Post-Utopian Spaces: Transforming and Re-Evaluating Urban Icons of Socialist Modernism

Description

Featuring up-to-date and insightful analyses and comparative case studies from a plethora of countries, this timely book explores ‘ideal’ socialist cities and their transformation under new socio-economic and political conditions after the fall of communism. With contributions from leading scholars in the field, this book prioritises objective scientific knowledge and presents expert rethinking of the historical experience of urban planning in the former socialist countries of Eurasia. It draws on carefully selected examples of iconic cities of socialist modernism, from the post-Soviet space, Central Europe, and the Balkans. The book explores the ongoing transformation of these cities: from uniformed urban environment to chaotic post-modernist planning, from industrialisation to touristification, from deideologisation to making new and still highly contested heritage. Written in an accessible and engaging style, this book will be of interest to students and scholars in urban studies, human geography, sociology, social anthropology, spatial planning, and architectural practice. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables List of Contributors Chapter 1: Introduction: Socialist Urban Utopias and Their Continuing Transformations Changing Perspectives on Socialist Urbanism Planned Socialist Cities: Re-Shaping the Research Agenda Aims and Structure of This Book References Chapter 2: Rises and Falls of New Socialist Cities Introduction Which cities are new and socialist? New socialist cities during the interwar period Construction of socialist cities in the Eastern Bloc after 1945 Transformation Socio-economic decline Re-evaluating the human dimension of socialist cities Identity-building and heritage-making Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 3: Uralmash: Re-Imagining Utopia, Re-Constructing Urban Space Introduction The dual existence of sotsgorods: major theoretical challenges The haphazard construction of a ‘planned city’: Uralmash sotsgorod in the 1930s From ideal ‘socialist city’ to ‘residential neighbourhood’: the transformation of Uralmash in the post-war and late-Soviet years Uralmash after 1991: an ‘invisible’ space in search of new symbols Utopia revived: the symbolic re-discovery of Uralmash Vanishing space: current challenges for Uralmash’s urban development Conclusion References Chapter 4: Zaporizhzhia: The Socialist City as a Cultural Model Introduction International Context The Birth of Great Zaporizhzhia Under the Conditions of the Urban Revolution Throwback to the ‘Industry-Specific’ (Departmental) City The Era of Diversification of Social Experience In the Struggle for Urban Space Conclusion References Archival Sources Reference and Statistical Publications Chapter 5: Tychy: From a Dormitory Town to a Large Industrial Centre Introduction A new socialist town in a polycentric region Industrialisation, colonisation, spaces of conflict Social and economic transformation Symbolic transformation The socialist city as a place to live, work, and for leisure – 70 years on Conclusion Notes References Chapter 6: Eisenhüttenstadt: Urban Heritage in Transformation Introduction Urban heritage and post-socialism The becoming of Eisenhüttenstadt in socialism EKO Wohnstadt: expressing the goals of socialism The housing complexes I, II, III, and IV: building on tradition and allowing progress Housing complexes V–VII: accounting for rapid economic and demographic growth The transformation of Eisenhüttenstadt under capitalism Systemic break and decades of losses with few gains Continuous uncertainty and obvious ambivalences The heritage of Eisenhüttenstadt The urban heritage of socialism and capitalism The entanglement of socialist and capitalist heritage The city centre of Eisenhüttenstadt Monuments of Eisenhüttenstadt The integrated town Three observations for discussion References Chapter 7: Ostrava-Poruba: A ‘Pure’ Socialist City in Change and Permanence Introduction Research methodology and conceptual background Construction of the ‘pure city’ New Ostrava Project of a socialist city Ideological background and social reality Post-socialist changes in the physical, social, and symbolic space The physical space The symbolic space Paths Edges and districts Nodes Other significant elements Social and demographic changes Demographic decline and population ageing Diversification of professions on the labour market Changes in the educational structure Housing changes The future of Ostrava-Poruba in the light of local policy Conclusion Note References Chapter 8: Dunaújváros: Transforming and Re-Branding the Largest New Town of Hungary’s State-Socialist Era Introduction From the Foundation of the New Town to the Fall of Socialist System (1949–1989) Urban Composition Spaces of Power: the Main Street and Main Square Residential Neighbourhood Units Art in the New Town Post-Socialist Transformation Urban Structure Public Spaces and Public Buildings Housing Areas Public Art Discussion and Conclusion References Chapter 9: New Belgrade: From a Socialist Ideal to a Fragmented Space of Fashionable Architecture Introduction Inception and the modernist period The interwar Beyond a functional city: modern form and socialist content Crossing a functional space Walking through a functional city Space of transition and informality Space of fragmentation: economics, consumerism, and scenography Conclusion References Chapter 10: Dimitrovgrad: A Bulgarian Construction of the 20th Century Introduction Conceptual remarks Establishing a Bulgarian urban utopia: between national specificities and socialist internationalism Traces of prominent public figures on the town’s history and its contemporary image Penyo Penev and the poetic image of Dimitrovgrad Georgi Dimitrov: from ‘Hero of Leipzig’ to ‘National Traitor’ Changing economic structures and their symbolic significance Re-evaluation of socialist urban heritage Post-socialist, mini-utopianism: Dimitrovgrad as a tourism centre Conclusion Notes References Chapter 11: Velenje: A Local Community’s Quest for Its Town Heritage and Identity Introduction Approach and Methodology From a Market Town to Modern Centre with a Twist New Velenje: A Mining Settlement and an Emerging Tourist Town (1945–1955) The New Centre: A Modern Plan with a Compromise (1956–1963) The ‘builders of new Velenje’ Building a Mining Town with a Rich Future From Miners to Tito’s Town (1970s–1980s) Critical Voices: Re-Discovering the Old Velenje and the Rise of the Ecological Movement Velenje is Becoming an Old Town or Re-Discovering its Authenticity From City Municipality to EU Integration: lieu de mémoire in the Making A New Challenge on the Horizon Conclusion References Chapter 12: Conclusion: Post-Utopian Spaces in Search of Alternative Urban Policies Integrating planned socialist cities into the post-utopian reality Experiencing two social and urban revolutions Transforming physical space through neoliberal practices Diversifying socio-economic life through marketisation and ‘touristification’ Dealing with dissonant heritage Contributing to the debate on new cities and (post)utopian urbanism Outlining the contours for further research References Index