Project duration: 
2020 - 2022

Post-war housing estates (HEs) represent an important part of the housing stock in postsocialist countries and their development over the past decades is often discussed. Yet, in spite of relatively rich research evidence based on case studies, systematic and comprehensive research on housing estates in specific countries or regions is lacking. This project aims to bring new empirical knowledge about HEs in Czech cities using a comparative perspective and a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods.

The project has three main interrelated aims: (1) to identify development trajectories of HEs in Czech cities; (2) to assess residential satisfaction of inhabitants and their attitudes towards residential mobility; (3) to understand everyday life in today's HEs, residents' attachment to place, and their relation to the material environment and social environment of HEs. The results will also contribute to developing theories in urban studies and are useful for planning and creating interventions in HEs.

​The generous scope of this research project, the combination of methods, and its overall character make it the first attempt to propose a follow-up to the biggest survey on HEs in Czechoslovakia that was performed in the 1970s by Jiří Musil and his colleagues in the Research Institute on Building and Architecture (Výzkumný ústav výstavby a architektury [VÚVA]).

​The project is carried out in collaboration of Charles University, Faculty of Science and Academy of Sciences, Institute of Sociology and is funded by Grant Agency of the Czech Republic.

More information: www.housingestates.cz

Principal investigator: 
Topics: 
housing
urban and rural studies
Grant agency: 
Czech Science Foundation (GACR)