Vous êtes sur la page 1sur 16

METROPOLITAN PROCESSES IN POST-COMMUNIST STATES: AN INTRODUCTION

METROPOLITAN PROCESSES IN
POST-COMMUNIST STATES: AN INTRODUCTION
by
Thomas Born and Michael Gentile

Born, T. and Gentile, M., 2007: Metropolitan Processes in Post- es. Locally, these processes blend with the legacies
Communist States: an Introduction. Geogr. Ann., 89 B (2): 95 and systemically unique processes attributable to
110.
the regions past experience of socialism and cen-
ABSTRACT. This study introduces a collection of theme issue tral planning and the transition therefrom. The
papers on metropolitan processes in post-communist states. We post-communist city may be viewed as the out-
first identify and discuss five key significant socialist-era legacy come of an unfought struggle between legacy and
aspects that continue to mould the course of events in the post-
communist urban scene. These are central planning, land alloca- transition (Tammaru, 2001a), or as the urban m-
tion, the second economy, defence considerations, and the impli- lange produced by double transition; that is, the
cations of the ideological leadership of the communist parties. We transition from an industrial to a post-industrial
then procede to investigate the literature on the unfolding urban economy characterizing the developed nations on
geography of post-communism and the factors underpinning its
development, and we place the papers collected in this theme issue the one hand, and the economic, political and ideo-
into their context. logical transition away from region-specic state
socialism on the other (S=kora, 2000).
Key words: Post-communist city, socialist legacy, cities, post-so- However, it is becoming increasingly clear that
cialism
there is no single path of post-communist urban
transition (see Tosics, 2005) after all, the commu-
Introduction nist legacies of Albania and Russia are perhaps as
Arguably, post-socialist1 transformation, under- far apart from each other as are the economic re-
stood as the economic, political, institutional and structuring strategies adopted by Slovenia and Be-
ideological changes associated with the discarding larus during transition. Likewise, there is no one
of communism or state socialism and the em- post-communist urbs, but a range of urban places
bracing of capitalism in Central and Eastern Eu- which have been subject to a grand political and
rope (CEE), has been taking place for at least twen- economic experiment whose dramatic impacts will
ty years. Its seeds were sown during the economic be evident to the eye for many years to come. The
stagnation of mature socialism, and its rst sprouts strongest socialist legacies are evident where so-
appeared among the grass roots in the 1980s (even cialism was kept alive longest (i.e. in most of the
earlier in Hungary and Czechoslovakia). By the Former Soviet Union), where it coincided with
early 1990s, it had owered throughout most of the mass urbanization (e.g. in Poland), where the pres-
former realm of Soviet control, accompanied by tige of the system was given top priority (e.g. the
overwhelming changes in the spatial organization central Moscow or Berlin showcases), in areas
of the respective societies and of the cities hosted which hosted grand industrial projects (e.g. Nowa
by them. After the failed attempt at rescuing the so- Huta near Cracow in Poland), and in areas endowed
cialist system through moderate economic and po- with certain natural resources (e.g. the Soviet coal
litical reforms in some countries (i.e. through glas- basins). The socialist new cities the ultimate ur-
nost and perestroika in the USSR), post-socialist ban expression of the communist project were of-
Central and Eastern Europe had embarked on a ten located in the latter two. It is clear from the
long and challenging return journey to Europe above, that sustainable theories of the post-commu-
(Linnet, 2003; Bunke, 2004; Musil, 2005), with nist city cannot be achieved without an appropriate
the promise of future prosperity as a guiding light, understanding of the centrally planned geographies
but also with many casualties on its way. underlying it. Therefore, one of the objectives of
For post-communist Europe, this return journey this introduction is to revisit the signicance of the
means being increasingly subject to cross-former- communist heritage.
iron-curtain economic, social and political process- During the past two decades there has been an

The authors 2007 95


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
THOMAS BORN AND MICHAEL GENTILE

accumulation of research and knowledge on the spatial structure, and the underlying mechanisms
post-communist urban scene. The contributions of post-communist inner city regeneration.
roughly deal with three interrelated broad themes: This theme issue introduction is structured as
(1) urban management and governance (including follows. First, we will identify and discuss ve key
the political processes embedded in transition); (2) signicant legacy aspects by no means an exhaus-
social issues and processes; and (3) urban morphol- tive list that retain a passive or at times even quite
ogy, including the changes in land use which have active role in moulding the course of events in the
become apparent since the demise of state social- post-communist urban scene. These are the (1) cen-
ism (see Gentile and Sjberg, 2006, for a review). tral planning, (2) land allocation, (3) the second
Thus far, much research has been concerned economy, (4) defence considerations, and (5) the
with geographical differentiation and patterns, so- implications of the ideological leadership of the
cial or physical. Although full agreement has yet to communist parties. We then investigate the litera-
be obtained regarding the nature and character of ture on the unfolding urban geography of post-
these patterns, and of the socialist-era socio-spatial communism and the factors underpinning its devel-
ones in particular (see Smith, 1996), it is clear that opment, and we place the papers collected in this
the post-socialist city in whatever regional guise theme issue into their context.
stands as a rather unique creature evolving from
past experiences of specic land use patterns (e.g.
Bertaud and Renaud, 1997) and socialistic patterns One-way ticket to the marketplace?
of residential segregation (e.g. Szelnyi, 1996). By the turn of the new millennium, most of the
However, many of the processes which underlie the growing pains associated with transition had been
observed geographical patterns have yet to be un- mitigated by the ripening of entrepreneurialisa-
derstood, and the social complexity and differenti- tion, the legal system and democratic values.
ation embedded in them has only recently come to Largely, the countries of CEE have returned to Eu-
the fore (as in Tammaru, 2005, concerning subur- rope, for post-socialist transition is not only an eco-
banization). nomic process whereby the socialist administrative
To give an example, the much acclaimed process allocation of goods is replaced by market mecha-
of residential suburbanization in the major cities of nisms of allocation, but also a choice of disassoci-
post-communist Europe has been described care- ation from the ideological, political, social and mil-
fully, and its institutional setting has been dissected itary context of the past. A reasonable assumption
(see e.g. Ioffe and Nefedova, 1998; Kok and Ko- at this point would be that Central and Eastern Eu-
vcs, 1999; Timr and Vradi, 2001; Nuissl and ropean urban development is or will increasingly
Rink, 2005), but crucial questions such as who sub- resemble the urban of Western Europe, for as Enye-
urbanizes and how suburbanites live have not been di (1992) claries, state socialism should be seen as
adequately addressed yet. Likewise, occasional an intervening rather than a decisive factor in
excesses in transitionmindedness have often ob- moulding the course of urbanization. But is this re-
scured the role played by global or at least cross-re- ally the case?
gional trends in the shaping of the post-communist Both yes and no. There is increasing evidence
city. For instance, residential suburbanizations including some of the papers in this special issue
counter-ow, reurbanization, has only recently that the decades of communism are more than a
emerged to the surface of the academic waters temporary historical parenthesis, and recent trends
(Haase et al., 2005; Buzar et al., 2007).2 in the transformation of the spatial structure of the
By approaching the three aforementioned settlement system in Central and Eastern Europe
themes of urban management and governance, so- support this. For example, is the rapid process of
cial issues and processes, and urban morphology suburbanization that we are currently witnessing in
with fresh methods and new datasets, the contribu- the Czech Republic, as indeed in most other Euro-
tions gathered in this special issue improve on some pean post-socialist states, merely an expression of
of these lacunae. The result is a palpable leap for- the suppressed demand for suburban living under
ward with insights into hitherto poorly explored state socialism, or could it be that the socialist sys-
elds: the daily rhythm of the suburban household, tem, coupled with the diseconomies generated by
its social anatomy and geography of (suburban) central planning, may have exerted an empowering
destinations, the varieties of suburban develop- inuence on the course of events during the post-
ment, the impact of demographic change on urban socialist era, driving it towards a new, perhaps hy-

