Authors: Alicja Wójcik & Martin Pavlović
On average, more than 20% of inhabitants in post-soviet countries live in Soviet-era housing estates – or as they are called in Polish – blokowiska. They may not be the fanciest places to live, but their residents often stress how much they appreciate the number of green spaces. However, if you took a walk in such a district, you would often find that the state of this greenery is rather desolate – often embodied by empty dried lawns intertwined with desire paths, filled with parked cars or even worse, garbage and dog litter. So how come their promise of fine green infrastructure didn’t quite work out? What potential do these green spaces’ have for creating socially and environmentally sustainable neighbourhoods and cities? And is it possible that there is simply too much greenery?
What shaped blokowiska?
Blokowiska have certain characteristics that are central to understanding the context in which they were built. Designers of the most emblematic socialist residential areas adhered to the rules of modernist architecture and urban planning. Solitary, mostly high-rise and strictly divided per function buildings are scattered throughout the space, surrounded by arterial roads and filled with small streets, walkable paths and yes – large open green spaces. In essence, blokowiska can be seen as a radicalization of the modernist garden city idea, with the initial idea being creating a city with a continuous flow of green spaces connecting different neighbourhoods, be it parks, little squares or (in most cases) big lawns between the blocks.
From a noble idea to the harsh reality of green spaces in Soviet-era housing estates
(Source: Prague Institute of Planning and Development)
However, these ideas were further shaped by turbulent political circumstances. During the Soviet rule, when the majority of these districts were constructed, everything was centrally planned with 5 or 7-year quotas that had to be fulfilled and ideally exceeded no matter what. In order to cope with these goals, the planning processes were often rushed, not to mention the question of competence of those involved, as political preferences were much more important criteria than actual skills. As a result, many of these normalization era housing estates were laid out in irregular and not well thought-through patterns, leaving abundant empty spaces with undefined roles and functions.
Adapting the Soviet-era urban landscape to the needs of today
Such spaces remain omnipresent in blokowiska until today. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, blokowiska – a symbol of a now foregone era of totalitarian rule – were heavily neglected. Therefore, the vast majority of these spaces remain empty until these days, with even the modest furniture they have once been equipped with now falling apart.
Nonetheless, with the demands on public space quality soaring, alongside rent prices and demand for urban housing, blokowiska, notably in the context of their future development, are an increasingly common subject of debate on both academic and public levels. However, the debt in the maintenance and development of blokowiska has been accumulating for decades. And given the proportion of these large green spaces, it’s not a small one. So how to combine environmental, social and economic sustainability when adapting these spaces to the needs of today?
Many approaches, many goals
The possibilities to develop such residual green spaces are almost endless. Possibly the most generally accepted is to simply transform them into better green spaces. Some can be equipped to provide opportunities for active recreation – fitted with playgrounds, outdoor gyms and sport grounds, or for more laid-out relaxation through seating furniture and perhaps even little cafés. The renovated central square of Bohnice district, home to more than 30 000 laying in the north of Prague, has been transformed in a way that provides opportunities for all age groups, while also serving an environmental purpose, with diverse vegetation supported by an underground water management system.
Albeit with some issues, the central square of the Bohnice district in Prague is a good example of a revitalized green space that serves both environmental and social functions (Source: Rusina Frei Architects)
In other cases, the potential of addressing environmental issues can be facilitated even further. Sometimes, simply planting new trees and plants, ideally with biodiversity being taken into account, is the best way there is. But these lots can even be repurposed to facilitate community gardening and/or urban agricultural functions, thus not only increasing overall sustainability but also enabling local residents to take part in shaping their surroundings. In post-soviet cities, this is becoming an emerging trend, although so far mostly endorsed by local communities rather than municipalities – one particular case to mind is the Őrmező district in the Hungarian capital Budapest.
Őrmező district in Budapest is among the many blokowiska where residents discovered the beauty of communal gardening
(Source)
Densification: A swear word or a great idea?
Of course, the pressure of the housing market often results in plans to transform these into building lots, and given that the density of an average blokowisko is actually lower than that of a traditional compact city, this is not necessarily a wrong idea. However, it needs to be done in a way that is respectful to the surroundings, ideally benefiting them in some way, such as through providing mixed-use development that blokowiska so desperately lack. Such ideas often spur local resistance, but in the big picture, densification may help make these districts more livable while preventing urban sprawl, thus actually decreasing the pressure on the environment. Slightly decreasing the area of green spaces might not be the wrong thing if those are better maintained, equipped and diverse in functions.
And last but not least is the issue of mobility. Many of these green areas are used for cycling and walking, however, once outside of them, residents often suddenly find themselves among hoards of parked cars and highway-like roads. Commercial and service buildings in blokowiska are typically laid out to ensure accessibility of basic amenities within 10 minutes of walking for every resident – almost as if socialist planners foresaw the trendy idea of a 15-minute city. Interconnecting the green areas to provide a safe environment for sustainable transport while ensuring that services remain accessible, e.g. preventing converting vacant lots into shopping malls with huge parking lots, can greatly benefit the environment – both locally and generally.
Like with most recipes, this one also doesn’t consist of just one ingredient. A well-balanced mixture of approaches is the key to achieving the socially, environmentally and economically feasible transformation of blokowiska. And let’s not forget that many green spaces in blokowiska are perfectly fine as they stand.
Sources:
Community in the making: how to build communities in socialist. (2021, April 12). URBACT. https://urbact.eu/community-making-how-build-communities-socialist-housing-estates
Leetmaa, K., Holvandus, J., Mägi, K., & Kährik, A. (2018). Population Shifts and Urban Policies in Housing Estates of Tallinn, Estonia. Housing Estates in Europe, 389–412. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92813-5_17
Ouředníček, M., & Kopecká, Z. (2021). Towards ordinary quarters: the development of housing estates in Prague after transformation. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-021-09891-4
Prague Institute of Planning and Development. (2015). Koncepce rozvoje veřejných prostranství pražských sídlišť. https://iprpraha.cz/uploads/assets/dokumenty/obecne/krvps_formulace%20zakladniho%20pristupu_male.pdf
Vrabcová, A. (2019, August 12). Anketa: Mají se zahušťovat panelová sídliště? ASB Portal. https://www.asb-portal.cz/aktualne/nazory-a-rozhovory/anketa-maji-se-zahustovat-panelova-sidliste
Szynkarczuk, A. (2015). Behind the Iron Gate Housing Estate. Theory and Praxis of green-space creation before and after the end of the modern movement. http://aeawa.pb.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Architektura-4-2015-Artykul-V.pdf
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