Mapping post-socialist changes in urban tissues: a comparative study of Belgrade and Krakow

Abstract

This project on post-socialist urban form in Belgrade and Krakow was undertaken by the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of Technology and the Institute of Architecture and Urban and Spatial Planning of Serbia, involving field visits to both cities. A brief historical review and discussion of planning contexts is followed by an analysis of urban tissues from which five cases, characteristic of both cities, were selected for analysis. These range from peripheral areas to major city-centre streets and typical modern developments. A GIS database was prepared for each case and comparisons made of land use patterns, the year-by-year establishment of new plots, Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and Building Area Ratio (BAR). Plot development is examined through the analysis of the relationship between construction year, plot size, the number of buildings on each plot, and increases of floor and building area ratio. The project highlights parallels between the impacts to which similar urban tissues in the two countries have been exposed during the post-socialist period and reveals the variety of problems and challenges of urban regulation, land ownership and housing investments in relation to post-socialist urban form.