96 The authors 2007


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
METROPOLITAN PROCESSES IN POST-COMMUNIST STATES: AN INTRODUCTION

brid, form of urban development? By the same to- vented (Glasser, 2004). Further east, in the Central
ken, are the extensive brownelds resulting from Asian Republics, the City Beautiful movement has
the previous socialist practice of heavy industrial- regained much of its former glory, eased by the
ization, low technological innovation and absence emergence and persistence of autocratic govern-
of incentives for the recycling of land (Bertaud and ments which value the grandeur of the architecture
Renaud, 1997) not factors which may impact on the and planning solutions that it professes (see Anack-
future spatial structure of the cities of CEE to such er, 2004, for the case of the new Kazakhstani capital
an extent that they may intrude in the overall proc- of Astana). Meanwhile, inner city gentrication
ess of these cities return to Europe? and regeneration are reversing the socialist-era
This could be the case, but does it really matter? trend of deterioration, while restoring (and possi-
The communist legacies may likewise be viewed as bly accentuating) the specic urban forms which
yet another aspect of the diverse ideological, polit- characterized the pre-socialist epoch.
ical and economic heritage which characterizes Eu- Socialist spaces linger ubiquitously, whether they
rope, and communism as such was a European in- be hidden behind large advertisement billboards,
vention aimed at solving European (and later glo- preserved within the connes of inner city brown-
bal) problems. Its urban by-products were designed elds, or between the inner walls of the large mo-
in Europe, but were also made and assembled else- notonous housing estates built since the early 1960s.
where. In sum, the post-socialist city seems to be While post-socialist transition as a broad societal
developing into a new form of European urbanism process involves the creation of a socio-economic
which may be distinct from that in Western Europe, order almost ex novo, post-socialist transformation
but no more so than the latter is distinct from the is constrained by the inertias of the built environ-
Mediterranean or Nordic city. ment and therefore characterized by the addition of
The differences between the socialist and the new urban layers rather than the eradication of ex-
Western European city are certainly worth empha- isting ones. The socialist period left the countries of
sizing, but the fact that there were some important CEE with a rather large layer of urban development
similarities between the two is often neglected and (and an even larger one in the Former Soviet Union),
should be acknowledged. During the post-war not only due to the sheer length of the period, but
epoch of welfarist Keynesianism, the Western Eu- also due to the socially (and spatially) revolutioniz-
ropean city was rebuilt and modernized largely ing ambitions of the system itself (Stites, 1989).
through the implementation of modernist ideas, This layer was shaped by numerous spatially differ-
such as those contained in Corbusiers projects. entiated and space-differentiating systemic factors,
Such ideas were often conceived within a socialist including the economic and political priority mech-
ideological context, and they were extensively put anisms embedded in central planning (Kornai,
into practice in socialist CEE following the mid- 1992; Tammaru, 2001b; Gentile and Sjberg, 2006),
1950s dismantling of the Stalinist architectural the specics of land allocation and use (Bertaud and
paradigm of neoclassical grandeur and faadism. Renaud, 1997), defence considerations (French,
As a result, the socialist and capitalist European 1995; Samuelson, 1999), the second economy
postwar urban peripheries can be remarkably sim- (Arnstberg and Born, 2003), and the ideological
ilar, perhaps even more similar than they were be- leadership of the Communist Party (man, 1992).
fore the advent of socialism in CEE. In this light, Let us explore these factors in greater detail.
the developments which have been taking place
since the demise of the latter point towards in-
creased diversity and the rediscovery of national Central planning
heritage within a context of global inuences, rath- Let us start with some basic tenets of the dynamics
er than towards homogeneous Europeanization. of the centrally planned economy. During the so-
For example, as Martin Ouednek will tell us in cialist period, all but a handful of economic sectors
his article in this issue, the wave of middle-class suffered from more or less regular shortages of
suburbanization which has invested the Prague raw materials, intermediary goods, labour and cap-
metropolitan region during the past years is largely ital.3 The cumulative effect of the shortages in-
the result of the populations pursuit of the Czech curred at different levels in the production process
dream of a single family house with a private gar- was such that the ultimate burden was placed on the
den. In Russia, on the other hand, Tsarist and Sta- consumers, who were often faced with the choice
linesque grandeur are being rediscovered or rein- of buying poor-quality goods (if available) or ob-

The authors 2007 97


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
THOMAS BORN AND MICHAEL GENTILE

taining nothing at all. Furthermore, the non-com- expense of the non-priority economy. In general,
petitive nature of the business environment, cou- heavy industry and the military-industrial complex
pled with technological backwardness (obviously, enjoyed priority over agriculture, light industry and
with some exceptions), implied that the few goods the services (see Doma~ski, 1997). For the individ-
that made it on to the shelves did not necessarily de- ual production unit, the socialist enterprise, priority
serve the honour. Since quality problems were was inversely proportional to budget discipline,
widespread, they too tended to acquire a cumula- with priority enterprises being subject to soft (ex-
tive character in slunds (2003, p. 125) words, ible on request) budget restraints, whereas the rest
much of Soviet manufacture was sheer value de- were subject to hard budget restraints (Kornai,
traction, and Soviet raw materials were excellent, 1992, pp. 140145). Certainly, softness was not
Soviet intermediary goods were shoddy, while con- only a matter of the authorities rationalistic plan-
sumer goods and processed foods were substand- related considerations but also of the political clout
ard. The same is true for the made-under-central and negotiating skills of the enterprise managers
planning built environment, including factory softness was thus at least partly prepared in the in-
buildings and housing. Thus, the socialist city ex- formal economy (Doma~ski, 1997).
isted in a context of shortage; under such circum- The impacts of the priority-based system were
stances, the players in the urban game operate un- manifold. First of all, given the shortage context,
der different rules and conventions than they would the enterprises with the greatest budgetary ma-
in a market economy. noeuvring ability were also the ones best equipped
Shortages notwithstanding, the essence of a cen- to tackle the shortages. As an example, faced with
trally planned system is that there is a plan or rath- chronic labour shortage, priority enterprises were
er countless plans and that there are plan targets more likely to be able to afford to offer non-wage
to be met. This had far-reaching implications. First, benets such as access to the enterprise-owned
the incentives to invest in technological improve- housing stock, to short-supply consumer goods, to
ments or other measures aimed at increasing pro- special healthcare facilities and so on, in order to at-
ductivity were insufcient: faced with the immedi- tract and retain workers (Shomina, 1992; Do-
acy of the plan targets, managers preferred hoard- ma~ski, 1997; Szirmai, 1998; Gentile and Sjberg,
ing labour and inputs rather than exploring the eld 2006). Furthermore, although most of the enter-
of increased productivity (Kornai, 1980, 1992; prise social infrastructure was usually for the ex-
Sjberg, 1999).4 Moreover, since substandard clusive use of the workers and their families, its
products could be sold, obsolete production facili- mere existence discouraged parallel investment on
ties peacefully coexisted with more modern ones, behalf of the municipal administration (Doma~ski,
as new technologies merely supplemented, rather 1997).
than supplanted, the previous one. The ensuing The unintended spatial outcome of such tenden-
technological pluralism (Teodorescu, 1991, p. cies demonstrates inequalities on both the physical
75) literally had the effect of petrifying (slund, and the social level, for the priority-based differen-
2003, p. 38) or stiffening (Born, 2005) the in- tiation of the economic organizations active in any
dustrial landscape to the extent that many pre-so- city is echoed by spatial disequilibria in the quality
cialist industrial facilities not only outlived the so- and, especially, the location of the urban infrastruc-
cialist period itself, but also set the course of post- ture. The latter was not equally accessible to all,
socialist urban development as the extensive inner even though the extent of this inequality was rather
city industrial areas have succumbed to market modest compared to that found in cities in market
pressures and deindustrialization, turned into economies. Nevertheless, as Szelnyi (1983) argued
brownelds, and selectively been rediscovered and convincingly in connection with the housing alloca-
regenerated (Kiss, 2002). tion system in Hungary, the socialist urban social in-
Second, some plan targets are more important equalities were created by mechanisms which are
than others, but the resources are few, and in the ab- inherent to the socialist system itself. A crucial set
sence of market pricing, this means rationing under of these mechanisms stems from the priority sys-
the guidance of the ideological expertise of the tem, whose spatial implications have been recently
Communist Party. Put differently, under conditions conceptualized in the so-called landscape of priority
of shortage, it is vital that the production targets model at the settlement system (Sjberg, 1999) and
deemed most important be given priority expressed intra-urban level (Gentile and Sjberg, 2006). Cru-
in the form of adequate funding, effectively at the cial to the model, and following Kornai (1992, p.

