Conceptual forum: the "post-socialist" city

This conceptual forum consists of three contributions that critically assess the relevance of the theme issue's central concept - the post-socialist city. By doing so, we elaborate on a long-standing discussion that has been taking place among urban scholars interested in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which is whether and to what extent "post-socialist" still makes sense to describe and understand what has been happening in this region's cities over the past 30 years. In addition, this forum maps potential pitfalls urban scholars encounter when they use this term and searches for ways to overcome these. The first two contributions (Hirt, Ferencuhova) deal with the role of the socialist city as a theoretical concept to which the post-socialist city is inherently connected. The third text (Tuvikene) proposes a new conceptualization of post-socialism in urban studies that would extend the relevance of the term beyond the imaginary world of post-socialist cities. Together, the three contributions attempt to add to the debate about research on post-socialist cities and its relation to, and position in, international urban theory.