H ousing Stud ies, V ol. 14, N o. 5, 679± 701 , 1999
Proce sse s of Socio-spa tial D iffe re ntia tion in
Post-com m unis t Pra gue
L U D EÏ K SYÂ KO RA
D ep artm ent of So cial Geog ra p h y a nd Re gion a l D e ve lopm ent, C h ar les U nive rsity, Pra g ue,
C ze ch Rep ublic
[P ape r ® rst re ceive d O cto be r 1 9 9 7 ; in ® na l form M a rch 19 9 9 ]
A BSTRACT This pape r analyses processes w hich transform the socio-sp atial pattern of
post-com m un ist Prague and de scribes m ajor change s in the city’s social ge ography. It
begins w ith a brief introduction about the socio-spatial pattern of a socialist city and a
discussion of m ethods and conce pts of inve stigation of processes of socio-spatial change
in contem porary Prague . G row ing income ine qualities and transform ations in the
housing system are exam ine d as the m ain unde rlying causes of grow ing socio-spatial
disparities. In the section conce rning the mechanism of socio-spatial differentiation,
attention is focused on the role of social m obility, m igration, housing renovation and
ne w housing construction. The conclusions sum m arise m ajor change s in the social
ge ography of post-com m unist Prague and discuss im plications of central and local
gove rnm ent policies for the grow th in socio-spatial disparities.
Introduction
Since the fall of communism , former socialist cities have been undergoing
profound tran sformations , conditione d by the tran sition to a marke t society. The
urban change in post-comm unist cities can be classi® ed as a tran sition from
socialist to capitalist cities. One of the most importan t distin ctions between
socialist an d capitalist cities is the charac ter an d m ag nitude of socio-spatial
differen ces. Despite the variety w ithin groups of capitalist as well as socialist
cities it can be ge ne ralised that the socio-spatial pattern of a socialist city w as
m ore hom ogene ous, w ith a lesse r extent of segre gation . This situation w ill
chan ge w ith the tran sition from a centrally plan ne d society to a m arket society.
The major aim of this paper is to analyse processe s w hich are trans forming the
socio-spatial pattern of a former socialist cityÐ Prague. C omparin g the sociospatial structure of socialis t an d capitalist cities, it is expected that the tran sformation of post-comm unist Prag ue w ill be characte rise d by grow ing socio-spatial
differen ces. This chan ge is determ ined by the introd uction of a m arket syste m of
resource allocation, w hich ge ne rate s gre ate r socio-spatial disparitie s than the
former system of central plan nin g. H owever, w hile the prin ciples of allocation
w hich in¯ uence the spatial distribution of differen t population groups can be
chan ged suddenly an d quickly, the tran sformation of spatial pattern s is grad ual
an d slower, as its pace is lim ited by historical ine rtia such as the built en viron0267± 3037 Print/1466- 1810 O n-line /99/050 679± 23
Ó
1999 T ay lor & Francis L td
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men t, the previous accumulation of wealth by household s, emotional attachm en t
fam ilies have to their place of reside nce, social welfare policies of the govern men t, etc.
At prese nt, it is too early to observe m ajor res ults of on-going chan ge s in the
socio-spatial pattern of a post-com munist city. H owever, new mechanism s that
in ¯ uence the spatial allocation of different social groups in urban space alre ad y
operate an d we can theoretically ded uce m odels an d empirically observe
exam ples of processes w hich contribute to the socio-spatial differen tiation an d
tran sformation of the previous socio-spatial pattern . The major factors w hich
in ¯ uence grow ing socio-spatial disparitie s in post-com munist Prague are increasin g income ine qualitie s and new ly introduced marke t-base d mechanism s of
housing allocation .
In the exam ple of Prag ue, processe s w ill be analyse d w hich are curren tly
chan ging the socio-spatial pattern of the former socialist city. The paper w ill
beg in w ith a brief characte risation of the socio-spatial structure of a socialist city
an d the mechan ism s producing the structure. This w ill be followed by a
discussion of the method an d concepts used to an aly se processe s of socio-spatial
differen tiation in Prague . Follow ing this, atten tion w ill be given to tw o m ajor
outcomes of the trans ition from a centrally planne d to market society in the
C zech Republic an d Prag ue w hich have crucial impacts on the socio-spatial
differen tiation : increasin g income ineq ualities an d chan ge d prin ciples of housing
allo cation. Fin ally, the three most importan t mechan ism s w ill be an alyse d w hich
curren tly contrib ute to the grow ing socio-spatial differentiation in Prague. The y
in clude: (1) social mobility of househ olds ® xed in their reside ntial locations;
(2) in tern al m igration w ithin the existing housing stock (w ith special atten tion
given to renovate d propertie s); an d (3) immigratio n to ne w ly-constructed residential areas. The conclusion s w ill summarise m ajor chan ge s in the social
geog raphy of post-com munist Prague an d discuss im plications of central an d
local governm en t policies for the grow th in socio-spatial disparities .
T he Socio-spatial Patte rn of a So cialist C ity
The most explicit description of a model spatial structure of a socialist city
w as given by H am ilton (1979, p. 227) . Sze leny i (1983) , Smith (1989, 1996),
W eclaw ow icz (1992) , and man y others discusse d both spatial pattern s an d
mechanism s w hich shaped the socio-spatial structure of socialis t cities. The
socio-spatial pattern s w ithin communist Prague have been an aly sed in M usil
(1968, 1987, 1993) an d MateÏ juÊ et al., (1979) . To summarize , in socialist cities in
genera l, an d Prague in particular, the socio-spatial structure w as relatively
m ore homogeneous, w ith rather less socio-spatial differentiation , than is
typical in capital cities. This situation w as dete rm ined by communist income
an d housing policies.
Nevertheless , desp ite income equalisatio n an d allocation of stan dard ise d
dwelling s to househ olds in need , socio-spatial differen ces did ex ist in socialist
cities. These were in¯ uenced by tw o major factors. First, there w as the preexistin g socio-spatial pattern . Socialist cities were not created on an em pty plain.
They incorporated many urban elements from the pre-communist periods. The ir
in ne r spatial structure w as composed of tw o distinct types of built-up are as :
pre-communist inner parts an d communist outer zone s. Despite some measu res
used to allev iate the m ost strikin g differen ces in pre-communist dwellin g stock,
such as the subdivision and red istrib ution of large apartments of bourge ois
So cio-spatial D ifferentiation in Post-com m unist Prague
681
fam ilies, man y differentiatin g features of residen tial structure were not chan ge d
by central plann ing nor could they have been. For instance , sin gle family
housing has ne ver been nation alised . The refore, dwelling s in reside ntial areas
w ith better quality housin g an d higher social status of inhabitants could not be
redistributed by comm unist allocation policy to w orkin g-class househ olds. Even
the relocation of tenan ts in rental housin g did not fully allev iate disparitie s.
Even though the magn itude of disparity in socio-economic status between
former upper social status neigh bourhood s and the rest of the city decline d due
to in come equalisatio n and mechan ism s of dwellin g allocation, these neigh bourhoods exhib ited highe r than average status measu red by occupation or
education through out the en tire comm unist period .