98 The authors 2007


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
METROPOLITAN PROCESSES IN POST-COMMUNIST STATES: AN INTRODUCTION

143), is the recognition that priorities are relative. sity is inversely proportional to distance from the
Furthermore, they were subject to uctuations in the city centre, socialist cities were relatively densely
political and economic mood of the time, and could populated at their outskirts. There are three main
therefore vary from year to year, or at least plan to reasons for this. First, like industry, housing was
plan (even though some sectors were granted stable usually built on greeneld sites (see Szelnyi,
high or low priority, the military-industrial complex 1983; French, 1995). Second, large-scale housing
and the shoe industry being cases in point). estates were the norm in the post-Stalin era (And-
rusz, 1984; Born, 2005); and third, because indus-
try occupied extensive inner city territories and was
The specifics of land allocation and use not under recycling pressure (Bertaud and Renaud,
Land had no market value under socialism and, 1997; Kiss, 2002; Bertaud, 2006). However, it
therefore, its use was not determined by competi- should be noted that the inner parts of the socialist
tive bidding but by administrative decisions (Ber- cities were often densily populated (and in some
taud and Renaud, 1997). However, since land is a cases even more so than in market cities), and that
scarce resource, it too was subject to the aforemen- the CBD did not exist as it is conventionally under-
tioned rationing game, where the interests of the in- stood. In the post-socialist era, where market fac-
dustrial enterprises and of the non-productive el- tors toll urban space for the most protable loca-
ements of the city had to be weighed against each tions, we may notice a clear CBD-ization proc-
other (Ruble, 1995). The outcome of this bargain- ess, whereby centrally located residential space is
ing process was usually to the advantage of the en- squeezed by the advancement of commercial and
terprises, for as French (1995, p. 67) puts it, in a ofce functions.
conict of interest, it was no contest. As a result, In sum, compared with the market-based model
industry had rst choice, while the town planner of land use, land allocation under socialism fos-
was near the bottom of the food chain (with the tered the formation of distinct patterns which are
populace immediately beneath). The details of characterized by rusty inner city over-industriali-
town planning like many other spheres of public zation along with extensive new industrial zones on
administration were treated as a state secret, and the outskirts, rather than high population densities
to a certain extent, therefore, town planning was in peripheral areas, and the asymmetrical spatial
akin to town lobbying (Gentile, 2003). outcome of the preferential treatment of industry
Furthermore, in the absence of market pricing, vis--vis the non-productive functions. These pat-
the recycling of land (i.e. the replacement of obso- terns have challenging implications for the present
lete forms of land use by economically more ef- and future development of the post-socialist city.
cient ones) was unintentionally discouraged, while
the demand for land tended to be satised through
the allocation of peripheral greeneld sites (Ber- The second economy
taud and Renaud, 1997) the socialist version of The prevalence of shortages throughout most of the
inner city regeneration did not take off until the economy encouraged the growth of a comprehen-
1980s, and even then at a rather modest pace. In ad- sive informal second economy which deeply in-
dition to the allocation of greeneld sites to the in- volved both individuals and organizations (Samp-
dustrial enterprises, the latter were often also able son, 1985; Ladnyi and Szelnyi, 1998; Ledeneva,
to secure land for future use, freezing it for many 1998; Arnstberg and Born, 2003; Pavlovskaya,
years to come by prohibiting the activities present 2004; Smith and Stenning, 2006). For the individ-
on it from developing (because they were to be ter- ual, the second economy was a means of securing
minated at some point), and the areas inhabitants goods and services which were otherwise unavail-
from improving their housing situation (see Do- able or inaccessible; for the organizations, it was a
ma~ski, 1997; Axenov et al., 2006, p. 11; for hous- way to ensure the fullment of plan targets. How-
ing cf. Born, 2005, pp. 9697). ever, individual and societal interests were not nec-
This, together with the spatial corollary of tech- essarily in harmony, and urban spaces today are
nological pluralism outlined above, contributed to still affected both by the spatial legacy of the sec-
the formation of land use curves specic to social- ond economy and by the remnants of the economic
ism on the one hand, and to disproportions in the in- practices connected to these kinds of economies.
dustrys share of the urban land total on the other.5 The following example reveals how the second
Unlike in market cities where the population den- economy directly inuenced the physical spatial

The authors 2007 99


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
THOMAS BORN AND MICHAEL GENTILE

structure of the socialist cities and the lives of their ing needs, while lacking such access seriously
inhabitants. Construction workers often removed damaged a households prospects for receiving ac-
building materials from the building site in order to ceptable accommodation. In the post-socialist era,
barter them within the economy of favours (Le- personal networks continue(d) to play an important
deneva, 1998) or sell them on the black market to role in urban affairs, not least so for individuals and
other private persons (for whom it would be very households needing to loan cash for pre-mortgage-
difcult to obtain them through formal channels) or era real estate transactions.
to use them for their own needs, thus delaying or
impeding the progress of the works.6 In turn, the
enterprise responsible for the object under con- Defence considerations
struction used the ensuing unnished objects as in- A relatively neglected aspect of the development of
struments in the budget bargaining process vis-- the socialist city is the degree to which it was sub-
vis the central authorities in order to obtain addi- ject to the requirements of the (high-priority) de-
tional funding for investment. fence sector and its associated industries. The de-
As a result, socialist landscapes are scarred by fence expenditure in the late years of the Soviet Un-
countless unnished objects (slund, 2003), often ion has been estimated at up to 25 per cent of the
it should be added in peripheral areas, since new countrys GDP (slund, 2003), and the military-
construction usually took place on greeneld sites industrial complex certainly employed a large
for the reasons outlined above. Typically, such un- share of the urban population.
nished spaces (the so-called dolgostroi in the In the socialist states, as elsewhere, the military
USSR) include various structures (be it future fac- and its associated industrial complex operated in an
tories, housing or public buildings), armed con- atmosphere of secrecy to which the hosting cities
crete carcasses and foundations, or simply semi- were required to adapt in a number of ways. At the
prepared or prepared land. In terms of these unn- same time, it posed concrete and coercive demands
ished sites, three developments may be noticed dur- as to the shaping of urban space. These two factors
ing the post-socialist epoch. First, those located on had a fourfold physical impact on the city. First,
high-value land, such as in most large or particu- military-industrial objects often occupied large ter-
larly prosperous cities and central locations in other ritories and, given that they were part of the same
cities, became subject to redevelopment due to structural context as any other enterprise (albeit as
pressure from the market. This may presuppose privileged entities), they too tended to expand in
demolition and typically results in different or time. As such, they could occupy entire urban
more intense land use. Second, those located on wedges, creating signicant physical barriers be-
medium-value land, including most areas in medi- tween neighbourhoods and extensive no-go zones.
um-sized cities and the central parts of small cities, Second, military-related concerns restricted the ur-
are completed or converted if this does not require ban development (land use) options available to
excessive investment. Finally, those located on planners based on the militarys perception of the
low-value land preserve the status quo, with nega- defence value of the citys localities. The latter
tive aesthetic and other impacts on their surround- factor was and is of certain importance to market
ing areas. cities as well; the difference is in scale. Third, de-
The second economy also had socio-spatial ef- fence considerations also actively participated in
fects on the city, which is best claried by the actual shaping the urban environment and its components.
way the administrative allocation of housing was For example, the production facilities of most in-
carried out. Given that housing was in shortage, the dustrial enterprises had to be built so that they could
system strongly encouraged taking advantage of be converted into military-industrial units within a
social networks (Bodnr and Brcz, 1998),7 and/ week, if necessary (Samuelson, 2000; Inga Gold-
or purely illegal methods in the transaction be- berga, former Chief Architect of the city of Dau-
tween the state and the (housing) supplicant (Mor- gavpils, Latvia, personal communication, January
ton, 1984). Illegal methods may include the abuse 2006). Likewise, defence considerations were in-
of inuence and bribes (e.g. in the form of con- strumental in inuencing the width of some strate-
struction materials). Although the extent of this gic avenues, the depth of the underground system,
parallel network economy within housing cannot the distance between buildings, and so on. (Ruble,
be estimated in numbers, it is clear that having ac- 1990; Kotkin, 1991; Gaddy, 1996; Born, 2003b,
cess to it was crucial in order to satisfy ones hous- pp. 122123). Finally, the fourth area of impact was

100 The authors 2007


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
METROPOLITAN PROCESSES IN POST-COMMUNIST STATES: AN INTRODUCTION

in the semiotic sphere: the socialist cities were (and market economies as well (Boone, 2002), it was
usually still are in the ex-USSR) saturated with particularly unjust under socialism because it was
parks, monuments, sculptures, altars, obelisks, se- kept entirely secret; if the emissions were such that
lect military paraphernalia and so on, reminding they could not be detected by the ve senses, there
passers-by of the glorious achievements of the re- was no way for the inhabitants to realize what they
spective military forces during the Second World were being affected by. When they could be detect-
War. Certainly, as Born (2005, p. 89) reminds us, ed, any sign of discontent was effectively sup-
the symbolic power [of the war] was used by the pressed by the organs.
central authorities as a uniting historical factor in
forming a supposedly Soviet identity.
Defence concerns also had important and Implications of the ideological leadership of
mainly deleterious social impacts. First, they seg- the party
regated the population employed by the military The ideological leadership of the party had a varying
and within the military industrial complex from impact on the urbanization process under socialism,
each other and from the rest of the population (so- although the result was quite consistent under the
cially or socio-spatially). Those employed by cer- two major planning paradigms which characterized
tain sensitive enterprises (commonly referred to as it. Thus, the ideologically grounded extreme focus
postal boxes in the USSR), and their families, en- on industrialisation which characterized the Stalin
joyed signicant non-wage benets at the consid- era in the USSR (19291953) and the satellite
erable social cost of severe restrictions on private states Stalin-inspired regimes of the early post-Sec-
movement and social contacts (Samuelson, 1999; ond World War period exacerbated the housing
Gentile, 2004a).8 Second, they indirectly (or direct- shortage; at the same time, these regimes appreci-
ly via the agency of the secret services) fostered an ation of grandeuristic forms of architectural expres-
atmosphere of fear and suspicion. Third, they lay sion had a highly visible impact on the cityscapes of
behind the real socialist fear of accurate informa- the larger cities (Bater, 1980; French, 1995). Later
tion, which took form in the (mis)representation (if on, and for the remainder of the socialist period,
any) of cities on maps of all scales. Born (2005, cheap homogeneous prefabricated housing ar-
ch. 6) points out that the lack of urban spatial in- ranged in self-contained neighbourhood units,
formation during the socialist period forced citi- mikrorayony, became the rule (French and Hamil-
zens to acquire this information in other ways; for ton, 1979; Bater, 1980; Pallot and Shaw, 1981; An-
example, through personal experience. Given that drusz, 1984; French, 1995; Bernhardt, 2005; Born,
most urban communal and commercial services 2005), while the housing shortage inherited from
such as shops and other objects not only the fac- the previous period was not eradicated due to the
tories tended to stay put under conditions of cen- continued pattern of investment in industry; that is,
tral planning, the inhabitants of the socialist urbs the productive activities in Soviet talk, and disin-
generally knew their city better than their capitalist vestment in housing and institutions supplying basic
city counterparts. social needs the non-productive functions (Szy-
Finally, defence-related activities often carried a ma~ska and Matczak, 2002).
negative ecological impact, which is particularly The discrepancy between the supplies of indus-
true for defence-related heavy industry. Further- trial jobs and housing created a number of prob-
more, because the activities that took place within lems which undermined the legitimacy of the so-
the military-industrial complex were kept secret, so cialist regimes, as the related inequalities in access
too was their ecological footprint. Without delving to housing were hardly consonant with the Marxist
into the ecological failures of the socialist city, it ideological tenets on which the system was based.
shall here sufce to note that the concrete location For this reason, as well as for the aforementioned
of concrete defence-related factories had concrete defence-related purposes, most socialist polities
effects on concrete urban areas and their inhabit- adopted various measures aimed at limiting urban
ants. This raises the issue of environmental justice, growth and achieving an optimal city size. The
as it has been noted that the neighbourhoods most most important measure was that of the internal
exposed to the negative externalities of hazardous passport combined with restrictions on urban-
industrial production tend to be inhabited by poor bound migration, with local variations across the
and socially vulnerable groups (Gentile, 2003, socialist realm (see Lewis and Rowland, 1979;
2004b). Although a similar phenomenon existed in Sampson, 1979; Ronns, 1982; Matthews, 1993;

