This fascinating book explains the processes of suburbanization in the context of post-socialist societies transitioning from one system of socio-spatial order to another. Case studies of seven ...Central and Eastern Europe city regions illuminate growth patterns and key conditions for the emergence of sprawl. * Breaks new ground, offering a systematic approach to the analysis of the global phenomenon of suburbanization in a post-socialist context * Tracks the boom of the post-socialist suburbs in seven CEE capital city regions – Budapest, Ljubljana, Moscow, Prague, Sofia, Tallinn, and Warsaw * Situates the experience of the CEE countries in the broader context of global urban change * Case studies examine the phenomenon of suburbanization along four main vectors of analysis related to development patterns, driving forces, consequences and impacts, and management of suburbanization * Highlights the critical importance of public policies and planning on the spread of suburbanization
This paper analyzes the patterns of urban growth and land-use change in metropolitan Prague since the collapse of the socialist regime in 1989. The discussion is focused on the growth and dispersal ...of single-family development as the most clearly pronounced shift in the spatial evolution of the Czech capital in the last two decades. The observed processes of residential suburbanization are related to the impact of market forces and planning. The main thesis is that while suburbanization has been fueled by market forces, post-socialist planning has played a significant role in new residential development patterns as well. This argument differs from the view commonly presented in the literature, which renders post-socialist planning weak and inconsequential. The study concludes that while municipal governments in Prague's metropolitan area have been successful in pursuing their individual goals, the attainment of sustainable metropolitan growth objectives requires a level of intergovernmental coordination that has been acutely lacking since the beginning of the transition period.
This chapter lays out theoretical argument, linking suburbanization to key structural forces and factors that underlies the transition of the former socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe ...to a capitalist socioeconomic order. It highlights the decisive influence of neoliberal ideology in this process of societal transformation and the impact of globalization and socialist legacies on the patterns of metropolitan growth. While stressing the distinct characteristics of postsocialist suburbanization that emerged in the period of transition, the author situates the experience of the CEE countries in the broader context of global urban change. Finally the chapter underscores the key challenges facing postsocialist metropolitan areas that are related to the explosive growth of uncontrolled suburbanization, which has dominated metropolitan growth since the collapse of the communist regimes.
This chapter discusses the impact of public policies and planning at national, regional, and local levels of governance on the spread of postsocialist suburbanization. Using the evidence presented in ...the case studies, it highlights similarities and differences in the ways in which the patterns of urban growth have been influenced by the policy choices made by the postsocialist government bodies, and the governments’ universal acceptance of suburbanization as an integral and inevitable process of urban growth under the conditions of capitalism. The chapter concludes by casting a glance at the likely future scenarios for metropolitan growth in the region and linking the possible trajectories of suburbanization to the ways in which societies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) will address key issues that arise from challenges that are specific to the region and from global challenges facing the planet at the dawn of the new millennium.
This chapter summarizes the main features of postsocialist suburbanization on the basis of the evidence presented in our seven cases studies. It highlights the commonalities of the phenomenon as they ...relate to its historical evolution, growth dynamics and trends, and spatial patterns. The chapter discusses further the presence of intraregional variations and reviews a set of key factors that account for differences in the patterns and processes of suburbanization across Central and East European (CEE) metropolitan areas. Metropolitan areas began to emerge in CEE toward the beginning of the twentieth century, marking a period of accelerated industrialization and the growth of capital cities as the administrative and economic hubs of the newly established nation states in the region. The profound social, economic, and political transformation of CEE societies following the collapse of the communist regime initiated a process of sweeping sociospatial adjustments in the fabric and shape of postsocialist cities.
