Urban restructuring in post-war contexts: the case of Sarajevo

Abstract

The transition from state-socialism to capitalism has not been the only process reshaping the urban landscapes in Central and Eastern Europe but some cities were aff ected by war destructions, like in the Caucus region or in the former Yugoslavia. The case study of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is helpful to understand how the urban transformation is performed in postwar contexts, an arena neglected in the current literature on post-socialist cities. This paper aims at exploring the interplay between postsocialist urban restructuring and the peace-building process. It presents results of a series of fi eldworks conducted in Sarajevo in 2010 and 2013. It is argued that in spite of the liberal policies implemented by the international community and the belated physical renewal, the transition from socialism to capitalism has been continuously undermined by the local power reconfi guration carried out during the war. The paper analyses the restructuring policies of the postwar period and its impact on the urban spatial structure. The fi rst two sections focus on the urban restructuring processes of post-socialist cities also in postwar contexts, in which the nature of the internationally-led reconstruction and peace-building is analysed as diff erential processes. Finally, both processes are considered in the case of Sarajevo in relation to the transformation of its urban structure.

Why are “we” called “them”?: Storytelling and the contested terrain of post-conflict public formation

“…Sarajevo was subject to siege by the Bosnian Serb Army (BSA) between April 1992 and December 1995. During that time, the city suffered over 11,000 civilian casualties, and sustained damage or destruction to the majority of its buildings (Martín-Díaz, 2014). This “urbicide” not only targeted urban structures, but cosmopolitan urbanity itself (Coward, 2008).…”

Urban development after the Bosnian War: The division of Sarajevo's territory and the construction of East Sarajevo

“…Since the war, no new urban masterplan has been made and consequently the existing planning documentation at the urban scale conforms to that made in -revised in 1990and 1998-(City of Sarajevo, 1986b. However, although this plan is still in force, new urban developments have introduced a number of morphological transformations in the inner city, mainly due to foreigner investors who have built new shopping malls and residential and office towers (Gül & Dee, 2015;Martín-Díaz, 2014). In fact, the urban plan of 1986 still classifies zones that are currently part of the RS (see Fig.…”

Towards an unsustainable urban development in post‐war Sarajevo

“… Areas with slope gradients above 20° with the distribution of the new post‐war urban projects as well as the landslides shown in F igure (for further information about post‐war urban projects see M artín‐ D íaz (, 311–12)) …”

“…This is the case of the Central Business District in the Marijin Dvor area and the Bulevard Meše Selimovića, where the development of new office buildings and commercial property, some of them illegally constructed, have played a central role in urban restructuring and the spatial reorganisation of Sarajevo (Martín‐Díaz ). This process of urban densification has been occurring primarily in the central and western neighbourhoods of Sarajevo, emerging during the socialist regime.…”

“…In Sarajevo, the major urban processes that occurred after the end of the Bosnian War (1992–1995) have favoured the expansion of urban and suburban sprawl (Dematteis ; Champion ). This process was a result of the demographic pressure that emerged in the years immediately following the war, as well as of the neoliberal urban policies driven by international actors (Martín‐Díaz ). The primary cause was the increasing demographic pressure driven by refugees and internally displaced persons, as outlined in the Dayton Peace Agreement.…”