The authors 2007 101


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
THOMAS BORN AND MICHAEL GENTILE

Sjberg, 1994; Buckley, 1995; Gang and Stuart, able spatial patterns and structures which are char-
1999; Hjdestrand, 2001, 2004; Gentile, 2004a, for acteristic of the socialist city or, rather, of the city
examples of literature explicitly dealing with this under socialism. These patterns and structures are
issue within the Soviet, Russian, Kazakhstani, Al- gradually being eroded by strong westerly winds,
banian and Romanian contexts). revealing previous pre-socialist structures on the
Although mostly limited to the largest cities, one hand, but depositing new layers of urban sed-
these policies failed on at least two accounts. First, iments on the other. If the restitution of national-
they did not succeed in effectively curbing urban- ized property to former owners or their descendants
bound migration since they did not address its main contributes to the re-instauration of pre-socialist
reasons, including the persistence of an acute so- social structures (see Dawidson, 2004), the inva-
cio-economic urbanrural divide; second, they di- sion by foreign companies has prompted changes
vided the urban population into a mainstream legal in land use which interfere with the spatialities of
stratum which was entitled access to the urban socialism and pre-socialist capitalism alike. But
service structures, and a marginalized illegal stra- westerly winds tend to wane while crossing the Eu-
tum lacking such privileges. Therefore, at best, ropean continent: post-socialist Europe is redis-
these methods had the effect of concealing the most covering difference.
blatant inequalities of the socialist city from its reg- The literature has thus far identied a number of
ular inhabitants, its visitors and, possibly, a share of striking phenomena, all somehow interrelated, in
the core of party ofcialdom. the physical and socio-spatial development of the
In short, the administrative restrictions on mi- post-socialist urban areas. Prominently, these in-
gration and city growth did not succeed in breach- clude: (1) residential, commercial and industrial
ing the gap between socialist theory and (not so) so- suburbanization; (2) land use changes, particularly
cialist practice. Rather, they probably contributed from residential to commercial/ofces in central
to its exacerbation; since the semi-coercive meth- locations; (3) the formation of inner city brown-
ods did not sufce, additional tools of persuasion elds as a result of deindustrialization; (4) residen-
had to be implemented. This is where the state tial and commercial gentrication, and (5) increas-
propaganda apparatus came in, its goal being to ing socio-spatial polarization. The latter theme in-
convince an under-housed population that things cludes a rising interest in literally or psychologi-
are much better, and much more equal, than they at cally gated communities (Bachvarov, 2005;
rst sight might appear to be. Hence, an entire com- Badyina and Golubchikov, 2005; Stoyanov and
munist semiotic landscape layer was applied to the Frantz, 2006; Blinnikov et al., 2006; Hirt and Ko-
socialist city. Although it was also the rst to dis- vachev, 2006).
appear, at least in Central Eastern Europe, the Bal- Behind these processes lie the return of private
tics, and gradually in the major cities of the CIS, its property and restitution (re-privatization) of real
legacy is re-emerging in the form of new spaces of assets to their pre-socialist owners, the privatiza-
communist nostalgia (Young and Light, 2006), tion of former state assets and, above all, the reas-
themselves a product tailored for the growing com- sertion of competitive-bid land markets (Pichler-
munist heritage tourism rather than for the needs of Milanovi and Andrews, 2005; Bertaud, 2006).
the local population, and in the form of the neo-Sta- Likewise, their intensity and geographical patterns
linistic spaces and semiotic landscapes which are are affected by the cities increasing exposure to
emerging in Russia, Belarus and, to a certain ex- global inuences and to the competitive inter-urban
tent, the Ukraine. environment of the post-socialist non-autarkic eco-
nomic setting (Hamilton, 2005; Pichler-Milanovi
and Andrews, 2005; Axenov et al., 2006; S=kora,
Realities at the destination 2006). The ve articles collected in this special is-
Although the social and physical spaces of the so- sue deal specically with suburbanization (Novk
cialist city were moulded by the legacy factors out- and S=kora, Leetmaa and Tammaru, and Oued-
lined above, the local mix of ingredients differed at nek), inner city regeneration (Temelov), and de-
most scales, producing heterogeneous urban out- mographic change under transition (Steinfhrer
comes both within and across the socialist states and Haase), but they also relate directly or indirect-
(Axenov et al., 2006, p. 11). Nevertheless, the main ly to all ve of the above themes.
characteristics of the structural context of socialist Almost the entire former socialist block has al-
urbanization were such that they produced predict- ready embraced the market economy, for, as Kunz-

102 The authors 2007


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
METROPOLITAN PROCESSES IN POST-COMMUNIST STATES: AN INTRODUCTION

mann (2006, p. 19) Thatcherianly explains, obvi- 2007), new suburban functions are emerging as a
ously experience shows that there is no alternative result of investment in suburban greeneld (former
to it. Nevertheless, the image of the socialist period, green belt areas) and cheap conversion-cost brown-
or rather of the Soviet Union, has partly resurrected eld (former outer industrial ring) developments in
in much of the Former Soviet Union, and especially the form of new industries, commercial facilities
in Russia.9 As a consequence, the East Central Eu- and, therefore, employment opportunities at major
ropean post-socialist and the city of the Slavic parts transport nodes and along the main arteries (Lo-
of the FSU city are gradually growing apart. Fur- rens, 2006, p. 105).
thermore, as the process of urbanization in socialist Although the process of residential suburbani-
Europe occurred at an unequal pace, with some zation is common to all developed post-socialist
countries remaining little urbanized throughout the states, the universality of its specic forms may be
length of the period (e.g. Albania), while others had questioned, especially with regard to the social
been substantially urbanized even before the ad- composition of the population segments that are in-
vent of socialism (e.g. the Czech Republic), the volved in it and to the way it is produced in bricks
preconditions for urban growth clearly differ, as do and mortar. There are three main possibilities. One
the outcomes. Suppressed urbanization (rural re- is that residential suburbanization under post-com-
tention; see Sjberg, 1992) and the poor develop- munist transition might have an evolutionary char-
ment of the infrastructure in the Tirana hinterland acter, whereby the nal result will be similar across
under socialism are the principal determinants of nations. Alternatively, it may be developing unique
the current seemingly uncontrolled sprawl and features which reect its regional cultural, politi-
population growth of the Albanian capital and its cal, economic and institutional setting. Finally, the
environs (Aliaj et al., 2003; King and Vullnetari, evolutionary character of suburbanization might
2003; see also Deda and Tsenkova, 2006; Tahiraj et blend with the peculiarities of place, producing
al., 2005). Conversely, the high degree of urbani- moderately similar outcomes.
zation in the Czech Republic at the outset, coupled The evolutionary perspective is appealing be-
with the socialist regimes preference for industrial cause the economic factors that underlie post-so-
growth over increased (high-rise prefabricated cialist suburbanization suppressed demand under
block) housing supply, meant that suburbanization socialism, increased disposable incomes for some
as the next stage of urban development after con- and, later on, the availability of affordable long-term
centrated urbanization was suppressed; most of the mortgage options are or (presumably) will be
peri-urban growth that did take place under social- shared by all post-communist states. As a matter of
ism should be seen as a pre-urban not post-urban fact, for most countries, the following sequence may
phenomenon (Murray and Szelnyi, 1984). As a be observed: (1) pre-urban socialist-era suburbani-
result, with the right economic and legal context, zation caused by urban housing shortage (Szelnyi,
the Czech-suppressed demand for suburban living 1983; Murray and Szelnyi, 1984; Sjberg, 1992);
has now been released. (2) modest post-urban socialist-era suburbanization
Suburbanization is widely viewed as the most directed towards protable collective farms (if any)
conspicuous phenomenon in the spatial develop- located near large cities (Tammaru, 2001b); (3) a
ment of post-socialist urban Europe (Timr and short period of no or very little activity; (4) the for-
Vradi, 2001; Tammaru, 2005). Although the de- mation of small clusters of luxury single-family
velopment is far from ubiquitous most small and dwellings for the new elite; and (5) intense (mass)
medium-sized cities, not to mention those located suburbanization led by the emergence of a substan-
in economically depressed regions, have, for in- tial middle class and the availability of low-interest
stance, yet to make serious acquaintance with the loans. Throughout this evolutionary process, popu-
process it is safe to say that the most comprehen- lation movements have been taking place between
sive changes in land use that have been taking place the existing settlements and the core city for various
in the larger urban areas of post-socialist Europe reasons (e.g. unaffordable housing in the city core,
may be identied in their respective hinterlands. supplementing household income with home-
Former rural settlements have been subject to par- grown food). As the stages of this model progress,
tial gentrication (Kok and Kvacs, 1999), satellite the determinants of suburbanization gradually shift
urban-type communities have increased their ties from legacy-related to transition-related.
with their core cities through denser commuting The problem of the above evolutionary perspec-
ties (for Latvia, cf. Bauls, 1992, and Krij7ne, tive is that many countries have not experienced the

