Social aspects of urbanism in socialist and post-socialist housing estates

Anđelina Svirčić Gotovac, PhD is the author of the scientific paper Social aspects of urbanism in socialist and post-socialist housing estates. The paper is published in the “Croatian Journal of Social Policy”, 32 (1).

Abstract: The research was conducted using the method of semi-structured interviews with experts on the topics of urbanism and the quality of housing in housing estates constructed in the socialist and post-socialist periods. A total of 16 experts from Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek participated in the interviews in 2022. There were 10 architects, 5 sociologists, and 1 art historian. Based on the thematic analysis, it can be pointed out that the experts agree that the urbanism of socialist housing estates existed in a systematic and planned form, and that it provided residents with a satisfactory level of housing by meeting standards for the construction of basic infrastructure (schools, health centers, parks). In the post-socialist period, such urbanism was lost, leading to the loss of the estate as a housing unit, which experts point out as the key difference of contemporary housing construction, characterized by overbuilding. It is therefore recommended to introduce spatial standards for estates, which are now missing in the planning process.

The paper is available at the link.