The Rainbow Edges: The Legacy of Communist Mass Housing and the Colorful Future of Czech Cities

Almost twenty years after the end of Communism in Czechoslovakia, more than 30% of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic still live in structural panel buildings—the anonymous concrete apartment blocks that occupy the edges of teh country\u27s towns and cities. In these fully prefabricated buildings, constructed by the thousands from the mid-1950s until the end of the 1980s, every wall, floor, and ceiling panel is structural. Massive stair towers provide additional stability in the absence of structural skeletons. The first post-Communist president, Vaclav Havel, famously referred to them as \u27rabbit warrens\u27 since the interiors are a series of boxy rooms, always the same size, and packed full of people

České paneláky miznú, ale sídliská zostávajú

A common lament about the legacy of communism in Europe is the damage that it did to the built environment. Particular ire is directed at the concrete prefabricated housing blocks, known in Czech and Slovak as paneláks (structural panel buildings), groups of which were arranged in housing estates (sídliště in Czech and sídlisko in Slovak) to create the region’s characteristic postwar districts. Paneláks were not only signs of the increased production of new housing, but also indicated the acceleration of urbanization in the region as residents moved from rural areas to towns and cities for work. According to United Nations statistics, 75 percent of the Czech population lived in urban areas by 1980, compared to only 54 percent in 1950 . These new residents were the first inhabitants of the panelák housing estates, and many of them and their families remain there today.Komunistickému režimu v Európe sa zvyčajne vyčíta, že poškodil výstavbu. Hnev vzbudzujú najmä betónové prefabrikované bloky domov, v Čechách a na Slovensku nazývané panelákmi, ktoré sa v povojnových štvrtiach miest zoskupovali do sídlisk. Masová výstavba týchto budov sa často pripisuje sovietskemu vplyvu, ale príslušné technológie a ich logika majú aj lokálny pôvod, a to najmä v Československu, kde stavebný priemysel v medzivojnovom období bol v rámci Európy dobre rozvinutý. V Českej republike v súčasnosti existuje okolo 1 165 000 bytov v 80 000 panelákoch. V panelákoch žije vyše 30 % obyvateľov krajiny (približne 3,1 miliónov ľudí), z toho 40 % obyvateľov Prahy. Sídliská sú extrémne štandardizované a nachádzajú sa vo všetkých mestách. Príspevok je venovaný otázke zaznamenávania a pamiatkovej ochrane tohto dedičstva komunizmu v súčasnej podobe v protiklade k spontánnemu procesu renovácie a zmien, ktorým v súčasnosti panelové domy prechádzajú.Web of Science463-430128

Using entrepreneurial social infrastructure to understand smart shrinkage in small towns

Population loss in North America is often viewed as a problem best addressed through economic development efforts promoting growth. In Europe, an alternative view sees depopulation as a process needing to be managed properly, by scaling down community services and infrastructure while maintaining social equity. Called smart shrinkage, this approach argues places can lose population yet still possess a high quality of life. We first clarify the concept by distinguishing the outputs of smartness from its inputs using the entrepreneurial social infrastructure framework. Second, we apply the smart shrinkage concept to n = 98 small towns in the Midwestern state of Iowa using longitudinal data collected in 1994 and 2014. Shrinkage is measured by faster than average population loss; and smart outcomes by faster than average quality of life gains. We then examine correlates of smart shrinkage using demographic, economic, social capital, and civic engagement indicators. Demographic and geographic factors have little impact on smart shrinkage. Smart towns have stronger local labor markets, lower poverty and inequality, and job opportunities in goods-producing sectors. Lastly, smart shrinking towns exhibit higher social infrastructure by possessing more bridging social capital across diverse groups, greater quantities of linking social capital such as memberships in local organizations, and frequent civic engagement by participation in local projects. These activities are supported by a community culture of openness, tolerance, and support