The authors 2007 103


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
THOMAS BORN AND MICHAEL GENTILE

fth stage. In some cases there may simply be a de- anatomy of Central European (Prague) and Baltic
lay caused by the slow implementation of the ju- (Tallinn) mass suburbanization.
ridical and economic reforms necessary for subur- Martin Ouedneks study of differential migra-
banization to take off. However, in other cases, the tion in the Prague urban region shows that there are
enlargement of the middle class and the populari- more forms of suburban development than is usu-
zation of housing mortgages have led to different ally perceived. His article discusses seven different
outcomes despite similar land use patterns at the urban migration processes from the suburbaniza-
outset. In Moscow and Kiev, for example, vertical tion viewpoint, highlighting their signicance for
housing developments even at peripheral loca- the formation of the social and physical urban en-
tions take precedence over sprawling low-density vironment. The empirical material is unique and
suburbanization. This is not to say that the latter is the analysis emphasizes the structure of the resi-
not developing at all, but rather that it continues to dential preferences of the citizens. Taking into con-
be the domain of the economic elite (and therefore sideration the different social status of the migrants
more modest in terms of its territorial extent), as the and their various reasons for migration, and in con-
case of the Bulgarian capital city region testies trast with much of the literature, Ouednek argues
(Hirt and Kovachev, 2006). Hence, we nd support that suburbanization and the subsequent changes
for the idea that suburbanization is developing both in the migrant-sending and the receiving dis-
unique features in different developed countries, tricts need not have negative consequences for the
and that there seems to be a distinction between the overall urban environment.
urban areas of the Slavic republics of the Former Kadri Leetmaa and Tiit Tammaru take us to the
Soviet Union on the one hand and those in Central Tallinn metropolitan area of the fourth and early
Europe and the Baltics on the other. The case of fth stages of suburbanization with a study in
some countries in the Balkans, the Caucasus and which the people behind the process of suburbani-
the Central Asian republics is yet another story, as zation are allowed to emerge from the depth of the
these regions are still undergoing urbanization, rich data used by the authors. Leetmaa and Tam-
while the established urban population was subject maru demonstrate that the process leads to in-
to the same suppressed suburbanization as else- creased socio-economic polarization in the urban
where in the socialist world, which could lead to yet region: the majority of those who leave the metro-
another variant of metropolitan development (see politan core for the districts in the outskirts have
Tosics, 2005, for an attempt at classifying the range poor levels of (formal) education and tend to occu-
of post-socialist cities). py the existing Soviet-era housing stock with its
At this point the third alternative would seem monotonous high-rise buildings now at a greater
most plausible, since it embraces both the similar- distance from the city. People with higher attained
ities and the differences outlined above at a rst educational levels, on the other hand, generally re-
glance. The problem is that the fth and most im- main in the central parts of the city. When they do
portant stage does not seem to take place at all in move, they tend to resettle in newly produced sin-
some countries, whereas it is fairly similar else- gle-family houses in the more prestigious districts
where. However, it is still too early to say whether closer to the city or along the coast. The rst wave
the Russian one is a case of unfullled delayed sub- of suburbanization in Tallinn is, in other words, a
urbanization, or whether the stage has been by- spatially segmented process with increasing subur-
passed altogether. In either case, awaiting the nal ban residential segregation as a consequence.
verdict from further East and Southeast, it appears With Jakub Novk and Lud]k S=kora we return
that an evolutionary model may be helpful to un- to Prague and its new suburbs. The new urban
derstand residential suburbanization in some coun- forms and patterns of habitation in the former so-
tries, whereas the unique path perspective may ex- cialist cities structure the daily activity and mobil-
plain the rest. In the meantime, while the broad spa- ity patterns of the suburbanites: Novk and S=kora
tial articulations of intense residential suburbaniza- explore the ensuing new patterns by making use of
tion have been analysed in previous research, its a time-geographical approach. Their article shows
social content has not yet been dissected. Likewise, how the urban environment and the actions of in-
the spatial behaviour of the suburban newcomers dividuals, such as commuting to work, supplying
remains relatively unknown. Three of the articles in the household with everyday goods or taking the
this special issue address these lacunae, lling im- children to school, structure each other. Weekend
portant gaps in our knowledge by delving into the and leisure activities are also included in this care-

104 The authors 2007


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
METROPOLITAN PROCESSES IN POST-COMMUNIST STATES: AN INTRODUCTION

ful analysis of how the post-socialist city is func- mal fertility performance of the Western and South-
tionally integrated and how it is not with its sub- ern European countries has been taking place for
urbs. several decades now, it was not until recently that
With respect to the force of its spatial impact, the the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have
process of suburbanization is well matched by the followed suit. However, when they did, the decline
transformations which have been taking place in in fertility rates was dramatic in first demographic
the post-socialist inner city. Several factors have transition terms roughly a jump from late stage
been of especial importance here. First of all, under three (high fertility and low mortality) or early
socialism, commercial properties were virtually stage four (low fertility and low mortality) to an ad-
non-existent (S=kora, 1998). With the advent of the vanced stage ve (somewhat higher mortality but
market economy, and with the aid of foreign and, low fertility; see Jones, 1990). As a result, the size
later on, domestic capital, the situation was recti- of the young adult cohorts in many CEE countries
ed, with new retail and ofce facilities appearing is still rather large vis--vis that of the previous and
at high-value locations to such an extent that, for following generations. In the medium term, this
example, by the early 2000s Tallinn even experi- carries the potential for a signicant benecial
enced a temporary decline in the price of modern macro-economic age dividend (see Malmberg and
ofce space as a result of oversupply. Second, pri- Sommestad, 2000; Bloom et al., 2003), but it also
vatization and property restitution created the pre- means that the demand for certain types of housing
conditions for signicant reshufings in the own- and public services will uctuate according to the
ership structure and socio-economic composition life cycle stages of the dominant cohort.
of the residents of the pre-socialist housing stock. Nevertheless, the changes in age composition are
In socialist times, when it was mostly inhabited by more predictable than changes in household struc-
an ageing and socially marginalized population, ture. The latter represent the focal point of the Sec-
this stock was largely left to decay (Szelnyi, 1983; ond Demographic Transition (SDT) theory, accord-
Musil, 2005). However, disinvestment in the inner ing to which the nexus between lowest-low fertility
city meant that many historical and architecturally and the higher-order needs of educated young
appealing buildings were preserved, albeit in a di- adults is self-perpetuating (Surkyn and Lesthaeghe,
lapidated condition, providing fertile ground for 2004). This is the issue which Annett Steinfhrer
post-socialist gentrication (see S=kora, 2005). and Annegret Haase address in their article with re-
Third, the transformation of the inner city was spect to East Central Europe and in particular the in-
made possible by its rapid deindustrialization, ner city districts of its urban areas, where signs of the
which left extensive brownelds essentially va- SDT lifestyle are appearing in the form of loca
cant, high-value plots with high conversion costs lized reurbanization in the cities of the former East
and, in some cases, occupied by valuable pre-so- Germany. The implications of their discussion are of
cialist industrial heritage objects (Kiss, 2002). particular importance to the ongoing research on
Jana Temelovs article takes us to the recently gentrication, where the economic and institutional
deindustrialized and reinvented working-class settings appear in the foreground. As post-socialist
community of Smchov, an inner part of Prague. In forerunners, Steinfhrer and Haase argue that the
her case study, foreign capital and architectural ex- cities of the new Lnder most likely offer an indica-
cellence merged to create a high-prole (agship) tion of the possible future directions of urban change
building at a nodal location within the neighbour- in post-socialist Europe as a whole, possibly echo-
hood. Before long, the new structures acted as a cat- ing the post-suburban experiences of many North
alyst of renewal for Smchov, and a positive radi- American and West European cities.
ating regeneration effect is demonstrated. Unlike in
Western cities, where comparable large-scale
projects are often carried out as publicprivate part- More on the menu
nerships, Temelov shows, in post-socialist cities, The papers presented in this special issue are im-
that the public part of the partnership tends to be portant steps in the advancement of the eld of if
weak and the private side strong. we may post-communist urban studies. By way of
An often forgotten aspect of urban change is its conclusion, we would now like to suggest four ar-
underlying demographic component (Buzar et al., eas which we believe require further research.
2005). Almost all European countries are experi- First of all, the post-Soviet case is largely still
encing natural population decline. While the dis- terra incognita. Studies similar to the ones carried