Second, reside ntial differentiation w as produced durin g comm unism through
differen ces in ne w ly-constructed housing and the uneq ual allocatio n of
dwelling s. The construction an d allocation of state an d co-operative housin g,
w hich accounted for most of the new ly-built urban housin g, create d large ,
socially homogeneou s areas. H owever, not every body had equal access to ne w
socialist housin g or w ished to live in places of mass stan dard ise d housing . It w as
the `socialist m iddle class’, w ho inhab ited large housing estates , w hile many
househ olds remaine d in poorer inne r-city housing or villages at city outskirts.
Elite an d well-off household s were concentrated in sm all enclave s of luxury
villas an d single family houses. There were also rem arkab le disp arities w ithin
co-operative housing, rang ing from stan dard ise d high -rise build ings in huge
estates to low -rise small-s cale developmen ts in excelle nt location s. According to
M usil (1987), residen tial ineq ualitie s produced by the unequ al access to housing
an d the differentiated housing supply increased after the 1960s.
To describe the distinc tions in socio-spatial pattern between socialist an d
capitalist cities, three groups of population characte ristics can be used : socioeconomic, demograp hic an d ethn ic. Socio-economic status, measu red by occupation an d education, decline d on the macro-scale from the city centre to the
urban outskirts. This is in contrast w ith US cities, but sh ow s com mon structural
roots w ith W este rn Europe. O n the meso and micro-scale, there were often
socially stron ge r sectors, in particular, historically dete rm ine d areas (such as the
north-west sector of Prague; see Figu res 1 an d 2) an d small enclave s of wealth y
population scattered across the urban are a. Social and physical decline characte rise d many inne r-city neigh bourhoods an d old village -type settlemen ts, w he ther
sw allow ed by the city grow th or stan ding outside of the compact city, w here the
population exhibited a lower education an d a high proportion of man ual
w orkers (Figure 3).
Demograp hic characteristics of population were dete rm ine d by ne w housing
construction at the city outskirts, w here younger household s w ith child ren were
concentrate d, w hile the inne r areas were characte rise d by an age ing population
an d a decreasin g household size. M usil (1987) argues that dem ographic variables were m ore importan t in explain ing the variance in the ecological pattern
of socialist cities than socio-economic characteristics of population . This migh t be
see n as an important distinction between socialist and capitalist cities. The cities
of East-Central Europe were ethnically homogeneous, except for a small population of gy psies sometime s spatially concentrate d in ethnic enclave s. The re w as
no intern ation al migration like that w hich had in¯ uenced the developmen t of
socio-spatial patterns in U S cities an d after the Second W orld W ar in West
European cities.
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Lu deÏ k Sy kora
Figure 1. Prag ue: spatial distribution of the university educated population in 1991.
Source: C zech Statistical Of® ce, Cen sus 1991.
Figure 2. Prag ue: spatial distribution of the population employed in the tertiary
sector in 1991. So urce: C ze ch Statistical O f® ce, Census 1991.
In post-communist Prague, the socio-economic status of population has begun
to play a crucial role in residen tial differen tiation. W hile there are no rad ical
chan ges in the dem ograph ic structure of the population , there are rapidly
So cio-spatial D ifferentiation in Post-com m unist Prague
683
Figure 3. Prag ue: spatial distribution of the population em ployed as man ual
w orkers in 1991. So urce: Cze ch Statistical Of® ce, Cens us 1991.
grow ing disparities in the socio-econom ic stren gth of household s. In the context
of incre as ing intern ation al Eas t-West m igration , the C ze ch Republic is a country
of tran sit rather than recipient country an d now there are no sig ni® cant ethn ic
m inoritie s w ho w ould contribute to ethnic segreg ation in Prague. I conside r the
grow ing disparities in the socio-econom ic status of household s as the most
important force beh ind the chan ges in socio-spatial structure of post-com munist
Prague.
The main aim of this discussion of the socio-spatial structure of a socialist city
is to accentuate several points . First, the socio-spatial structure of socialist cities
w as relative ly more homogene ous w ith rathe r less socio-spatial differen tiation
than capitalis t cities. There fore, w ith the tran sform ation moving tow ard that of
a capitalist city there w ill be an increase in socio-spatial une vennes s. Second,
there are alread y existing socio-spatial differences in socialist cities an d they w ill
play an im portan t role in the formation of the socio-spatial pattern in post-comm unist cities. Third , the tran sition tow ard a marke t society w ill particularly
in ¯ uence chan ge s in the socio-economic status of various population groups,
an d incre as ing differences in the socio-econom ic status w ill play a crucial role in
reside ntial differen tiation .
Fin ally, there are some questions about deve lopmen ts in the socio-spatial
pattern of post-communist cities . W ill the processe s of socio-spatial differen tiation streng then disparities w ithin the existin g socio-spatial pattern, i.e. the
social status in are as w ith a wealthy population w ill increase, w hile declin ing in
areas w ith socially weake r inhab itan ts? In other w ords, wealthy ne ighb ourhoods
w ould rem ain in the same zones an d sectors w hile the ge ograp hical distrib ution
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of the midd le class an d lower class population w ould not change. H owever, the
disparities between neigh bourhood s of different social status w ould w ide n.
On the other han d, the processe s of socio-spatial differen tiation could contribute to an alteratio n in the existin g spatial arran gem en t, for instan ce through
gen tri® cation of formerly poor and dilap idate d neigh bourh oods, construction of
luxury housing in suburban areas that formerly exhibited lower social status, or
relative social decline in the previously `socialist middle class’ mass- produced
housing estate s. In this case, the urban social geogra phy w ould substan tially
chan ge and the increasin g disparities between ne ighb ourhoods w ould be accompan ied by a substantia l resh apin g of the socio-spatial pattern of a post-comm unist city.
Spatial Patte rn and Proce sse s of its Transform ation : M e thod s and C once pts
The m ajor aim of this paper is to an alyse processes w hich tran sform the
socio-spatial pattern of post-communist Prague an d attempt to outline m ajor
chan ges in the city’s social geog raphy . A useful startin g point for such an
an aly sis w ould be a comparison of socio-spatial characteristics of Prag ue’s
curren t urban structure w ith that at the en d of comm unist period . H owever,
curren t socio-spatial differences (the pattern of the spatial distrib ution of population according to various social characte ris tics) cannot be described usin g
establis he d quantitative techniques. There is a lack of information about the
curren t social status of the population for smalle r territorial units w ithin
the urb an area. D ata concerning education, profession, quality of housing or
househ old equipmen t (TV, automatic w ash ing machine, car ow ne rship, etc.),
w hich in dicate the social status of the population are collected in censuses w hich
are organ ised at 10-year intervals. The las t cens us in the Cze ch Republic w as
he ld in M arch 1991. It can serve as a basis for the comparison of developments
that happened since the begin nin g of the economic reform w hich w as launche d
in January 1991. The ne xt census w ill be he ld in 2001. In the meantime , no
surveys w hich w ould provide inform ation about the intern al city differen ces in
social status of population have been organised. The refore, a dire ct com parison
of spatial patterns from 1991 an d more recen t ye ars can not be made to describe
the charac ter of chan ge s in the city’ s social geog raphy.
