Confronting Suburbanization: Urban Decentralization in Postsocialist Central and Eastern Europe (IJURR Studies in Urban and Social Change Book Series) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1405185481 ISBN 13: 9781405185486

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014

Synopsis

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

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Since the collapse of the communist regime in Central and Eastern Europe, cities in the former socialist countries have entered a period of dramatic transformation. One of the most important processes in the ensuing frenetic rearrangement of urban space has been the dispersal of urban functions beyond the edges of the compact city into territories that experienced very little development during the socialist years.

Post-socialist metropolitan growth has been characterized by fragmented spatial patterns broadly associated with urban sprawl and its controversial environmental, economic, and social consequences. This fascinating book explores and explains the processes of suburbanization in the specific context of post-socialist societies transitioning from one system of socio-spatial order to another. The process is tracked through case studies of seven post-socialist capital city regions – Budapest, Ljubljana, Moscow, Prague, Sofia, Tallinn, and Warsaw, where the forces of urban decentralization have been the strongest during the last twenty years. By highlighting the swift trajectory of suburbanization in Central and Eastern Europe, the contributors illuminate key conditions for the emergence and proliferation of the phenomenon, and highlight its typical forms and features in a dynamically evolving urban context. 

About the Author:

Kiril Stanilov is a Senior Research Associate at the Martin Centre for Architectural and Urban Studies, University of Cambridge. His research interests are centred on explorations of contemporary patterns of urban growth and change, and the role played by public policies in shaping urban form transformations. His book publications include Twenty Years of Transition (2009), The Post-Socialist City (2007), and Suburban Form (2003).

Ludĕk Sıkora is a Professor in the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague. His research is focused on conceptualization and empirical studies of urban transformations in post-communist cities. He is the joint author of Regional Policy and Planning in Europe (with Paul Balchin and Gregory Bull, 1999) and author of a number of journal articles and book chapters dealing with urban change in Central and East European cities.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1405185481
• ISBN 13: 9781405185486
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 360
• Editor: Stanilov Kiril, Sıkora Ludĕk