Sofia after 1989: new reality of residential development

In: Europa Regional, Band 19.2011, Heft 3-4, S. 32-47

Abstract

In this article is discussed the new reality of residing in Sofia after 1989 and the tendencies of development of the urban territory concerning housing areas. It is argue that the transformations of the urban reality are significant and they concern the social structure as well as its' territorial partition through housing space. It is clear that Sofia lost great quantity of public spaces and got larger. A part of the Sofia urban sprawl is converted to high quality place of residing. The relatively heterogeneous housing communities of the socialist city now are predominantly transformed to homogeneous ones. Fragmentation and segregation between city centre, inner city urban territories and outskirts are changing dramatically the social stratification of the society. There are limited number of studies presenting the changing situation and few research temptations to explain the phenomena. Using qualitative and quantitative data and information, collected between 2005- 2010 for a special project, the article suggest reasons for this new reality of residing and try to emphasize some future visions for the housing in post-socialist Sofia.