Iron Curtains
Gates, Suburbs and Privatization of Space in the Post-socialist City
Studies in Urban and Social Change
1. Auflage März 2012
254 Seiten, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Kurzbeschreibung
Iron Curtains explores the human dimension of new city-building that has emerged in East Europe. Utilizing firsthand research culled from more than 100 interviews conducted primarily in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia--a city whose public spaces have unraveled over the last two decades--Sonia Hirt examines the ways people live and experience the new, post-socialist urbanism. Also addressed are what these new spaces tell us about their builders, users, and inhabitants. This book offers provocative insights into the complex relationship between society and space during times of fundamental change.
Utilizing research conducted primarily with residents of Sofia, Bulgaria, Iron Curtains: Gates, Suburbs, and Privatization of Space in the Post-socialist City explores the human dimension of new city-building that has emerged in East Europe.
* Features original data, illustrations, and theory on the process of privatization of resources in societies undergoing fundamental socio-economic transformations, such as those in Eastern Europe
* Represents the sole in-depth monograph on contemporary urbanism in Southeast Europe
* Makes a broader statement on issues of urbanism in Europe and other parts of the world while highlighting the complex connections between cultures and cities
--Ekaterina Makarova, University of Virginia
Drawing from deep personal insight as well as 100 interviews, Hirt describes a shift from "bland to brass," sheds light upon privatism as a cultural condition, and reveals prospects for rejuvenating the public realm in the global context. This compelling and passionate account about why the post-wall world is so busy building walls fills a gaping hole in the literature on urbanism.
--Nan Ellin, University of Utah