The authors 2007 105


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
THOMAS BORN AND MICHAEL GENTILE

out by the authors of the articles in this special issue Thomas Born thanks Lillemor och Hans W:son Ahl-
should be repeated in the cities of the Common- manns fond fr geografisk forskning for a project
wealth of Independent States, where the past expe- grant (Project: Inaugural Nordic Geographers Meet-
rience of socialism has been longer and the main di- ing) that supported the work with this theme issue,
rections of urban development seem to be depart- and the participation in the conference mentioned
ing from those observed in East Central Europe. above. Michael Gentile thanks the Wallander-
What is it that makes the post-Soviet case different? Hedelius Research Foundation of Svenska Han-
Second, the analysis of the macro-context of ur- delsbanken for its generous nancial support in the
ban change should expand by embracing the eco- form of a Wallander bursary. We also thank rjan
nomics of out-migration from the CEE cities. Since Sjberg and Lud]k S=kora for their highly useful
the EU accession of all of the post-socialist Central comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of this pa-
European countries, of the three Baltic States, and per.
now of Romania and Bulgaria, the migration bal-
ance of these countries has deteriorated, particular- Thomas Born
ly with regard to the younger educated groups. If Stockholm University
the out-migration of these groups is temporary, the Sweden
return migrants are likely to bring improved skills
and therefore wealth with them. If it is not, the Michael Gentile
risk of labour market bottlenecks (some of which Stockholm School of Economics
have already appeared, for example, in the con- Sweden
struction industry) and brain-drain will materialize,
reducing or obliterating the competitiveness of the
regions urban nodes and depauperating the periph- Notes
eral and inter-metropolitan spaces (Kunzmann, 1. In this paper, the terms socialist and communist are
2006). More research is needed on the effects of the used interchangeably.
2. Other inner city transformation processes have been the fo-
post-EU accession migration with the objective of cus of a large volume of research (see e.g. S=kora, 1999;
devising policy solutions aimed at capitalizing on Nagy, 2001).
its advantages and minimizing the damages. 3. However, such shortages did not exclude the existence of
Third, within the micro-context, we may note goods in long-term excess supply, flooding the warehouses
and ultimately generating large amounts of waste (see s-
that most detailed studies of the changing spatial lund, 2003, pp. 132133, for more on this topic).
structure of the post-socialist city have thus far 4. To a certain extent, this was also ideologically endorsed by
tended to emphasize the areas where the changes the party doctrine of full employment, at least before the
have been most evident; that is, the suburban fringe years of stagnation.
5. In fact, Bertaud and Renaud (1997, pp. 144155) report that
and the city centre. The areas which were forgotten 31 per cent of the total built-up area in Moscow was occu-
during the socialist era remain forgotten, and this is pied by industries in 1992, as compared to a mere 5 per cent
particularly true for the declining transitional zones in Paris. Furthermore, at certain intermediate distances from
at the outskirts of the inner city areas areas whose the city centre (i.e., those corresponding with the first major
ring of industrial development), factories are reported to oc-
social depletion falls under the shadow of the par- cupy more than two-thirds of all land.
allel processes of reurbanization and gentrication. 6. Although all land was owned by the state, privately occu-
Finally, the small and medium-sized cities still pied single-family housing (private housing) was permis-
remain in the periphery of post-socialist urban sci- sible to varying degrees in all socialist polities, although
convincingly discouraged at times (through heavy taxation,
ence. Although the majority of the urban popula- excessive restrictions on plot size and general propaganda
tion of the post-socialist world resides in such cit- means) and merely tolerated otherwise (for more on private
ies, they remain virtually unstudied. housing in different real socialist contexts, see Szelnyi,
1983; Andrusz, 1984, ch. 9; Bater, 1989, p. 118; Ashwin,
1999, pp. 3941; Gentile, 2004b). Towards the end of the
Soviet epoch, private housing was occasionally even en-
Acknowledgements couraged (see Gentile, 2003).
The authors wish to thank the Bank of Sweden Ter- 7. In the USSR, the so-called blat was an economic system
centenary fund for their support granted to this based on the non-alienated exchange of favours and goods
within personal networks. It was normal, more or less ubiq-
project by co-funding the Urban Geographies of uitously used and not illegal, although ideologically incor-
Post-communist States IVII sessions at the Inaugu- rect (Ledeneva, 1998; Born, 2003a). For post-socialist eco-
ral Nordic Geographers Meeting in Lund, Sweden, nomical networks, see Lonkila and Salmi (2005), Round
1015 May 2005 (Project No. F20051370:1-E). (2006) and Ledeneva (2006); also Williams (2005).

106 The authors 2007


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
METROPOLITAN PROCESSES IN POST-COMMUNIST STATES: AN INTRODUCTION

8. In some cases, entire cities as well as their inhabitants BLINNIKOV, M., SHANIN, A., SOBOLEV, N. and VOLKO-
were kept secret (for more on secret cities, see Tikhonov, VA, L. (2006): Gated communities of the Moscow green
1996; Lappo and Polyan, 1997; Rowland, 1998; Gentile, belt: newly segregated landscapes and the suburban Russian
2004a). environment, GeoJournal 66 (12): 6581.
9. At the time of writing, the ensuing ideological rift has bub- BLOOM, D., CANNING, D. and SEVILLA, J. (2003): The De-
bled up to the surface of the Tallinn urban scene and of the mographic Dividend: A New Perspective on the Economic
Muscovite streets. Plans to move a Soviet-era bronze statue Consequences of Population Change. Population Matters
commemorating the Red Army soldiers killed in the Second Monograph MR-1274, RAND, Santa Monica, CA.
World War while liberating or occupying (depending on the BODNR, J. and BRCZ, J. (1998): Housing advantages for
point of view) Estonia from the city centre to a different lo- the better connected? Institutional segmentation, settlement
cation have resulted in lively anti-fascist protests on the type and social network effects in Hungarys late state-so-
streets of Moscow (Postimees, 25 January 2007, Na miting cialist housing inequalities, Social Forces 76 (4): 1274
v zashchitu bronzovogo soldata v Moskve vyshli 2000 1304.
chelovek). BOONE, C.G. (2002): An assessment and explanation of envi-
ronmental inequality in Baltimore, Urban Geography 23 (6):
581595.
References BORN, T. (2003a): What are friends for? Rationales of infor-
ALIAJ, B., LULO, K. and MYFTIU, G. (2003): Tirana: The mal exchange in Russian everyday life, in ARNSTBERG,
Challenge of Urban Development. Seda and CO-PLAN, Ti- K.-O. and BORN, T. (eds): Everyday Economy in Russia,
rana. Poland and Latvia. Sdertrn Academic Studies 16,
MAN, A. (1992): Architecture and Ideology in Eastern Europe Almqvist & Wiksell International, Stockholm, pp. 2136.
during the Stalin Era. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. BORN, T. (2003b): Den sovjetiska frorten som livsmilj: fall-
ANACKER, S. (2004): Geographies of power in Nazarbayevs et Ligovo i St Petersburg [The Soviet housing estate as a liv-
Astana, Eurasian Geography and Economics 45 (7): 515 ing environment: the case of Ligovo in St. Petersburg], in
533. HENNINGSEN, B., WISCHMANN, A. and GRAF, H. (eds):
ANDRUSZ, G. (1984): Housing and Urban Development in the Stdtischer Wandel in der Ostseeregion heute Stders om-
USSR, SUNY Press, Albany, NY. vandling i dagens stersjregion. Berliner Wissenschafts-
ARNSTBERG, K.-O. and BORN, T. (eds) (2003): Everyday Verlag, Berlin, pp. 115137.
Economy in Russia, Poland and Latvia. Sdertrn Academic BORN, T. (2005): Meeting Places of Transformation: Urban
Studies 16, Almqvist and Wiksell International, Stockholm. Identity, Spatial Representations and Local Politics in St Pe-
ASHWIN, S. (1999): Russian Workers The Anatomy of Pa- tersburg, Russia. Meddelande, 133, Department of Human
tience. Manchester University Press, Manchester. Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm.
SLUND, A. (2003): Building Capitalism The Transformation BUCKLEY, C. (1995): The myth of managed migration: migra-
of the Former Soviet Bloc. Cambridge University Press, Cam- tion control and market in the Soviet period, Slavic Review
bridge. 54 (4): 896916.
AXENOV, K., BRADE, I. and BONDARCHUK, E. (2006): The BUNKE, E. (ed.) (2004): Special issue on Marking Latvias re-
Transformation of Urban Space in Post-Soviet Russia. turn to Europe, eogr7fiski Raksti 12.
Routledge, London. BUZAR, S., OGDEN, P.E. and HALL, R. (2005): Households
BACHVAROV, M. (2005): From guarded apparatchik residenc- matter: the quiet demography of urban transformation,
es to gated communities in post-communist countries, paper Progress in Human Geography 29 (4): 413436.
presented at the Inaugural Nordic Geographers Meeting, BUZAR, S., OGDEN, P.E., HALL, R., HAASE, A., KABISCH,
Lund, Sweden, 1015 May. S. and STEINFHRER, A. (2007): Splintering urban popu-
BADYINA, A. and GOLUBCHIKOV, O. (2005): Gentrification lations: emergent landscapes of reurbanisation in four Euro-
in central Moscow a market process or deliberate policy? pean cities, Urban Studies 44 (5/6): in press.
Money, power and people in housing regeneration in Os- DAWIDSON, K.E.K. (2004): Property Fragmentation: Redistri-
tozhenka, Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geogra- bution of Land and Housing During the Romanian Democra-
phy 87 (2): 113129. tisation Process. Geografiska Regionstudier 60, Uppsala Uni-
BATER, J.H. (1980): The Soviet City. Edward Arnold, London. versity, Uppsala.
BATER, J.H. (1989): The Soviet Scene A Geographical Per- DEDA, L. and TSENKOVA, S. (2006): Poverty and inequality
spective. Edward Arnold, London. in Greater Tirana: the reality of peri-urban areas, in TSENK-
BAULS, A. (1992): Daily commuting to work in small towns in OVA, S. and NEDOVI-BUDI, Z. (eds): The Urban Mo-
Latvia, in STRAUCHMANIS, J. and BAULS, A. (eds): De- saic of Post-Socialist Europe Space, Institutions and Policy.
velopment Problems of the Small Cities in the Baltic States Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg, pp. 151170.
Proceedings of an International Seminar. University of DINGSDALE, A. (1999): Budapests built environment in tran-
Latvia, Riga, pp. 1518. sition, GeoJournal 49 (1): 6378.
BERNHARDT, C. (2005): Planning urbanization and urban DOMASKI, B. (1997): Industrial Control over the Socialist
growth in the socialist period, Journal of Urban History 32 Town Benevolence or Exploitation? Praeger, Westport, CT.
(1): 104119. ENYEDI, G. (1992): Urbanisation in East Central Europe: social
BERTAUD, A. (2006): The spatial structures of Central and processes and societal responses in the state socialist sys-
Eastern European cities, in TSENKOVA, S. and NEDOVI- tems, Urban Studies 29 (6): 869880.
BUDI, Z. (eds): The Urban Mosaic of Post-Socialist Europe FRENCH, A.R. (1995): Plans, Pragmatism and People. UCL
Space, Institutions and Policy. Physica-Verlag, Heidelberg, Press, London.
pp. 91110. FRENCH, A.R. and HAMILTON, F.E.I. (1979): Is there a so-
BERTAUD, A. and RENAUD, B. (1997): Socialist cities with- cialist city?, in FRENCH, A.R. and HAMILTON, F.E.I.
out land markets, Journal of Urban Economics 41 (1): 137 (eds): The Socialist City Spatial Structure and Urban Poli-
151. cy. Wiley, Chichester, pp. 121.

