scholarly journals The historic city and the East–West exchange: architecture, urban renewal and international knowledge transfers under state socialism in Hungary

Urban History ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Erika Szívós

Abstract In recent years, the permeability of the Iron Curtain seems to have become a new paradigm in the field of post-war history – urban history included. It is clear, however, that significant differences existed among Eastern Bloc countries in terms of how open they were to Western influences, and to what extent their governments allowed those countries’ citizens – professionals among them – to gain experiences abroad. This article investigates the ways city planning and heritage policy in state socialist Hungary were influenced by international trends; it explores the roles Hungarian architects, urban planners and other experts played after 1956 in knowledge transfers, i.e. the transmission of novel ideas in the field of architecture and urban planning, with special regard to the renewal of inner-city areas and historic town centres. Besides reflecting critically on concepts of the strict East–West divide, the article also calls attention to the limits of freedom inherent even in a relatively liberal Eastern Bloc regime: various forms of state control – including state security surveillance – continued to characterize the system until its collapse in 1989, affecting the mobility of urbanists and architects as well as all other professional groups.

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31
Author(s):  
Jakub Majkowski

This essay will firstly address the extent of Stalin’s achievements in leading the course for domestic policy of the Soviet Union and its contribution towards maintaining the country’s supremacy in the world, for example the rapid post-war recovery of industry and agriculture, and secondly, the foreign policy including ambiguous relations with Communist governments of countries forming the Eastern Bloc, upkeeping frail alliances and growing antagonism towards western powers, especially the United States of America.   The actions and influence of Stalin’s closest associates in the Communist Party and the effect of Soviet propaganda on the society are also reviewed. This investigation will cover the period from 1945 to 1953. Additionally, other factors such as the impact of post-war worldwide economic situation and attitude of the society of Soviet Union will be discussed.    


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heorhi Burchanka ◽  
Yahor Prakopchyk ◽  
Tsimafei Schlender ◽  
Aleh Baravik ◽  
Siarhei Barodka

<p>This study is devoted to analysis of urban development effects on surface thermal characteristics for the case of Belarusian cities of Minsk and Mahiloŭ. Both cities being situated on the same latitude (53.90 N) and not far from each other (~180 km distance), while also sharing a number of similar features typical for cities in Belarus (and in some other former Eastern Bloc countries as well), Minsk and Mahiloŭ nevertheless differ significantly in terms of their population, size and structure. It is therefore of interest to perform urban climate studies for these two cities in parallel.</p><p>First, we use geoinformation systems (QGIS), centralized city planning databases and Open Street Maps (OSM) vector data to implement description of Minsk and Mahiloŭ urban territories in terms of functional zones, taking into account such features as buildings density and urban area category (industrial, residential, business, recreational and other types).</p><p>Furthermore, we perform analysis of surface temperature fields for both cities from satellite data (Landsat-8) and ground-based observations, the latter including both regular meteorological stations (in urban as well as surrounding rural areas) and a volunteer network of weather and air quality sensors distributed in both cities as part of the AirMQ project [1]. We analyze observations for several months in the 2019-2021 period (depending on data availability), paying special attention to days with specific weather conditions (e.g. blocking anticyclones).</p><p>Analysis demonstrates clear evidence of significant urban heat island effects in thermal regimes of both cities, with specific areas of increased temperature related to urban zoning, industrial and green areas, buildings heights and density. However, the selected method of surface urban heat island (SUHI) detection turns out to be somewhat limited for the purposes of studying the effects of blocking anticyclones on urban heat island phenomena development, thereby calling for application of atmospheric numerical modelling techniques.</p><p>[1] AirMQ project, URL: https://airmq.by/</p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siim Sultson

