engleski

Affordable Housing in the Post-Socialist Context: The Example of the City of Zagreb

Since gaining their independence in the 1990s, the post-socialist countries have become actively involved in globalizationand integration processes in Europe. Croatia has seen a long, never-ending transition and is still struggling to adapt to the new circumstances. The role of the state in spatial planning and development has been considerably reduced, and the so-called private actors (owners, private investors, developers, etc.) have taken a leading role. Urban space has mostly been left to them and their profit-making short-term projects and solutions. The second decade of the transition was particularly marked by commercial and residential overbuilding (especially on the city outskirts). At that time, construction activities were so intensive in Zagreb that they entirely supported the thesis that “East European privatization is like West European privatization on steroids” [1, p. 27].Some quantitative and qualitative sociological research (surveys and interviews) suggests that urban transfor-mations in Zagreb have been incomplete, short-term, and without method or control [2], [3], [4], [5]. The unequal power and influence of urban actors (political and economic actors, on the one hand, andprofessional and civil actors, on the other hand) have affected the city’s appearance and identity and diminished the importance of urbanism. The consequences are visible in the quality of life and housing, and, therefore, the research question is: What are the specific characteristics of affordable housing and the quality of housing in post-socialist Zagreb?The survey results highlight some of the basic problems of the post-socialist transformations of urban space and housing:>Overbuilding (not enough green space), lack of public facilities, lack of public space >In order to meet their daily needs, new housing developments depend on the existing ones and put extra pressure on them.>The quality of housing in new neighborhoods evidently suffers from inadequate public facilities and services(lack of public spaces, playgrounds, parks, green areas, kindergartens, schools, etc.).>The city outskirts, despite being deficient in public facilities, become increasingly attractive for living, and the real estate market continues to see a steady rise in prices as the inflow of new residents to the capi-tal city keeps growing.>The importance of public space and public transportation is visibly diminished (increased automobile and garage use).Urban transformations in Zagreb have reduced the quality of life and housing because short-term private interest has prevailed over long-term public interest. The consequences of such transformations are clearly visible in the housing provision process, where the preferred model is self-owned home purchase. Due to the fact that housing privatization as the privatization trap [6]has been encouraged and supported by the state throughout the transition, Croatia has a very high flat ownership rate today (88.9% according to [7]). This model is often the most expensive one, but, in spite of financial hardship and unaffordable lending, the remaining models are marginal and do not exist systematically at the state or the city level. Citizens are forced to purchase expensive flats and then pay back home loans for many years. A subsidized housing purchase model exists only periodically and targets only specific populationgroups, but there is no public rental housing model (social housing). Studies about Zagreb, however, call for different urban and housing standards both because of the Croatian accession to the EU in 2013 and the growing public dissatisfaction with the existing housing conditions.

post-socialist period, quality of housing, privatization of housing, Zagreb

nije evidentirano