POST-SOCIALIST TRANSFORMATIONS OF OSTRAVA-PORUBA: CONFIGURATIONS OF AGENCY AND INSTRUMENTS OF INFLUENCE IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Aim. The study aims to identify and interpret the post-socialist vectors of transformation of Ostrava- Poruba as a planned socialist “new town” by relating actors, instruments, and the spatial layers affected by their influence. Methods. The research combines the analysis of scholarly and documentary sources and archival materials with field observations. Data on transformations of the urban environment were coded and structured into three analytical blocks: actors (the state; the municipality/institutions; grassroots initiatives), instruments (institutional-regulatory, property-market, urban-spatial, cultural-symbolic, educational and outreach, network/ coalitional, and local practices), and layers (morphological-planning; architectural-plastic; symbolic-codified). The study proposes an analytical framework based on the interaction between actors, instruments, and spatial layers, which makes it possible to interpret post-socialist transformations as a system of interrelations among institutional actors, development instruments, and the material structure of the city. Results. The municipality sets priorities for regeneration, mobility, and courtyards and implements educational interventions; grassroots actors commercialize the street frontage, fill intra-block “voids” with new development, and alter the management regimes of residential buildings. Municipal and grassroots practices predominate. The most dynamic changes occur in urban voids, façades, and symbolic-coded elements, while the planning framework and volumetric composition remain largely inertial. Conclusions. Transformations take the form of layering new economic and managerial regimes onto a comparatively stable socialist framework; the «actors–instruments–layers» matrix is suitable for comparative analysis of planned districts.