The authors 2007 107


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
THOMAS BORN AND MICHAEL GENTILE

GADDY, C. (1996): The Price of the Past Russias Struggle KORNAI, J. (1980): Economics of Shortage, vol. A-B. Elsevier,
with the Legacy of a Militarized Economy. Brookings Institu- Amsterdam.
tion Press, Washington, DC. KORNAI, J. (1992): The Socialist System: The Political Economy
GANG, I. and STUART, R.C. (1999): Mobility where mobility of Communism. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
is illegal: internal migration and city growth in the Soviet Un- KOTKIN, S. (1991): Steeltown USSR: Soviet Soceity in the Gor-
ion, Journal of Population Economics 12 (1): 117134. bachev Era. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.
GENTILE, M. (2003): Residential segregation in a medium- KRIJ&NE, Z. (2007): New regional mobility trends in Latvia,
sized post-Soviet city: Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, Ti- paper presented at the Conference on Regional Development
jdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie 94 (5): 589 in the Baltic States, Riga, 13 February.
605. KUNZMANN, K. (2006): Spatial development and territorial
GENTILE, M. (2004a): Former closed cities and urbanisation in cohesion in Europe, in ALTROCK, U., GNTNER, S.,
the FSU: an exploration in Kazakhstan, Europe-Asia Studies HUNING, S. and PETERS, D. (eds): Spatial Planning and
56 (2): 263278. Urban Development in the New EU Member States From
GENTILE, M. (2004b): Divided post-Soviet small cities? Resi- Adjustment to Reinvention. Ashgate, Aldershot, pp. 1930.
dential segregation in Leninogorsk and Zyryanovsk, Kaza- LADNYI, J. and SZELNYI, I. (1998): Class, ethnicity and ur-
khstan, Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography ban restructuring in post-communist Hungary, in ENYEDI,
86 (2): 117136. G. (ed.): Social Change and Urban Restructuring in Central
GENTILE, M. and SJBERG, . (2006): Intra-urban land- Europe. Akadmiai Kiad, Budapest, pp. 6786.
scapes of priority: the Soviet legacy, Europe-Asia Studies 58 LAPPO, G. and POLYAN, P. (1997): Zakrytye goroda Rossii
(5): 701729. [The closed cities of Russia], Naselenie i Obshchestvo, 16
GLASSER, S. (2004): Russias capital city undergoing a neo- January.
Stalinist face-lift, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 January LEDENEVA, A. (1998): Russias Economy of Favours Blat,
[available online at http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/ Networking and Informal Exchange. Cambridge University
a/2004/01/01/MNG8L41KJ81.DTL, last accessed 16 January Press, Cambridge.
2007]. LEDENEVA, A. (2006): How Russia Really Works: the Informal
HAASE, A., KABISCH, S. and STEINFHRER, A. (2005): Practices that Shaped Post-Soviet Politics and Business. Cor-
Reurbanisation of inner cities in Europe scrutinising a nell University Press, Ithaca, NY.
concept of urban development with reference to demograph- LEETMAA, K. and TAMMARU, T. (2007): Suburbanization in
ic and household changes, in SAGAN, I. and SMITH, D. countries in transition: destination of suburbanizers in the
(eds): Society, Economy, Environment Towards the Sus- Tallinn Metropolitan Area, Geografiska Annaler: Series B,
tainable City. Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Gda~sk, Human Geography 89 (2): 127146.
pp. 7792. LEWIS, R. and ROWLAND, R. (1979): Population Redistribu-
HAMILTON, F.E.I. (2005): The external forces: towards glo- tion in the USSR: Its Impact on Society. Praeger, New York.
balization and European integration, in HAMILTON, F.E.I., LINNET, J. (2003): An everyday moral economy: NGO activism
DIMITROVSKA ANDREWS, K. and PICHLER-MI- among young Latvians, in ARNSTBERG, K.-O. and
LANOVI, N. (eds): Transformation of Cities in Central and BORN, T. (eds): Everyday Economy in Russia, Poland and
Eastern Europe Towards Globalization. United Nations Latvia. Sdertrn Academic Studies 16, Almqvist & Wiksell
University Press, Tokyo, pp. 79115. International, Stockholm, pp. 193212.
HIRT, S. and KOVACHEV, A. (2006): The changing spatial LONKILA, M. and SALMI, A.-M. (2005): The Russian work
structure of post-socialist Sofia, in TSENKOVA, S. and NE- collective and migration, Europe-Asia Studies 57 (5): 681-
DOVI-BUDI, Z. (eds): The Urban Mosaic of Post-Social- 703.
ist Europe Space, Institutions and Policy. Physica-Verlag, LORENS, P. (2006): Trends and problems of contemporary ur-
Heidelberg, pp. 113130. banisation processes in Poland, in ALTROCK, U., GNT-
HJDESTRAND, T. (2001): BOMZJ utan propiska: om mantals- NER, S., HUNING, S. and PETERS, D. (eds): Spatial Plan-
skrivning, bostadspolitik och hemlshet i Ryssland [BOMZh ning and Urban Development in the New EU Member States
without a propiska: on registration, housing policy and home- From Adjustment to Reinvention. Ashgate, Aldershot, pp.
lessness in Russia], Nordisk st-forum 15 (2): 3950. 95111.
HJDESTRAND, T. (2004): The Soviet-Russian Production of MALMBERG, B. and SOMMESTAD, L. (2000): The hidden
Homelessness: Propiska, Housing, Privatisation [online re- pulse of history: age transition and economic change in Swe-
source available at http://www.anthrobase.com/txt/H/ den, 18202000, Scandinavian Journal of History 25 (12):
Hoejdestrand_T_01.htm, last accessed 16 January 2007]. 131146.
IOFFE, G. and NEFEDOVA, T. (1998): Environs of Russian cit- MATTHEWS, M. (1993): The Passport Society: Controlling
ies: a case study of Moscow, Europe-Asia Studies 50 (8): Movements in Russia and the USSR. Westview Press, Boul-
13251356. der, CO.
JONES, H. (1990): Population Geography. Paul Chapman, Lon- MORTON, H. (1984): The contemporary Soviet city, in MOR-
don. TON, H. and STUART, R.C. (eds): The Contemporary Soviet
KING, R. and VULLNETARI, J. (2003): Migration and Devel- City. Macmillan, London, pp. 324.
opment in Albania. Working paper C5, Development Re- MURRAY, P. and SZELNYI, I. (1984): The city in the transi-
search Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty, Uni- tion to socialism, International Journal of Urban and Re-
versity of Sussex, Brighton. gional Research 8 (1): 90103.
KISS, E. (2002): Restructuring in the industrial areas of Budapest MUSIL, J. (2005): Prague returns to Europe, in HAMILTON,
in the period of transition, Urban Studies 39 (1): 6984. F.E.I., DIMITROVSKA ANDREWS, K. and PICHLER-MI-
KOK, H. and KOVCS, Z. (1999): The process of suburbaniza- LANOVI, N. (eds): Transformation of Cities in Central and
tion in the agglomeration of Budapest, Netherlands Journal Eastern Europe Towards Globalization. United Nations
of Housing and the Built Environment 14 (2): 119141. University Press, Tokyo, pp. 281317.

