THE PROCESS AND PATTERN(S) OF RESIDENTIAL SPRAWL IN POST-SOCIALIST CITIES: A STORY OF LEIPZIG-LJUBLJANA-WARSAW
THE PROCESS AND PATTERN(S) OF RESIDENTIAL SPRAWL IN POST-SOCIALIST CITIES: A STORY OF LEIPZIG-LJUBLJANA-WARSAW

Summary/Abstract: The processes of urban sprawl are very heterogeneous across Europe, much more than in the US. Rooted in the diverse history and cultures of European nations, they call for a European perspective on urban sprawl. The term is often used today rather negatively, typically to describe low density, inefficient, suburban development around the periphery of cities. Many of the definitions tend to emphasise the idea of urban sprawl being a type of urban form or a pattern of urbanisation, rather than a process of urban change that leads to undesirable urban development patterns, in which antisprawl policies must intervene. The aim of this paper is to provide a more general overview of the nature of residential urban sprawl in three case study cities of Central and Eastern Europe: Leipzig (Germany), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Warsaw (Poland). Since 1990, these cities have experienced a major transformation of the economy, society, policies, and institutions. Despite some significant similarities between them, there are specific differences with respect to their post-socialist residential urban sprawl. Though very distinct with regard to their starting conditions at the end of 1980s, and the amount of investment during the transition period in 1990s, some general conclusions on residential patterns, causes, and consequences of urban sprawl in these cities are possible1. The study has its origins in a comparative research project examining aspects of European urban sprawl, undertaken within the EU FP 5 research project URBS PANDENS: Urban Sprawl: European Patterns, Environmental Degradation and Sustainable Development (2002-2005).

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