Remarks on the geographical nature of social infrastructure provision in a centrally planned economy

In this paper the regional organization of collective services in socialist countries is discussed. Social infrastructure is a key aspect of regional activity. Within socialist economies shortage, or unsatisfied demand, is a driving force which stimulates natural tendencies to management stabilization in which bureaucratic structures control the distribution of goods and services. There are two rival models of regional infrastructure provision: orientation to places of production, or orientation to places of residence. Within either model a hierarchical structure is necessary. It is becoming necessary in socialist countries to appraise the administrative consequences of social goods provision as well as of productive forces. This creates major challenges to link the productive and residence orientation of administration. This, in turn, suggests a need for a more flexible rather than a uniform approach to settlement planning.

Determinants of urban development Urban research in Poland and West Germany. Proceedings

With 20 contributionsSIGLEBibliothek Weltwirtschaft Kiel C 150255 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Determinants of urban development. Urban research in Poland and West Germany Proceedings

SIGLETIB Hannover: RN 9417(26) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

Housing differences in the late Soviet city: the case of Tartu, Estonia

Research on the residential and housing differences of urban populations in post-second world war Central and Eastern Europe has a tradition extending back to the 1960s. Most studies have focused on the Polish, Czech and Hungarian (large) cities using aggregatelevel data and testing simultaneously the impact of a few factors on residential and housing differences. This research clarifies the housing differences in the late Soviet era of Tartu (the second largest city in Estonia). Using the individual-level data of the 1989 Soviet census and multivariate methods, the article demonstrates that several factors (age, education, occupation, employment sector, ethnic origin, place of origin) shape the individual's housing and living conditions in the late Soviet period in Tartu. On the one hand, the results support the importance of the policy of different institutions (state, enterprises) in shaping people's living conditions; on the other hand, they also point to people's resources and desires as the cause. Copyright (c) Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2003.