The presented paper focuses on Estonian urban space research concerning both replacement of urban heritage and establishment of new urban design within the period of mid 1940s and 1950s. On the one hand, Stalinist principles brought by Soviet occupation reminded independent Estonian 1930s town planning ambitions. On the other hand, the new principles formulated a new paradigm that was unfamiliar to local urban space tradition. Estonian urban space was compelled to follow the Soviet doctrine by concept, forms and building materials. Sometimes suffering irrational demolitions the towns got axially arranged representative, but perspective and functional plans. Some existing towns (for instance Tallinn, Pärnu, Narva) got new centres due to war wreckages and the ideological reasons. Meanwhile new industrial towns as examples of Stalinist utopia were built in East-Estonia during 1940s–1950s in order to exploit local mineral resources by the Soviet regime. In comparison with Tallinn and Pärnu urban space of East-Estonian industrial towns Kohtla-Järve and classified Sillamäe – designed in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) – still need to be researched. Though different from the rest of Estonian towns by details and materials of façades city-like centres of Sillamäe and Kohtla-Järve are rather similar to Tallinn and Pärnu by their composition.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-86
Author(s):  
Leoni Connah

This article argues that the USA and its Western allies have misused ‘Just War’ narratives to legitimise an external intervention in Afghanistan and their use of force during the War on Terror. It explores the extent to which such external interventions, military strategies, narratives and justifications by the USA may have contributed to state failure in Afghanistan. As the legitimacy of earlier external interventions is called into question, while the road ahead for Afghanistan remains precarious, thinking about a new paradigm of post-war reconstruction becomes important for the country and its people in years to come.


Author(s):  
Alvaro Cerezo Ibarrondo

ResumenLa actuación sobre el medio urbano de regeneración y renovación integrada (aMU-RRi) configura el nuevo paradigma de la intervención urbana, la preservación urbana con carácter conjunto e integrado. Para ello redefine la viabilidad económica, afecta el deber de conservación del derecho de propiedad a la actuación y articula un modelo de equidistribución de reparto de costes que supera las pautas del urbanismo que hemos conocido.El presente artículo constituye un breve recorrido histórico por los instrumentos y técnicas que ha dispuesto el urbanismo español para la preservación urbana: desde inviable e insostenible modelo clásico del urbanismo, pasando por el modelo de la sostenibilidad que incorporó la sostenibilidad plena y el régimen estatutario del derecho de propiedad, pero que estableció un régimen general de intervención sobre el suelo urbanizado inviable y dejó un hueco falto de regulación para la preservación de la ciudad; para alcanzar la definición de la aMU-RRi con la legislación del modelo por la ciudad y sus adaptaciones autonómicas de medio urbano y que ayudará a la formación del nuevo paradigma urbanístico, basado en la función social del derecho de propiedad que nos hemos dado para la preservación urbana conjunta e integrada de eso que llamamos, la ciudad.AbstractThe integrated urban regeneration and renewal intervention (aMU-RRi) configures the new paradigm of urban intervention, with its joint and integrated character for urban preservation. To this end, it redefines the economic viability, affects the duty of preservation of the right of property and articulates a model of equistribution of distribution of costs that surpasses the urban planning guidelines that we have known.This paper constitutes a brief historical journey through the instruments and techniques that Spanish urban planning has provided for urban preservation: from an unviable and unsustainable classic urban planning model, through the sustainability model that it incorporated full sustainability and the statutory property rights regime, but that established an unviable general intervention regime in the existing city areas and also left a gap due to the lack of regulation for the preservation of the city; and finally up to the definition of the aMU-RRi with city preserving legislation and its regional adaptations and that will help the formation of the new urban paradigm, based on the social function of property rights that we have been given for the joint and integrated urban preservation of what we call, the city.


Author(s):  
José Antonio Ocampo

This chapter reviews the early post-war history of the world economy as reviewed in the Survey. It first looks at the task of reconstruction, which the Survey considered to have been very successful. It then looks at the successful transition to rapid growth in the 1950s, though with persistent concern about the recurrence of crises. The evolution of the system of international trade and payments is analysed next, with world trade embarking in the 1950s on its major historical boom but showing from early on an East/West divide and greater difficulties in reconstructing the system of multilateral payments. Finally, the chapter looks at the early post-war experience of the ‘underdeveloped countries’, where poverty remained ‘as stubborn as ever’.


1991 ◽  
Vol 12 (x) ◽  
pp. 271-283
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Stockdale

Summary of conferences at the French Institute The past several years have been filled with many abrupt and largely unforeseen transformations in French, European, and world history. Among the most dramatic of these changes were those occurring within the Eastern bloc countries; these changes necessitate the reinterpretation and redefinition of East-West relations and, more specifically, their implications for France and Europe.


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