Urban (Un)Sustainability: Cases of Vilnius’s Informal and Illegal Settings

Tomas Kačerauskas
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Tomas Kačerauskas: Department of Philosophy and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Creative Industries, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, 10221 Vilnius, Lithuania

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-12

Abstract: The current analysis addresses cases of both informal and illegal settlements in Vilnius, Lithuania. By using semiotic means (specifically, semiotic squares), the author presents the Romani district ( tabors ), as well the Šnipišk?s district, describing the circumstances of their emerging and comparing these cases. In addition to that, the philosophical questions about the dichotomies ‘formal/informal’, ‘temporal/eternal’, ‘order/chaos’, ‘legal/illegal’, ‘sustainable/unsustainable’ are discussed. On the one hand, illegal buildings serve as a signal about too high a barrier of bureaucracy, about a surfeit of law and even about the violation of certain rights. On the other hand, some urban districts can become illegal because of a changed urban vision reflected in a new General Plan. The paper also analyzes the issue of public interest. Additionally, the tendency of democratic society to turn into bureaucratic society is analyzed. The paper addresses sensitive issues related to sustainable development of cities, intercultural dialogue and equal opportunities.

Keywords: informal settings; urban sustainability; social minority; semiotic square; urban development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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