A comparative analysis of the land-use patterns of the post-socialist urban peripheries in Central and Eastern Europe

International audienceThe literature about post-socialist city mainly addresses the socio-economic and political dimensions of transformations after the fall of communism : decentralization, real estate privatization, motorization of households, growth of services and the end of industrial primacy, etc. (Hausserman, 1996; Kovacs, 1999; Tsenkova and Buckleyand, 2001). It very seldom makes urban morphology and functionality the main entry. Nevertheless, it often claims that urban sprawl has been a new common trend in this region of Europe. This research aims to identify the land-use patterns that characterize urban peripheries in Central and Eastern Europe, after the fall of the communism. It wishes to check if there is a common regional pattern of urban morphology, of land use, or if there are national or regional particularities, defined and influenced by the smoothness of the transition from an urban central planning to a capitalist one. Is it true that suburbanization is the main trend of urban transformation, and if yes, what is its rhythm? Based on the review of the literature, as well as on a GIS approach, the study analyses the peripheries of 132 cities in order to outline their morphological and functional profiles, derived with the aid of indicators like the location quotient, which allows the quantification the spatial concentration for different land-use types. An emphasis is put on Polish and Romanian cities, which are compared with a general model of evolution of the periphery of Central and Eastern European cities. Therefore, are, indeed, the peripheries of the central and eastern European city a ground of chaotic urban development