H owever, it is thought that there is grow ing socio-spatial heterogeneity in
post-communist Prag ue an d there are argu ments w hich support this hypothesis.
A lthough the curren t socio-spatial pattern cannot be described usin g the agg regate quantitative data, theories can be put forw ard an d eviden ce can be found
about the tren ds of chan ge s since the beginning of the 1990s . It is anticipate d that
the contemporary pattern is an outcome of socio-spatial differentiation (w here
disparities are incre ased an d/or the ge ograph ical distrib ution has chan ged ) in
Prague’ s social ge ograph y durin g the period of tran sition. The socio-spatial
differen tiation is produced by several processes, each w ith its ow n distin ct
mechanism s and casual relation s. An attempt w ill be made to exam ine the
socio-spatial differen tiation conceptually and look at the different forces behin d
tran sformations of urban social ge ograph y. This approach give s better ins ights
in to the processe s creatin g divided or und ivided cities than allow ed by a sim ple
comparison of socio-spatial pattern s at tw o time points.
W hy is it though t that there are increasin g socio-spatial disparitie s in postcommunist Prag ue? It can be asserte d that the m arket syste m of allocation of
resources creates gre ate r socio-spatial disparities than the sy stem of central
So cio-spatial D ifferentiation in Post-com m unist Prague
685
plan ning. The m ajor factors w hich contrib ute to the uneve n distrib ution of
population in urban are as according to socio-econom ic status are ® rst, a socially
differen tiate d population an d consequen tly differentiated demand for housin g,
in cluding the place (geograp hic location) of reside nce an d, second, differentiated
housing stock according to its size, quality , price and , very im portan tly, locationÐ sin ce variou s different segm en ts of housin g are une venly distrib uted in
the urban space. W ith increasin g social disparities w ithin the population an d
grow ing differences w ithin the geog raphical pattern of housing stock there w ill
be an incre ase in socio-spatial disp arities. The syste m of central plann ing w as
characterised by income equalis ation an d stan dard ise d housin g supply. The
establis hm en t of a market sy stem brin gs differentiation w ithin both these
sphere s, creatin g preconditions for the incre ase of socio-spatial variab ility.
Since the start of economic reform at the beginning of 1990s, there has been a
rapidly increasin g differen tiation of population according to wealth . Privatisa tion processe s have created a ne w class of ow ners, some of w hom are becoming
very wealth y. Economic restru cturin g has im pacted the labour market an d
brought a rapid differentiation of earnin gs. Income an d earnin gs differentiation ,
emergen ce of unem ployme nt an d homelessne ss and tran sform ation of the social
welfare syste m contributed to grow ing social ine qualitie s am ong households.
Privatisa tion processes an d liberalisatio n of prices in the real estate sector
brought a quick estab lish ment of property markets. Through the property
m arket the attractiveness of housing , including its location w ithin the urban
structure of Prag ue, w as quickly expressed in rapidly grow ing property price
differen ces. The approach of the state to transf ormation s in the housin g sector
further stre ng thene d the grow ing differen tiation in the affordability and accessibility of housing. D ifferentiate d househ old incomes an d differen tiated prices an d
rents in the housin g sector have created bas ic preconditions for the developmen t
of processe s of socio-spatial differentiation . Both these fundam en tal factors w ill
be m ore closely investiga ted in the follow ing sections.
H ow do socio-spatial disparities increase? The differen ces are measu red usin g
the social-status characte ristics of population in reside ntial areas of the city. The
disparity can increase (or decre ase) through the social an d/or spatial mobility of
population . If there is a social polarisation of the urban population (i.e. wealth y
groups are upw ard ly mobile an d poor groups are dow ngrad ing) the sociospatial disparity w ill increase (it is hy pothetically possible to have social polarisation w ithout socio-spatial differentiation , but it is very unlikely to happen in
reality). In this case, the contras t in spatial pattern is stren gthene d, but the
spatial distrib ution of population groups according to their social status is not
chan ged . The role of social m obility can be importan t in such circum stance s as
is the tran sition from a centrally plan ned to market society w ith its rapidly
developing social differen ces, or, in the context of social polaris ation w ithin
global cities an d cities in¯ uenced by globalisatio n, w here it res ults in a situation
described as dual city (Mollenk opf & C astells , 1991) .
Socio-spatial differen ces can also be increase d or decre ased through migration
of the population. If relative ly wealth y people livin g in less wealth y areas move
to more wealthy ne ighb ourhoods an d poor people m ove to poorer neigh bourhoods, the socio-spatial disparity w ill increase. The m utual com bination of social
polarisa tion an d this type of migratio n can ge ne rate sharp socio-spatial disparities in urban space, but w ithout the chan ge in spatial distrib ution of wealthy an d
poor population .
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H owever, migration can also trans form spatial pattern s in term s of the
distribution of various groups of population accord ing to their social status in
urban space, such as in the case of gen tri® cation of formerly socially weake r
ne igh bourhoods. The social upgrad ing of gen tri® ed neigh bourhood s is create d
by immigration of wealth y household s, w hich displace less wealthy househ olds
that move out from ge ntri® ed areas. There are sign s of gen tri® cation in some
in ne r-city neigh bourhood s w ithin the former socialist cities an d it is expected
that this process of urban chan ge w ill affect socio-spatial rearran gem en t of their
urban space. In contrast to this, there are the voices of politician s and urban
plan ners, w ho expect that some com munist housing estate s, w hich now have an
ave rage social status pro® le, w ill become immigratio n zone s of socially weak
fam ilies.
The ab ove mentione d cases were exam ples of intra-urban migration , w hich
can bring red istrib ution of population w ithin the city an d thus change the
socio-spatial patterns. H owever, the in tern al urb an structure is also in¯ uenced
by imm igration to or outm igration from the city. For instan ce, the imm igration
of socially weake r groups, often ethnic m inoritie s, to recipien t areas of inner
cities migh t have a sign i® cant impact on urban social ge ograph y. The declining
social status w hich increase d w ith distan ce from the city centre , w hich characte rise d socialist cities, can be reshaped by the suburban isation of rich households,
w hich are now deve loping around Prague, Budapest an d other post-com munist
cities.
G row ing Soc ial Ine qualities in the C ze ch Re public and Prague
The socio-economic status of a population can be described by various indicators, such as education, profession or income. Income is often unde rstood as the
best indicator of well-being (rem ain ing aw are of the role of accumulate d wealth
in term s of property, saving s, etc.), w hile the other characte ris tics can serve as
a reason ab le substitute w he n income data are not availab le. Education can
signi® cantly in¯ uence profess ional chance s for an in divid ual and profession
in ¯ uences the level of his or her income. H owever, university education does
not as sure that an individ ual w ill have a high stan dard of livin g. C ontemporary
society sees the level of well-being closely associated w ith the possibilities for
consumption of goods or serv ices sold on marke ts. It is income, w hich allow s the
realisation of consumption desires . The refore, income characteristics can be seen
as the most integral or aggre gate express ion of a potential for the realisation of
well-bein g.
