Panel World in Central and Eastern Europe
Panel World in Central and Eastern Europe

Summary/Abstract: In physical appearance, the housing estates of West and Central or East European cities are very similar. If you have seen one, you have the impression that you have seen them all. The ideologies and target groups of housing estate construction showed differences in Central and East European countries on the one hand, and West European countries on the other. While in the latter region a substantial proportion of the apartments were intended as a socially motivated solution to the needs of a defined class of underprivileged people, in the former socialist countries, obtaining a modern apartment with all the basic conveniences was a certain privilege. Looking at the data on housing in a few cities of our region, the proportion of those living on panel estates ranges between 30% and about 80%. Bucharest (82%) and Bratislava (77%) are in the worst positions. Over 60% of the population live on housing estates in Katowice, Klaipeda, Lublin and Sofia. Budapest, Prague and Ljubljana, as between 30% and 40%, are in one of the more favourably positioned groups. The research fellow of the Institute of Sociology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences analyses if it is possible to apply the West European rehabilitaion programmes and best practices.

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