"Heritage in Transition" at the CPUD 2018 Conference in Istanbul

CPUD '18 / III. International City Planning and Urban Design Conference, Istanbul, May 2018

The researcher of our lab, Nebojša Čamprag, presented one of the first research papers of the forthcoming research project "Heritage in Transition – Socio-political Transformation and Reconfiguration of Post-socialist Cities in Central and Eastern Europe" at the conference in Istanbul. The presentation was titled "Contested or Emerging Heritage: Contemporary reflection on the Socialist City Legacy".

This paper aims to reflect on the current approaches that recognize values of the socialist legacy in the cities of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), after three decades of comprehensive socio-economic and spatial transformation processes. Special focus has been put on two contradicting processes that run in parallel. The first considers relative spatial domination of socialist spaces and constructions within urban tissues. These are often the results of lavish dimensions and particularity of stylistic expression, that makes specific influences on the contemporary production of urban imaginaries and thereby, also on urban identification. The second process assumes an intense erosion of these spaces/cities, occurring through firstly, reinterpretations of national and urban identities and values, and secondly through post socialist urban restructuring propelled by neo-liberal ideology. Both of the approaches further show an imposition of a new understanding of previous formulations, aesthetics and uses of socialist built (urban) space. By placing specific focus on four capital cities from the CEE region (Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Berlin), this study demonstrates the diverse interests and approaches dealing with socialist legacy. In addition, the study also highlights the complexity in the process of recognizing values of the cities’ socialist past and further inclusion within the new urban and national construct of identity of the CEE countries.

More on the website of DAKAM Conferences.

View on the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest. Author: Čamprag, 2017