W hile income w as not a major differentiatin g force w ithin the population
durin g communism, its role has been rapid ly increasin g durin g the trans ition to
a m arket society. Income has been the characte ristic of the social status of
population most in¯ uenced by economic trans formation . In my view , the rapid
grow th in in come disparities in C zech society has been the m ost importan t factor
beh ind the processes of socio-spatial differentiation in Prag ue. The refore , there
w ill be a focus on income characte ristics in the follow ing parag raphs . Unfortunately, the data ab out househ old incomes, w hich are most relevant for the
an aly sis of socio-spatial differences in well-being, are very scarce. Furthe rm ore,
they are not availab le for sm aller geogra phical areas, only for the w hole country.
They can, however, demonstrate the ge neral process of social differentiation an d
polarisa tion in C ze ch society.
So cio-spatial D ifferentiation in Post-com m unist Prague
687
T able 1. Grow ing disparities in net monthly household incomes in the C ze ch
Republic 1992± 96
Incom e grow th
In come in C ZK
In come cate gory
B ottom decile
M ed ian
M ean
T op de cile
Rel. to me d ian
1992
1996
1992
1996
n om inal
%
2729
6697
7480
13 046
4457
12 150
14 425
27 303
0.41
1.00
1.12
1.95
0.37
1.00
1.19
2.25
63
81
93
109
2
real
%
12
6
18
34
S o urce : A study of M PSV (M inistry of L ab our an d Social A ffairs of C zech Governme n t), quoted in daily
M F D nes , 3 June 1997.
N o te s: In come s of bottom 10 per cen t of h ouseh old s are lowe r or equal an d income s of top 10 per ce nt
of h ousehold s h igher than income s for b ottom an d top de ciles given in Tab le.
C ZK 5 C ze ch crow n s.
Information about social differen tiation in earn ings in Prague, can be gaine d
from ® gures for the employmen t of ind ivid uals. Earnin gs data have certain
lim itation s as they sh ow ine qualitie s w ithin the economically active population ,
abstractin g from the inactive an d une mployed . They als o do not include incomes
from other sources, such as property or bond ow nersh ip, or welfare payme nts.
H owever, they do act as an ind icator of social differen ces in Prague. Unfortunately, they are not availab le for geog raphical are as w ithin Prague . H owever,
they are broken dow n according to economic sector, occupational status an d
education . This allow s us to formulate a conceptual relation sh ip between the
pattern of distribution of population according to employmen t an d education in
Prague, described w ith Census data from 1991 and the differentiation of earn in gs in Prague in 1996 accordin g to econom ic sector, occupation and education,
an d outline a mechan ism of increasin g socio-spatial disparitie s in post-comm unist Prag ue. This w ill be dealt w ith in detail late r in this paper.
Some of the evide nce on increas ing social disparitie s in the C zech Republic
w ill now be presented, assu ming, that the differentiation in Prag ue has been of
the sam e or even higher rate . The inter-decile ratio of net m onthly household
in come (ratio between income of the lowest and the highest decile) in the C ze ch
Republic has increased from 4.68 in 1992 to 6.09 in 1996 (MPSV, 1997; SoucÏ ek,
1997) . Surprisin gly, the inter decile ratio for 1996 w as highe r than in the UK ® ve
years earlier, w he re, in 1989± 91, it reached 5.95 (H am ne tt, 1996; inter decile ratio
w as calculated from gross norm al weekly househ old pre-tax income), an d much
higher than in the Netherla nd s, w he re in 1994 it reache d 4.23 (CBSÐ Reg ional
Income Survey, quoted in Kruyth off et al., 1997, p. 140). Table 1 sh ow s increas ing
househ old income ineq ualities between 1992 an d 1996 in the C zech Republic.
W hile in 1992, 12 per cent of the households had incomes in a ran ge plus or
m inus 10 per cent from the median (or 90± 110 per cent of median ), it w as only
7 per cent of all househ olds in 1996 (M PSV, 1997; SoucÏ ek , 1997). The ratio of
bottom decile to median income has decre ased from 0.41 in 1992 to 0.37 in 1996
an d the ratio of top decile to median income has risen from 1.95 in 1992 to 2.25
in 1996. W hile the income of bottom decile has decrease d in real term s by 12 per
cent, the income of top decile increase d by 34 per cent.
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T able 2. Average gross monthly earn ing s of em ployees in the reg ions
(® rst half of 1997)
Region
Gross m onthly earn ings
Prag ue
Ce ntral B ohe m ia
South Bohem ia
W e st B ohe m ia
N orth B ohe m ia
E as t B ohem ia
South M oravia
N orth M oravia
C zech Repub lic average
12
10
9
9
9
8
9
9
10
Ratio to average %
438
252
244
551
714
951
283
690
208
121.8
100.4
90.6
93.6
95.2
87.7
90.9
94.9
100.0
S ou rce: C zech Statistical O f® ce.
N o te : Gross m on thly e arn ing is given in C zech crow n s.
C oncern ing Prague, em ployees in the capital city have the highes t gross
m onthly earn ings of all C ze ch region s (Table 2). H owever, not all Prague citize ns
bene® t from these highe r earn ings. Some seg men ts of the population, such as the
unem ploye d, retired or those depen den t on other social security bene ® ts, have
the same level of income as in the rest of country . C onseq uently, highe r earn ing s
in Prag ue indicate that individual income disparities w ill be higher in Prag ue
than in an y other region of the C ze ch Republic. The income differences w ould
be even bigge r if w e included a stron g group of af¯ uent Western foreigne rs
brought to the city by intern ation alisation and globalisatio n (Drb ohlav & Sy kora,
1997; Sy kora, 1994). If we accept that higher income differences create better
conditions for the developmen t of socio-spatial disparitie s, Prague could become
the most socially seg regate d region in the C zech Republic.
Gross m onthly earnin gs from employme nt are differen tiate d by the economic
sector, occupation al status an d education . The im pact of age is less signi® cant
an d play s its role prim arily in the differentiation of earn ing s of individ uals w ith
m ore than secondary education. Tables 3 and 4 give the ave rage gross ind ivid ual
m onthly earn ing s of employees in selected economic sectors in the C ze ch
Republic an d Prague . Tab les 5 an d 6 give an insigh t into the differentiation of
T able 3. Average gross monthly earn ings of employee s in selected sectors of
C zech economy (® rst half of 1997)
Se ctor of econ om y
Gross m on thly e ar n ings
Financial intermed iation
Pu blic ad m inistration
C on struction
T ran sport an d com m un ication
M an ufacturing
Retail, w h olesale , repair
He alth an d othe r pub lic an d social services
E d ucation
A griculture
A verage
S o urce : Cze ch Statistical O f® ce .
N o te : Gross m on thly earn ing is given in C ze ch crow n s.
