Czech Housing Estates: Factors of Stability and Future Development

Abstract

Housing estates are one of the most important legacies of the socialist regime and continue to infl uence the shape of Czech towns even today.Despite pessimistic predictions about their future in the early 1990s, they are still a widespread and valued type of housing. This article, unlike other primarily economically oriented studies, analyses the situation and possible future development of Czech housing states by combining three theoretical perspectives from urban sociology: social ecology, the political economy of place, and a culturalist perspective. A contributing factor to the stable situation of housing estates is the ambivalent relationship that exists towards this type of construction, which ultimately never became convincingly stigmatised. Many of the inhabitants of such estates have moreover established fi rm roots in there and their interest in their place of residence is often sustained by a proprietarial relationship towards the fl at they live in. However, some important factors that could cause this to change in the future include the concentration of ethnic minorities in some locations and the risk of the collapse of collective negotiation among occupant-owners. A deep, empirically grounded prognosis of the future of Czech housing estates requires systematic research focused on a specifi c location and designed to capture the overlooked political-economic and cultural dimensions of this issue.

Regeneration of Panel Housing Estates from the Perspective of Thermal Technology, Sustainability and Environmental Context (Case Study of the City of Ostrava, Czech Republic)

“…Sources indicate that, for example, the application of 160 mm ETICS to the facade of prefab residential housing, together with the replacement of windows with insulating glazing, results in a reduction in energy demand reduction of approximately 85% and in The gradual regeneration of panel housing estates in the long term leads to an improvement in the currents of opinion on panel housing estates; regenerated housing estates no longer create a problematic legacy of post-war architectural modernism in the wider context. The polarity of opinion is no longer so radical; the principle of the fundamental rejection of panel housing estates is overlooked and we can currently identify positive and viable ideas that support the renewal of housing estates as a form of post-war modernity [53][54][55][56]. Millions of people in Europe live in panel housing estates.…”

Historical Development of Thermal Protection of Prefab Residential Housing and Its Future, an Example of the Czech Republic

“…A key and current strategy is the European energy "package" until 2030. The new pilot projects focuses on energy efficiency and environmental sustainability [22][23][24][25][26][27]. Renovations of prefabricated residential housing in the Czech Republic were started in the 1980s and focused mainly on improving the thermal protection properties of the external wall using lamella cladding with infill thermal insulation (Figure 1c).…”

“…A key and current strategy is the European energy "package" until 2030. The new pilot projects focuses on energy efficiency and environmental sustainability [22][23][24][25][26][27].…”