Urban Transformations and Planning Strategies for Development of Large Housing Estates in the Post-Socialist Context: The Experience of The Baltic Countries

Abstract

The fall of socialism and radical political changes in the 1990s established a new social, economic and cultural environment which shaped a new urban reality of the post-socialist city. One of them relates to inherited large housing estates (LHEs), one of the most striking spatial legacies of socialism whose future is considered as one of the key challenges in the urban development of the post-socialist city. National and local government’s responses to LHEs development can be recognized through different strategies and planning approaches. The paper discusses those that are characteristic of the Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Their experience of adapting the strategies and urban policies to the EU development and planning context may be of importance for the institutional and planning environment in Serbia. Besides the conceptualization of the post-socialist urban and housing policy and their influence on the transformation of LHEs in the Baltic countries, the paper is organized around two key research aims: 1) to investigate the types and intensity of physical-functional transformation of LHEs in the Baltic largest cities through up-to-date research of current challenges and future prospects of LHEs; and 2) to investigate national and local governments response to LHEs development in the post-socialist context, i.e. to identify a major planning strategies. The research findings suggest that building- and place-based urban regeneration, rather than downsizing or even demolition of LHEs, is the sustainable strategies for their future development. Although a comprehensive regeneration strategy is seen as sustainable solution for Baltic countries context, there are still many challenges for its implementation. Possibilities and limitations for its application in the Baltic cities are reviewed in order to identify opportunities and obstacles for implementing a comprehensive regeneration strategy in the context of Serbia, for which it is a novelty.