17
12
10
10
9
9
9
9
7
10
758
184
425
775
904
896
740
249
922
208
Ratio to ave rage %
173.96
119.36
102.13
105.55
97.02
96.94
95.42
90.61
77.61
100.00
So cio-spatial D ifferentiation in Post-com m unist Prague
689
T able 4. Average gross monthly earn ings of employee s in selecte d sectors of Prag ue
economy (® rst half of 1997)
Se ctor of econ om y
Gross m on thly e ar n ing
Financial intermed iation
Pu blic ad m inistration
Retail, w h olesale , repair
C on struction
M an ufacturing
Real estate, ren ting an d othe r business
servicess
O ther pub lic an d social services
T ran sport an d com m un ication
He alth
E d ucation
H otels an d restauran ts
A griculture
A verage
Ratio to ave rage %
18
13
13
12
12
12
219
610
340
652
536
489
146.48
109.42
107.25
101.72
100.79
100.41
11
11
10
9
9
8
12
276
138
819
872
034
071
438
90.66
89.55
86.98
79.37
72.63
64.89
100.00
S o urce : Cze ch Statistical O f® ce .
N o te : Gross m on thly earn ing is given in C ze ch crow n s.
earn ing s according to status of occupation (usin g Intern ation al Stan dard
C lassi® cation of Occupation s ISC O-88) and the highest attained education.
Table 5 sh ow s that occupation al status is a very importan t (probably the most
important) dete rm inant of earn ing s disparities. Leg islators , senior of® cials an d
m an age rs have on ave rage 3.4 time s highe r earn ings than em ployees in elemen tary occupation s. Table 5 also sh ow s gen der inequ alities in term s of incomes.
Fem ale employee s ge ne rally have 20 per cent lower incomes than male
employee s. The impact of ge nde r on disparities increases w ith grow ing
occupation al status.
Education al status has also begun to play an importan t role (Table 6). Earn ing s
of employee s w ith a doctoral deg ree are on ave rage 2.8 higher than those
employee s w ith the lowest education (un® nishe d prim ary ). In genera l, only
employee s w ith more than secondary education have above-average earn ing s
(there are differences between male and female employee s in the cate gory of full
secondary education).
The reside ntial pattern in the city an d socio-spatial differen tiation are an
outcome of househ old location behaviou r. It can be expected that income
differen tiation of households w ill be highe r than disparities between earn ing s of
in dividuals (cf., H am ne tt, 1996, Tables 2 and 9). Inform ation presen ted in Tab les
2± 5 w hich show s the impact of regional geog raphy, economic sectors, occupation al status and education on disparities of earnin gs, is prese nted as an
in sigh t in to factors that contribute to household income ineq ualities .
T ransform ation of the H ou sing Syste m and Socio-spatial D iffe re ntiation
W hy is housing so important for socio-spatial differen tiation? The housing stock
is differentiated according to its affordab ility to various social groups (and many
other characte ristics) an d such types of housing are une venly distributed
in urban space. We can ® nd areas w ith expens ive villas, suburban sin gle
fam ily houses, inner-city neigh bourhood s w ith dilapid ated teneme nt housing or
25
17
13
10
9
7
10
10
7
13
Le gislators, se nior of® cials an d m an age rs
Profession als
Te ch n icians an d associate profe ssionals
Clerks
Se rvice w orkers an d sh op an d m arket sales w orke rs
Skilled agricultural and ® she ry w orkers
Craft an d re late d trade s w orke rs
Plan t and m ach ine ope rators an d asse m b le rs
Eleme n tary occupation s
Total
193.49
135.45
101.74
83.16
72.25
55.24
83.16
80.45
56.80
100.00
28
20
15
12
10
8
11
11
8
14
001
344
437
577
430
294
122
141
513
228
C ZK
196.80
142.99
108.50
88.40
73.31
58.29
78.17
78.30
5983
100.00
214.32
155.71
118.16
96.26
79.83
63.48
85.13
85.27
65.16
108.90
Re lative to
m ale ave rage total average
%
%
M ale e m ployees
So urce : C ze ch Statistical O f® ce , Surve y of e arn in gs of em ployee s, 1996.
N otes: (1) D ata for em ployee s w ith 1700 an d m ore paid w orking h ours. Prague ’ s sam ple w as 72915 person s.
(2) C ZK 5 Cze ch crow n s.
279
697
292
865
439
217
865
511
421
065
C ZK
O ccupation al status
Re lative to
total ave rage
%
Total
19
15
11
10
8
7
7
8
6
11
643
772
727
506
391
019
807
063
469
695
C ZK
167.96
134.86
100.27
89.83
71.75
60.02
66.76
68.94
55.31
100.00
150.35
120.72
89.76
80.41
64.23
53.72
59.76
61.71
49.51
89.51
Re lative to
fe m ale ave rage total average
%
%
Fe m ale e m ployees
Table 5. Average gross monthly earnings of employees in Prague (1996) according to International Standard Classi® cation of
Occupations (ISC O -88)
690
Lu deà k Sy kora
8
8
10
9
11
12
13
14
20
22
13
U n® n ishe d prim ary
Full prim ary
Se con dary vocation al w ith out GC E
Se con dary w ith out GC E
Se con dary vocation al w ith GC E
Se con dary ge ne ral w ith GCE
Se con dary specialise d w ith GC E
Post-second ary
U nive rsityÐ m aster
Postgraduate Ð d octoral
Total
61.97
62,13
78.68
74.63
84.60
99.21
99.96
114.33
159.80
172.48
100.00
8
9
10
11
11
14
14
16
23
24
14
917
238
970
132
888
588
460
431
078
150
228
C ZK
62.67
64.93
77.10
78.24
83.55
102.53
101.63
115.48
162.20
169.74
100.00
68.25
70.71
83.96
85.20
90.99
111.66
110.68
125.76
176.64
184.85
108.90
Re lative to
m ale ave rage total average
%
%
M ale e m ployees
So urce : C ze ch Statistical O f® ce , Surve y of e arn in gs of em ployee s, 1996.
N otes: (1) D ata for em ployee s w ith 1700 an d m ore paid w orking h ours. Prague ’ s sam ple w as 72915 person s.
(2) C ZK 5 Cze ch crow n s.
(3) GC E 5 Gene ral C om pre hen sive E x am in ation .
097
117
280
750
053
962
060
937
878
535
065
C ZK
The h ighest attaine d e d ucation
Re lative to
total ave rage
%
Total
6
7
7
8
10
12
11
14
17
18
11
951
196
927
459
327
025
865
117
186
815
695
C ZK
59.44
61.53
67.78
72.33
88.30
102.82
101.45
120.71
146.95
160.88
100.00
53.20
55.08
60.67
64.75
79.04
92.04
90.82
108.05
131.54
144.01
89.51
Re lative to
fe m ale ave rage total average
%
%
Fe m ale e m ployees
T able 6. Average gross monthly earnings of employees in Prague (1996) according to the highest attained education
So cio-spatial D ifferentiation in Post-com m unist Prague
691
692
Lu deÏ k Sy kora
districts w ith ¯ ats in high-rise council housin g. The existin g structure of housing
creates conditions for the reside ntial choice of the population . These conditions
have differen t meaning s for different social groups. A f¯ uent households can see
them as an opportunity to ® nd a nice place to live in. H owever, w ith decre as ing
wealth househ olds become more an d more constraine d in their residen tial
choice.
