Newcomers vs. Old-Timers? Community, Cooperation and Conflict in the Post-Socialist Suburbs of Wrocław, Poland

Abstract

Although suburbanization is long-established in Western capitalist societies, it is a much more recent phenomenon in the post-socialist societies of central and eastern Europe. Suburbanization in these has been both rapid and extensive, so much so that it should be considered ‘as one of the crucial topics in the study of urban change in post-communist cities’ (Novak and Sýkora, 2007: 147). While there is an emerging body of research on the suburban development of post-socialist cities in eastern Germany (Nuissl and Rink, 2005), the Czech Republic (Sýkora, 1994; Novak and Sýkora, 2007) and Bulgaria (Hirt, 2008), there is comparatively little research — especially sociological — on the Polish equivalent. The results of observations carried out on Polish suburban areas are usually geographical in content (Węcławowicz et al., 2006; Zebik, 2011). Although this work provides important insights regarding the spatial nature of suburban development, it says relatively little on the complex social relations being forged in these new suburban spaces and as such lacks deeper sociological insight. Furthermore, some of these suburbs’ publications are only available in Polish, which limits wider discussion on the changing form of Polish post-socialist cities.