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

Abstract

The development of post-socialist cities has emerged as a major field of study among critical theorists from across the social sciences. Originally constructed under the dictates of central planners and designed to serve the demands of command economies, post-socialist urban centers currently develop at the nexus of varied and often competing economic, cultural, and political forces. Among these, nationalist aspirations, previously simmering beneath the official rhetoric of communist fraternity and veneer of architectural conformity, have emerged as dominant factors shaping the urban landscape. This article examines patterns, processes, and practices concerning the cultural politics of architecture, urban planning, and identity in the post-socialist city. In addition to assessing the main contours of this burgeoning field of research, this article highlights how this special issue of Nationalities Papers contributes to a broader understanding of contemporary cultural and political change in post-socialist urban settings.

Public health, physical exercise and non-representational theory – a mixed method study of recreational running in Sofia, Bulgaria

“…This includes deindustrialisation, economic depression and increasing service employment (Hirt, 2012). The effects of post-socialism have been described in many ways as it has unfolded differently across countries from eastern Europe (Diener & Hagen, 2013). Post-socialist urbanism is often characterised by the neglect and privatisation of public space, declining civic attitudes and a rampant sense of individualism (Holleran, 2014).…”

The Production of 'Local Culture' in Post-socialist Poland

“…When it was named after Lenin, in 1967, it was meant to be the material form of socialist ideology. In a political context within which housing blocks and factories were key arenas of ideology (Buchli 1999;Diener and Hagen 2013;Humphrey 2005) the shipyard, as the largest shipbuilding company in the Eastern bloc, was designed to be the location for the creation of a new working class (Jarecki 1985: 24-25). Ironically, in 1980 it became the cradle of the Solidarność movement, and its grounds became the scenario of the strikes that questioned the legitimacy of the socialist state.…”

Incremento de los riesgos geomorfológicos en el espacio urbano de Sarajevo como consecuencia del proceso de suburbanización y las políticas de neoliberalización

“…Los nuevos paradigmas políticos, económicos y financieros surgidos a lo largo de las últimas décadas, en gran parte asociados al proceso de globalización neoliberal (Peck et al, 2009;Theodore et al, 2011) -o si se prefiere, postindustrial (Hyman, 1999)-, han comportado profundos cambios en el modelo de urbanización en las regiones y países 'occidentales' así como, muy especialmente, en aquéllos de Europa central y oriental que pertenecieron al bloque socialista (Borén y Gentile, 2007;Hegedüsa, 2007;Diener y Hagen, 2013;Sýkora y Stanilov, 2014). En términos de planificación y gestión territorial y urbana, la desaparición del bloque soviético comportó la transición del llamado modelo socialista de urbanización (Tosics, 2005), dando paso a un nuevo modelo que tiende a convergir con el capitalista en la que la privatización del suelo y la introducción del mercado libre en términos de desarrollo urbano y promoción inmobiliaria adquirieron una relevancia muy significativa.…”