The spatial distribution of variou s housing types chan ge s w ith time an d
in ¯ uences the spatial distribution of opportunities for residen tial choice w ithin
the population . Reside ntial properties have a certain life span . During their life
they can be ke pt in a good orde r or dete riorate rapidly. Sound housing can fall
in to disre pair and , in social term s, ® lter dow n from m iddle-class occupan ts to
poor familie s. H ousing can be dem olished an d replaced by ne w structures or
renovate d. The impact of urban rene w al and ge ntri® cation on the chan ging
urban social geog raphy has been w idely discussed in the urban an d housing
literature. C onstruction of ne w res ide ntial are as in the suburban zone is another
process of urban chan ge , w hich reshapes the spatial pattern of housin g an d
conditions for residen tial choice. The refore , in this an alys is of mechanism s of
socio-spatial differentiation in Prague w hich w ill be presen ted in the next section,
special attention w ill be given to the supply of ne w an d renovated housin g.
In modern societies, housing is understood to be an importan t condition of
life. G overn ments declare political res ponsibility in the ® eld of housin g, ran gin g
from the protection of certain legal rig hts (for ins tan ce, concern ing eviction) to
active involvement in the form of ren t policies, ® nan cial support to housing
consumption or direct provision of public housin g. O ne of the major reason s for
govern ment interven tion in housing is to achieve an d m ain tain a certain leve l of
social justice, especially in term s of ass uring access to housing for disad van taged
groups. Govern men ts have also become aw are of residen tial segreg ation . A
certain level of socio-spatial disparities is often see n as undes irable, an d policies
favouring dispersal are applied in response. Public interve ntion can have various forms, such as zon ing in the local physical plan, m unicipal land allocation
policy, provision of infrastructure, care for the residen tial en vironm en t or the
construction of public housing in particular areas. H ousing policies and other
in strumen ts used by govern ments are often used to mitigate the im pact of
the natural, market-b ased processes that incre ase socio-spatial differences an d
segre gation of various social groups.
In the context of post-com munist countries, tran sform ation s in the housing
system and chan ging prioritie s of housing policy have an importan t impact on
reside ntial choice by the population , and thus sh ape the characte r of processes
of socio-spatial differentiation . W hile comm unist housing policy attem pted to
reduce differen ces in access to housing (through ren t an d price regulation an d
govern ment interven tion in dwelling allocation in the ren tal sector) as well as to
homogen ise housing supply (through the provision of stand ard ised dwellin gs in
state an d co-operative housing), tran sformation policies, w hich aime d to alle viate public interve ntion an d create conditions for market- based housing supply,
ass umed that it is natural that housin g is differentiated according to desire s,
preferen ces an d the ® nancial stren gth of its inh abitan ts. The re w as an im plicit
philosophy that the marke t w ill bring adeq uate and ef® cient allocation of
housing an d w ill stim ulate correct form s of new housing production.
The tran sform ation of the housin g syste m has been shaped by priv atisation ,
rent dereg ulation and a w ithd raw al of the state from direct housin g provision
So cio-spatial D ifferentiation in Post-com m unist Prague
693
(Eskinas i, 1995; Reine r & Strong, 1995; Sy kora, 1996b ; Sy kora & SÏ imonõ cÏ kova ,
1994) . The role of the new ly formulate d housing policy is: (1) to provide support
for housing consum ption in the form of subsidie s orientated to housing purchase by the af¯ uent and housin g allow ances for the low -income population ;
an d (2) to provide public housing directly only to the most disad van taged
population . The public policy in housin g creates conditions w hich stim ulate the
in crease of socio-spatial disp arities. Some exam ples of how contemporary C ze ch
housing policy contrib utes to processes of socio-spatial differen tiation w ill now
be presen ted.
Rent policy is one of the ® elds w hich has a dire ct impact on socio-spatial
chan ge. Rent is regulate d in the case of unlim ited leases signe d durin g com munism for C ze ch citizen s in public and private rental housin g. M arke t rents can
be charge d for new ly-built housin g, for lease s to foreigne rs an d for new ly signe d
lease s after a ¯ at is vacate d. In Prag ue, ne arly 60 per cent of the total num ber of
apartm en ts are at presen t under ren t control. The rent ceiling has been dere gulated step-by-step an d dereg ulation w ill continue until the m arke t level is
reache d in all locations. In Prague, the rent ceiling incre ased m ore than 14 times
in 1991± 98, involvin g nearly a 500 per cent incre ase in real term s. From the
socio-spatial segre gation point of view , ren t dere gulation has stim ulate d intern al
m igration w ithin the city. Low -income household s are seekin g smalle r ¯ ats in
locations w he re the ren t is not like ly to increase as much as in the city centre.
It has been argued by C zech politicians that households sh ould ® nd housin g that
corre sponds to their level of income. Ren t dereg ulation stim ulates grow th in
socio-spatial disparitie s an d the pace of this process depends on the speed of
rent ceilin g increase .
The re is an other w ay in w hich rent policy in¯ uences socio-spatial chan ge .
Since the early 1990s , there has been a duality between regu late d rent in the
housing sector an d dereg ulated ren t for non -reside ntial spaces. Another duality
has existed between the regulated housing rent of the domestic population an d
the marke t rent paid by foreigners. The lease of non-residen tial space or luxury
housing to foreigners brings m an y time s higher reven ues than regu late d housin g ren t. The priv ate ow ne rs of properties are sen sitive to such disparitie s, w hich
have particularly deve loped in attractive locations in the city centre an d some
in ne r-city ne ighb ourhoods. C onseq uently, valuable propertie s become the subject of renovation s an d refurb ishm en t into of® ces or luxury housing , w hich often
in cludes the rem oval of all origina l tenan ts. C ommercialis ation , i.e. the replacemen t of reg ulated housing by of® ces an d sh ops, has reduced the proportion of
the less af¯ uent population in attractive locations. Gentri® cation, i.e. the replacemen t of the origin al population by high -income people, especially foreigne rs,
substan tially contributed to a change in the social pro® le of neigh bourh oods.
The operation of the price mechanism w ithin the re-estab lished property marke t
revealed the gap between the highe st possible reven ues and the curren t incomes
(Sy kora, 1993), stimulatin g physical rede velopmen t and a chan ge of functions or
tenan ts, w hich directly in¯ uences socio-spatial res tructurin g.