108 The authors 2007


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
METROPOLITAN PROCESSES IN POST-COMMUNIST STATES: AN INTRODUCTION

NAGY, E. (2001): Winners and losers in the transformation of SMITH, A. and STENNING, A. (2006): Beyond household econ-
city centre retailing in East Central Europe, European Urban omies: articulations and spaces of economic practice in post-
and Regional Studies 8 (4): 340348. socialism, Progress in Human Geography 30 (2): 190213.
NOVK, J. and S+KORA, L. (2007): A city in motion: the time- STEINFHRER, A. and HAASE, A. (2007): Demographic
space activity and mobility patterns of the suburban inhabit- change as future challenge for cities in East Central Europe,
ants and the structuration of the spatial organization of the Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography 89 (2):
Prague Metropolitan Area, Geografiska Annaler: Series B, 183195.
Human Geography 89 (2): 147168. STITES, R (1989): Revolutionary Dreams: Utopian Vision and
NUISSL, H. and RINK, D. (2005): The production of urban Experimental Life in the Russian Revolution. Oxford Univer-
sprawl in Eastern Germany as a phenomenon of post-socialist sity Press, New York.
transformation, Cities 22 (2): 123134. STOYANOV, P. and FRANTS, K. (2006): Gated communities
OUEDNEK, M. (2007): Differential suburban development in Bulgaria: interpreting a new trend in post-communist urban
in the Prague urban region, Geografiska Annaler: Series B, development, GeoJournal 66 (12): 5763.
Human Geography 89 (2): 111126. SURKYN, J. and LESTHAEGHE, R. (2004): Value orientations
PALLOT, J. and SHAW, D. (1981): Planning in the Soviet Union. and the Second Demographic Transition in Northern, Western
Croom Helm, London. and Southern Europe: an update, Demographic Research,
PAVLOVSKAYA, M. (2004): Other transitions: multiple econ- Special collection 3, Article 3 [available online at http://
omies of Moscow households in the 1990s, Annals of the As- www.demographic-research.org/special/3/3/s3-3.pdf,last ac-
sociation of American Geographers 94 (2): 329351. cessed 9 February 2007].
PICHLER-MILANOVI, N. and DIMITROVSKA ANDREWS, S+KORA, L. (1998): Commercial property development in Bu-
K. (2005): Conclusions, in HAMILTON, F.E.I., DIMITRO- dapest, Prague and Warsaw, in ENYEDI, G. (ed.): Social
VSKA ANDREWS, K. and PICHLER-MILANOVI, N. Change and Urban Restructuring in Central Europe.
(eds): Transformation of Cities in Central and Eastern Eu- Akadmiai Kiad, Budapest, pp. 109136.
rope Towards Globalization. United Nations University S+KORA, L. (1999): Changes in the internal structure of post-
Press, Tokyo, pp. 465487. communist Prague, GeoJournal 49 (1): 7989.
RONNS, P. (1982): Centrally planned urbanization: the case of S+KORA, L. (2000): Post-communist city, in JAZDZEWSKA,
Romania, Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geogra- I. (ed.): XII Konwersatorium Wiedzy o Mie5cie. Miasto post-
phy 64 (2): 143151. socjalistyczne-organizacja przestrzeni miejskiej i jej przemi-
ROUND, J. (2006): Marginalised for a lifetime: the everyday ex- any. Universytet dzky, Komisja Geografii Osadnictwa i
periences of Gulag survivors in post-Soviet Magadan, Geo- Ludno5ci PTG, dzkie Towarzys. Naukowe, d6, pp. 4145.
grafiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography 88 (1): 1534. S+KORA, L. (2005): Gentrification in post-communist cities,
ROWLAND, R.H. (1999): Secret cities of Russia and Kaza- in ATKINSON, R. and BRIDGE, G. (eds): Gentrification in
khstan in 1998, Post-Soviet Geography and Economics 40 Global Context: The New Urban Colonialism. Routledge,
(4): 281304. London, pp. 90105.
RUBLE, B. (1990): Leningrad: Shaping a Soviet City. University S+KORA, L. (2006): Urban development, policy and planning in
of California Press, Berkeley, CA. the Czech Republic and Prague, in ALTROCK, U., GNT-
RUBLE, B. (1995): Money Sings: The Changing Politics of Ur- NER, S., HUNING, S. and PETERS, D. (eds): Spatial Planning
ban Space in Post-Soviet Yaroslavl. Cambridge University and Urban Development in the New EU Member States From
Press, Cambridge. Adjustment to Reinvention. Ashgate, Aldershot, pp. 113140.
SAMPSON, S. (1979): Urbanization planned and unplanned: SZELNYI, I. (1983): Urban Inequalities Under State Socialism.
a case study of Braov, Romania, in FRENCH, A.R. and Oxford University Press, New York.
HAMILTON, F.E.I. (eds): The Socialist City Spatial Struc- SZELNYI, I. (1996): Cities under socialism and after, in AN-
ture and Urban Policy. Wiley, Chichester, pp. 507524. DRUSZ, G., HARLOE, M. and SZELNYI, I. (eds): Cities
SAMPSON, S. (1985): The informal sector in Eastern Europe, After Socialism Urban and Regional Change and Conflict
Telos 66: 4466. in Post-Socialist Societies. Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 286317.
SAMUELSON, L. (1999): Rd koloss p larvftter. SNS Frlag, SZYMANSKA, D. and MATCZAK, A. (2002): Urbanization in
Stockholm. Poland: tendencies and transformation, European Urban and
SAMUELSON, L. (2000): Plans for Stalins War Machine: Tu- Regional Studies 9 (1): 3946.
kachevskii and Military-Economic Planning, 19251941. SZIRMAI, V. (1998): Socialist cities (new towns) in the post-
Palgrave Macmillan, London. socialist era, in ENYEDI, G. (ed.): Social Change and Urban
SHOMINA, E. (1992): Enterprises and the urban environment in Restructuring in Central Europe. Akadmiai Kiad, Buda-
the USSR, International Journal of Urban and Regional Re- pest, pp. 169187.
search 16 (2): 222233. TAHIRAJ, E., MEHILLI, E. and DEDA, L. (2005): Tirana urban
SJBERG, . (1992): Underurbanisation and the zero urban challenges, in ECKARDT, F. (ed.): Paths of Urban Trans-
growth hypothesis: diverted migration in Albania, Geo- formation. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main, pp. 259280.
grafiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography 74 (1): 319. TAMMARU, T. (2001a): Urbanization in Estonia in the 1990s:
SJBERG, . (1994): Rural retention in Albania: administrative Soviet legacy and the logic of transition, Post-Soviet Geo-
restrictions on urban-bound migration, East European Quar- graphy and Economics 42 (7): 504518.
terly 28 (2): 205233. TAMMARU, T. (2001b): Suburban growth and suburbanisation
SJBERG, . (1999): Shortage, priority and urban growth: to- under central planning: the case of Soviet Estonia, Urban
wards a theory of urbanisation under central planning, Urban Studies 38 (8): 13411357.
Studies 36 (13): 22172236. TAMMARU, T. (2005): Suburbanisation, employment change,
SMITH, D.M. (1996): The Socialist city, in ANDRUSZ, G., and commuting in the Tallinn Metropolitan Area, Environ-
HARLOE, M. and SZELENYI, I. (eds): Cities after Social- ment and Planning A 37 (9): 16691687.
ism, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 7099. TEMELOV, J. (2007): Flagship developments and the physical

The authors 2007 109


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography
THOMAS BORN AND MICHAEL GENTILE

upgrading of the post-socialist inner city: the Golden Angel TOSICS, I. (2005): City development in Central and Eastern Eu-
project in Prague, Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human rope since 1990: the impact of internal forces, in HAMIL-
Geography 89 (2): 169181. TON, F.E.I., DIMITROVSKA ANDREWS, K. and PICH-
TEODORESCU, A. (1991): The future of a failure: the Roma- LER-MILANOVI, N. (eds): Transformation of Cities in
nian economy, in SJBERG, . and WYZAN, M.L. (eds): Central and Eastern Europe Towards Globalization. United
Economic Change in the Balkan States: Albania, Bulgaria, Nations University Press, Tokyo, pp. 4478.
Romania and Yugoslavia. Pinter, London, pp. 6982. WILLIAMS, C.C. (2005): Work organization in post-socialist
TIKHONOV, V. (1996): Zakrytye goroda v otkrytom obsh- societies, Futures 37 (10): 11451157.
chestve. Institut Narodnokhoziaistvennogo Prognozirovaniia YOUNG, C. and LIGHT, D. (2006): The socio-cultural geogra-
RAN, Moscow. phies of Communist heritage tourism, paper session 5156
TIMR, J. and VRADI, M. (2001): The uneven development at the 102nd Annual Meeting of the Association of American
of suburbanization during transition in Hungary, European Geographers, Chicago, 711 March.
Urban and Regional Studies 8 (4): 349360.

110 The authors 2007


Journal compilation 2007 Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography

Vous aimerez peut-être aussi