Title
From socialist to post-socialist cities: narrating the nation through urban space
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Summer 7-17-2013
Abstract
The development of post-socialist cities has emerged as a major field of study among critical theorists from across the social sciences. Originally constructed under the dictates of central planners and designed to serve the demands of command economies, post-socialist urban centers currently develop at the nexus of varied and often competing economic, cultural, and political forces. Among these, nationalist aspirations, previously simmering beneath the official rhetoric of communist fraternity and veneer of architectural conformity, have emerged as dominant factors shaping the urban landscape. This article examines patterns, processes, and practices concerning the cultural politics of architecture, urban planning, and identity in the post-socialist city. In addition to assessing the main contours of this burgeoning field of research, this article highlights how this special issue of Nationalities Papers contributes to a broader understanding of contemporary cultural and political change in post-socialist urban settings.
Recommended Citation
Diener, A. C., & Hagen, J. (2013). From socialist to post-socialist cities: Narrating the nation through urban space. Nationalities Papers, 41(4), 487-514.
Comments
This article is freely available from the publisher at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2013.768217. Copyright © 2013 Association for the Study of Nationalities. All rights reserved.