The other factor that has in¯ uenced processe s of socio-spatial segregation, has
been tenan ts’ righ ts protection, w hich is relatively strong . M ost lease contracts
are unlim ited in time. They date from the pre-1989 period an d the governm en t
has he sitate d to chan ge their status to stan dard lease contracts for a give n
period . The se contracts concern both public housing stock an d reprivatise d
rental housing. Land lord s can not term inate the contract unless there is a serious
694
Lu deÏ k Sy kora
reas on, such as rent pay men t deferrals or sub-leasin g of the ¯ at w ithout the
land lord ’ s approval. In these cases , the lan dlord must obtain a court order to
evict tenan ts. H owever, ow ners can m ove out tenan ts from an apartmen t, for
exam ple if they intend to ren ovate the building an d chan ge it to large luxurious
apartm en ts leased or sold on an open market, but they must provide a replacemen t dwelling of the same stan dard for rem oved tenants. Tenan ts can refuse to
accept replacemen t ¯ ats an d both sides then seek court res olution. The protection of tenan ts’ righ ts has inhib ited forced m igration an d slowed dow n the pace
of socio-spatial segre gation .
C han ge s in housing ® nan ce, such as the w ithdraw al of the state from
direct housin g provisio n, term ination of support for the new construction of
co-operative housin g an d preferen ce give n to subsidising mortgage s have
impacted on the social status of new ly-built residen tial areas. Despite m ortgage
in teres t subsidies, ne w ly-constructed private housin g is affordable only to the
highest income group of househ olds, because there is a huge disparity between
prices of residen tial real estate an d incomes of the population. The non -existen ce
of state support for non-pro® t housing is an other factor that contrib utes to the
one-sided charac ter of new housing that is built mainly for the most wealth y
population (w ith the exception of a small seg men t of municipal social housing ).
At the municipal level, local governme nts often apply measu res w hich
streng then socio-spatial disparitie s. Some local govern ments allocate vacate d
m unicipal dwellin gs to households, w hich offer the highest ren t in a com petition. Often, a sum equal to an an nual rent is req uired to be paid in ad van ce.
In such a case, there is no difference between the operation of a marke t an d
allo cation of municipal housin g. H ousehold s w ith high incomes acquire the best
m unicipal housin g in the best locations.
C oncern ing new ly-constructed m unicipal housing, apartments are often allocate d to household s that are w illing to cover part of the construction costs
because of the lack of ® nan ce in local budge ts. The re is also a case in w hich the
city of Prague behaved as a private investor. It ® nan ced the construction of a
reside ntial district in w hich the housing units were not offered to househ olds on
the w aitin g list, but sold on an open m arket. H ousin g w as purchased by af¯ uent
people. Besides this being a very unusual relation between public housing an d
wealth y people, m unicipal governme nt has actively produced an exam ple of
separation by social status.
Proce sse s of Soc io-spatial D iffe re ntiation in Pos t-com m unist Prague
The aim of this section is to analyse the main processes w hich contrib ute to the
socio-spatial differen tiation in post-communist Prague . The se are :
(1) social mobility of households ® xed in their reside ntial locations;
(2) inte rnal m igration w ithin the existin g housing stock (w ith special atten tion
to the segm en t of ren ovated propertie s);
(3) immigration to ne w ly-constructed residen tial are as .
These processe s have distinct mechan ism s and posses s their ow n, speci® c set of
cas ual relations.
The ir impact on the grow th of socio-spatial disparitie s is differen t. The ® rst
contributes to the grow th of disparitie s but does not change the spatial distribution. In other w ords, it sharpe ns contras t in the existing pattern . The tw o
So cio-spatial D ifferentiation in Post-com m unist Prague
695
others res hape the social ge ograph y of Prague. The second contributes to the
chan ge by rearran ging the existin g pattern (an extrem e and rathe r hypothetical
case can be an invers ion in the pattern ). The third changes the spatial distribution by the ad dition of ne w are as w ith a distinct social characte r of their
in habitants .
Social M obility of H ouseholds Fixe d in the ir Re sidential Locations
The ® rst mechan ism of socio-spatial differen tiation is produced by upw ard or
dow nw ard social m obility of househ olds w hich is not sim ultaneou sly accompan ied by a chan ge in residen tial location through migration . W ith grow ing
in come differen ces between househ olds of highly educated people w orkin g in
better paid sectors of the economy an d household s of people w ith low er
education an d eleme ntary man ual occupation s in low -paid sectors of the econom y, there w ill be increasin g disparitie s in socio-economic status (meas ured by
in come) between areas w ith highe r concentration of these groups. M an y neigh bourhoods are socially mixed an d there w ill be households w ith upw ard as well
as dow nw ard income m obility. Neverthele ss, in areas w ith a high proportion of
well-educated population employe d in the tertiary sector, upw ard mobility w ill
prev ail, w hile in ne ighb ourhoods w ith a high sh are of manual w orkers an d
lower education of the population the dow nw ard trend w ill be stron ge r.
The re are tw o preconditions for the operation of this mechan ism: an increase
in in come disparities an d an uneven distribution of population according to
social status in urban space. Both these conditions have been ful® lled in
post-communist Prag ue. First, since the beg innin g of economic reform in the
C zech Republic, there have been grow in g income disparitie s between better an d
less educated profession als and man ual w orkers, etc. Second, des pite the hom ogenisation durin g comm unism , Prague has alw ay s had distin ct socio-spatial
pattern s. Figu res 1, 2 an d 3 show the spatial distrib utions of university educated
people, those employe d in the tertiary sector an d m an ual w orke rs in 1991, righ t
at the beginn ing of economic reform. The se ® gures, w hich are base d on data
from the Cen sus in 1991, presen t spatial patterns at the en d of the developmen t
of a socialist city and at the beginn ing of the in¯ uence of tran sformation policies.
I assu me, that the ab ove-described mechan ism genera tes grow ing income
disparities between areas in the north -western sector of Prague , characterise d by
a concentration of the well-ed ucated population an d in the tertiary sector
employed population and areas in the north-east, south-east an d south-west
w ith higher proportions of m an ual w orkers an d people w ith lower education.
There fore, this mechan ism of socio-spatial change sh arpen s disparities w ithin
the existing socio-spatial pattern .
M igration w ithin the Existing H ousing Sto ck (w ith Spe cial A ttention to the Se gment of
Reno vated Prope rties)
M igration of population can contribute sig ni® cantly to changes w ithin the
existin g socio-spatial pattern , provided that populations w hich move in and out
of an are a differ in their social status. There are tw o distin ct model situations.
First, af¯ uent people move to alread y wealth y ne igh bourh oods an d poor people
are driven to less wealth y areas. In this w ay, the contrast in existin g socio-spatial
differen ces is sh arpene d. Second, rich people displace low -income househ olds in
696
Lu deÏ k Sy kora
ne igh bourhoods that are the subject of reinvestment an d ren ovation an d that are
upgraded from formerly lower status are as to luxury residen tial districts. This
process of gen tri® cation can sign i® can tly chan ge the position of such an are a
w ithin the urb an social geogra phy .
The red istrib ution of people differentiated in their social status in urban space
is determ ine d by the operation of the housin g sy stem an d the housing marke t
in particular. The introduction of property market mechan isms to some
segm en ts of housin g and deregu lation programmes of housing policy have
stimulated migration , w hich contrib utes to the increase in socio-spatial disparities in Prague. In the follow ing paragra phs, several ex am ples w ill be give n
relating to the trans formation in the housin g syste m an d the social status of
m igran ts.
