Post-Soviet Suburbanization as Part of Broader Metropolitan Change: A Comparative Analysis of Saint Petersburg and Riga

Guido Sechi, Dmitrii Zhitin, Zaiga Krisjane and Maris Berzins
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Guido Sechi: Department of Geography, University of Latvia, LV1004 Riga, Latvia
Dmitrii Zhitin: Department of Economic and Social Geography, Institute of Earth Sciences, St. Petersburg State University, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
Zaiga Krisjane: Department of Geography, University of Latvia, LV1004 Riga, Latvia
Maris Berzins: Department of Geography, University of Latvia, LV1004 Riga, Latvia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-21

Abstract: Studies on post-socialist suburbanization, which originally focused on demand side dynamics and linear narratives of modernization, have progressively adopted more holistic approaches that consider the various dimensions and factors behind the phenomenon. However, there are still significant gaps and shortcomings affecting this research domain; studies encompassing demand side and supply side dynamics are rare, and so are comparative perspectives. The phenomenon has rarely been analyzed in the context of broader metropolitan change, together with other dynamics such as inner-city gentrification, degradation, or maintenance/regeneration of socialist era residential neighborhoods. This study addresses the mentioned gaps through a multi-dimensional comparative pilot analysis of suburban dynamics in Saint Petersburg and Riga. The analysis encompasses the spatial extent of demographic, socioeconomic, and housing market dynamics within the broader context of metropolitan change. The findings reveal a picture of a demographically and economically significant phenomenon with remarkable implications for macro- and micro-level socio-spatial segmentation; the distinctive features between the two cases are primarily due to migration dynamics and the short/medium term effects of the 2008 financial crisis on the real estate market and industry. Overall, the suburban option appears to be an attractive option for the demand side (in terms of an economic trade-off or societal aspiration) as well as a safe and profitable option for developers.

Keywords: suburbanization; urban social change; comparative urbanism; real estate market; metropolitan area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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