Housing as a political paradigm: An overview of socialist and post-socialist housing policies and their major outcomes in the context of Eastern Europe post-socialist transformation

Description

The imposition of communism in Eastern Europe post war led to a number of dramatic economic, social and political transformations including massive urban industrialization and large-scale collective housing production. Since the fall of Communism in 1989 and the subsequent adoption of privatization and western market mechanisms, Eastern Europe has experienced another set of radical transformations. Many of these have proved highly problematic (2002) and the privatization of the housing market provides a clear example (Andrusz, et al. 1996). This paper examines the socialist and post-socialist housing policies and their major outcomes. It analyses the changes, which have taken place in the nature and form of housing provision in Eastern Europe in recent decades and their legacy. In particular, it will examine the sharp contrast between the concrete high-rise ‘social’ housing built during the Communist period, and the shift to single family owner-built ‘villa’ construction, often on un-serviced land, since the fall of the communist regime in 1989. The main questions to address are what are the historic origins of different forms of housing provision and problems in Eastern Europe in the socialist period and what have been the main forms and consequences of housing reforms under post socialism. This extensive review breaks the framework of national studies and it is a necessary step towards a comprehensive understanding of housing problems today in order to find specific ways to address them. The paper is organized in two parts discussing socialist followed by post-socialist housing policies and their major social and spatial outcomes with special reference to the socialist housing estates and the suburban post-socialist owner-built housing.

Period	6 Dec 2008 → 12 Dec 2008
Event title	Housing as a political paradigm: An overview of socialist and post-socialist housing policies and their major outcomes in the context of Eastern Europe post-socialist transformation
Event type	Other
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