Post-Soviet Suburbanization as Part of Broader Metropolitan Change: A Comparative Analysis of Saint Petersburg and Riga

Studies on post-socialist suburbanization, which originally focused on demand side dynamics and linear narratives of modernization, have progressively adopted more holistic approaches that consider the various dimensions and factors behind the phenomenon. However, there are still significant gaps an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2022-07, Vol.14 (13), p.8201
Main Authors: Sechi, Guido, Zhitin, Dmitrii, Krisjane, Zaiga, Berzins, Maris
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cities
Comparative analysis
Dimensional analysis
Housing
Ideology
Modernization
Neighborhoods
Neoliberalism
Real estate
Residential areas
Segmentation
Socialism
Spatial analysis
Suburban areas
Sustainability
Trends
Urbanization
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Summary:Studies on post-socialist suburbanization, which originally focused on demand side dynamics and linear narratives of modernization, have progressively adopted more holistic approaches that consider the various dimensions and factors behind the phenomenon. However, there are still significant gaps and shortcomings affecting this research domain; studies encompassing demand side and supply side dynamics are rare, and so are comparative perspectives. The phenomenon has rarely been analyzed in the context of broader metropolitan change, together with other dynamics such as inner-city gentrification, degradation, or maintenance/regeneration of socialist era residential neighborhoods. This study addresses the mentioned gaps through a multi-dimensional comparative pilot analysis of suburban dynamics in Saint Petersburg and Riga. The analysis encompasses the spatial extent of demographic, socioeconomic, and housing market dynamics within the broader context of metropolitan change. The findings reveal a picture of a demographically and economically significant phenomenon with remarkable implications for macro- and micro-level socio-spatial segmentation; the distinctive features between the two cases are primarily due to migration dynamics and the short/medium term effects of the 2008 financial crisis on the real estate market and industry. Overall, the suburban option appears to be an attractive option for the demand side (in terms of an economic trade-off or societal aspiration) as well as a safe and profitable option for developers.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su14138201