Guest Editor
Elena Batunova, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Liliana Iuga, RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Submission deadline for abstracts: 30th November 2024
Aims and scope
The volume explores the conceptual and institutional foundations of post-socialist urban conservation in Eastern Europe from a historical perspective. It focuses on the geographical space of the former socialist bloc, from the 1980s onwards, looking at ruptures and continuities along historical moments of caesura caused by the transformation of late socialism.
The existing literature on monument protection and heritage policies in the Soviet Union and the countries of the former socialist bloc has primarily focused on the “golden age” of preservation policies (the 1960s-70s) and the participation in international debates and events (e.g., Geering 2019, 2020; Bekus and Cowcher 2020). Scholarly attention has also been devoted to the investigation of regional aspects in the development of such policies (Donovan 2019). In general, the contribution of the socialist states in the heritage-related concepts’ evolution is overlooked (Bekus & Cowcher, 2020). While the evolution of socialist concepts of heritage has received some attention (Deschepper 2019), the post-socialist heritage transformation has been discussed mainly from the perspective of the re-evaluation of the socialist past (Czepczyński, 2010). As a result, many aspects of the topic remain largely unexplored, among which the concept of “urban conservation” and its conceptual, legal and institutional usage in different regional contexts, particularly during the recent past.
The issue will seek to address a series of questions regarding the potential for conceptualization of “urban conservation” in the former socialist countries in Eastern Europe, including the Soviet Union and its successor states, the development of specific legal and institutional instruments, the relation with urban planning, as well as to investigate the transformation of this framework until the early 2000.
How are concepts such as “urban conservation”, “monuments” and “urban heritage” defined and used in the monument protection theory and practice? What synonyms were used in different national contexts, and how do they compare to the ones from international professional debates? When did the aforementioned concepts enter the professional debates and what was their practical relevance?
What were the most important legal instrument(s) in monument protection that would also facilitate the implementation of specific measures regarding potential of “urban conservation”? To what extent were historic areas listed?
Who were the most important actors in the field of urban heritage preservation in this period? How did they connect agendas from urban planning with their specific interest in the protection of historic areas?
Which countries /cities were at the avant-garde of urban conservation in the former socialist countries in Eastern Europe, including the Soviet Union and its successor states, and how was this tradition carried further after the collapse of the communist system? What can we consider as “center” and “periphery”? What kind of regional peculiarities are noticeable and how can they be explained?
Finally, what were the important changes in the transitional period with regard to the concepts, practices and institutions in urban conservation? When can we notice a moment of rupture in theory and policies, and with which consequences?
Proposed Timeline
Abstract submission due: 30th November 2024
Communication of acceptance decision: 30th December 2024
Online Authors’ Workshop: January 2025
First draft submission and start of peer review: 30th June 2025
Final version due: 30th October 2025
Publication (paper issue): 30th December 2025
All submissions to this collection will go through rigorous peer review. Reviewers will follow Springer Nature's and the journal's more detailed Peer-Review Policy. Accepted articles will first be published online. The print issue is scheduled to be published in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Full paper should be submitted to: built-heritage@tongji.edu.cn with the subject line: Special Issue on Heritage Transitions in Eastern Europe.
Further Information
Questions may be addressed by email to the Editorial Office of Built Heritage: built-heritage@tongji.edu.cn, or Dr. Elena Batunova and Dr. Liliana Iuga, Guest Editors of the Special Issue: elena.batunova@yahoo.com, iuga@staedtebau.rwth-aachen.de.