Urban development and planning in central Europe under communist regimes - The perspective of historical sociology

The article is concerned with changes in urban systems and policies in East Central Europe under communist regimes. The changes of inter- and intra-urban structures are compared with official urban policies declared by the governments. The urban systems that emerged in former socialist countries represent modifications of the general urbanisation model and they prove the fact that there exist multiple urbanisations. The differences between 'socialist' and 'capitalist' urban structures were expressed mainly on the intra-level, i.e. in differing socio-spatial structures of cities.