In the years since 1989, the societies of Russia and Eastern Europe have undergone a remarkable transformation from socialism to democracy and free market capitalism. Making an important contribution to the theoretical literature of urbanism and post-communist transition, this significant book considers the change in the spatial structure of post-Soviet urban spaces since the period of transition began. It argues that the era of transformation can be considered as largely complete, and that this has given way to a new stage of development as part of the global urban and economic system: post-transformation. The authors examine the modern trends in the urban development of western and post-socialist countries, and explore the theories of the transformation and post-transformation of urban space. Providing a wealth of detailed qualitative research on the Russian city of St. Petersburg, the study examines the changing structure of its retail trade and services sector. Overall, this book is an important step forward in the study of the spatial dynamics of urban transformation in the former communist world.

"Based on research in previously closed Soviet archives, this book sheds light on the formative years of Soviet city planning and on state efforts to consolidate power through cityscape design. Stepping away from Moscow's central corridors of power, Heather D. DeHaan focuses her study on 1930s Nizhnii Novgorod, where planners struggled to accommodate the expectations of a Stalinizing state without sacrificing professional authority and power. Bridging institutional and cultural history, the book brings together a variety of elements of socialism as enacted by planners on a competitive urban stage, such as scientific debate, the crafting of symbolic landscapes, and state campaigns for the development of cultured cities and people. By examining how planners and other urban inhabitants experienced, lived, and struggled with socialism and Stalinism, DeHaan offers readers a much broader, more complex picture of planning and planners than has been revealed to date."--Dust jacket.