulate public space in Prishtina, Kosovo

“…It is noteworthy that a capital city's central district, packed with global retailers, international entertainment venues and skyscrapers, can also be a physical representation of the nation's economic achievement alongside modernisation. Kolbe (2007) further states that many post-communist countries in eastern Europe began setting up new business districts in the capital cities to create the new images of the nation as well as to boost the domestic economy. New official buildings, combining western and traditional architectural styles, could be erected to symbolise the nation's independence as well as its ability to pursue modernisation (Vale, 2006).…”

“…He further states that " [t]he spatial symbols that connote historical events are evidence of past cultures, providing evidence of a glorious past of golden age and antecedence" (Edensor, 2002: 45). According to Laura Kolbe (2007), in many post-communist eastern European capital cities, the countries were committed to producing space that would create an image denoting the resurgence of the nations' previously oppressed cultural development. It is noteworthy that a capital city's central district, packed with global retailers, international entertainment venues and skyscrapers, can also be a physical representation of the nation's economic achievement alongside modernisation.…”