Less af¯ uent househ olds, w ho live in private, municipal and co-operative
apartm en t houses, are constraine d in their residen tial choice. They cann ot
purchase a house or apartm en t or rent a vacant apartment for marke t rent. The
operation of the property market does not allow their m igration to areas w ith
homes in ow nersh ip or districts w ith ren ovated apartm en ts. The refore, it is very
unlike ly that the social status of wealth y districts w ill decline due to
imm igration of less af¯ uent people.
Often, the only option for the m igration of less af¯ uent fam ilies is to exchange
¯ ats w ith ano ther household . H owever, the exchan ge has to be approved by
land lord s. Lan dlords often condition their approval on the chan ge in lease
contracts. M ost current leases date from pre-1990, are unlim ited in time and rent
is subject to governmen t reg ulation . Lan dlord s require time lim ited contracts
an d indexed ren t, that w ould be, for exam ple, double the reg ulated level. The
m ore attractive the ne ighb ourhood, the greater the req uirem en ts of lan dlords
concernin g lease leng th an d ren t. The operation of the price mechan ism selects
househ olds w hich can afford to m ove to particular areas w ithin the city.
The usual reason s for exchan ge include moving from a smalle r to a larger ¯ at
in the case of a grow ing family or m oving from larger to sm aller ¯ ats in the case
of a pensioner, w ho cannot pay a high rent for a large apartment occupied by
a single person . Real estate age ncies in Prague an d other large cities in the C ze ch
Republic report that w ith an increasin g rent ceilin g, there is a grow ing desire to
exchan ge large ¯ ats for small ones. Rent deregu lation pres ses low -income
househ olds to move out from large central city apartm en ts into sm aller ¯ ats
in less expensive are as. The governm en t rent policy thus contributes to the
socio-spatial differen tiation in Prague.
Although the form al arran ge ment of ¯ at exchan ge does not include any form
of ® nan cial transfer, in formal ® nan cial com pens ation s between household s paid
for extra room s are a part of man y tran sactions. The location of apartmen ts has
important implications for the price. C ompensation s are highe r in attrac tive
ne igh bourhoods than in less desirab le places. The sen sitivity of compensation s
to urban ecology is another exam ple of price mechanism that constrains some
househ olds in their residen tial choice.
The re is a very speci® c process of population chan ge w ithin the segm en t of
properties that are being ren ovated (reasons for reconstruction have been
discusse d earlier in this paper). The reconstruction often involves the rem oval of
househ olds w ith lower incomes to replacemen t ¯ ats in less attractive are as ,
usually to high -rise apartmen t blocks in estates built durin g com munism .
Refurbished apartme nts are then leased or sold to wealthy people, often to
So cio-spatial D ifferentiation in Post-com m unist Prague
697
foreigne rs. The process of ge ntri® cation is lim ited in the city-w ide scope,
however, it brin gs rad ical social as well as physical chan ge s in certain neigh bourhoods (Sy kora, 1996a) . Gen tri® cation is concentrated to particular sm all
areas in the inner city and sig ni® cantly changes the social pro® le of their
in habitants .
The social upgrad ing of certain neigh bourh oods is stren gthene d by commercialisatio n, in w hich housin g w ith reg ulated ren t is replaced by of® ces, shops
an d restaurants, often focused on high-income customers. The orig inal population is displaced by commercial uses , w hile the population of higher income
gen tri® ers increase s further. C ommercialis ation als o contributes to increas ing
living costs an d stim ulates outmigration of the least wealth y household s. In
areas w hich are bein g gen tri® ed an d commercialise d, a duality of population can
be observed : indigen ous local people are contrasted w ith new comers-gentri® ers,
m ostly foreigne rs em ployed in of® ces in ren ovated formerly residen tial
buildings.
Gentri® cation an d com mercialisation have deve loped in are as w hich had a
higher social status in pre-communist times, an d desp ite certain decline in their
relative position w ithin urban social geog raphy durin g comm unism they belong
to the better residen tial ad dresse s in Prag ue. The refore , ge ntri® cation in Prag ue
contributes to the reshap ing of the socio-spatial pattern , but does not produce an
in vers ion in the spatial distrib ution of the wealth y an d poor population .
Im m igration to N ew ly-constructed Reside ntial A reas
Sign i® can t chan ge s in socio-spatial differences can be genera ted by ne w housing
construction, provide d that the social status of people w ho move into ne w
housing differ from the existin g pattern . In post-com munist Prag ue an d its
hinte rlan d, there are tw o forms of new housing w hich deserve attention. First,
the construction of suburban single-family houses for the rich. Second, apartmen ts for sale in condominiums, that are constru cted in the inne r city to ® ll in
gaps in the ex istin g built environ ment. C ondominium apartmen ts are accessib le
only to people w ith high incomes.
Suburb an isation in Prague an d its metropolitan region is not a m as sive
process, in w hich large num bers of sing le fam ily houses w ould be constructed
for the midd le classes. The development of reside ntial suburban isation has been
very slow , lim ited by the low purchasing power of the population . Suburban
housing is affordab le only to af¯ uent household s. Even the introd uction of
m ortgage s, w hich are supported by state contrib utions that cover part of the
in teres t, has not stim ulate d massive development of suburban fam ily housin g.
M ortgages for ne w sin gle fam ily houses are availab le only to household s w ith
very high incomes .
The absolute num ber of new ly-b uilt suburban homes is low . H owever, it must
be see n in the context of the rad ical decline in new housing construction in the
C zech Republic after 1990 (Sy kora, 1996b ). Luxury homes for rich people
account for a substan tial sh are in new housing construction and they are
concentrate d in particular areas, nam ely in the suburban zone of Prague. The
in tensity of housebuild ing in Prague’ s hin terlan d is the highe st in the country.
Suburb an isation has developed around severa l sm all settlemen ts in the outer
parts of Prague and behind the city ad m inistrative boundary . W hole ne w
reside ntial districts w ith expens ive housing are estab lished as attach ments to
698
Lu deÏ k Sy kora
villages an d the existing reside ntial en vironme nt is ® lled in w ith ind ivid ual
luxury villas. The suburban settlements w ith new ly emerged residen tial districts
now consist of tw o very distin ct types of are as w ith a contrasting population Ð
rich new comers an d lower income an d les s educated indige nous inh abitan ts. It
depends on the scale of our perspective, w hethe r we asse ss this deve lopment as
segre gation w ithin suburban settlem en ts or as a creation of a social m ix.
In an an alys is of m igration between Prag ue an d its hinte rlan d, SÏ ritr (1997)
con® rme d that the suburban zone is now gainin g a better educate d population
w ith high incomes, w ho move there from the core of the Prague region .
Reside ntial suburb an isation contributes to a revers al of the trad itional socio-spatial pattern of the socialis t city w ith the socio-economic status of the population
declining w ith distan ce from the centre.
For some, new construction of houses w ith apartments for sale (condominiums) in inner-city neigh bourhood s an d some housin g estate s from communist
time s create a viable altern ative to suburban isation . This form of living particularly attracts a genera tion of local `yuppies’ , w ho have relatively high earn ings,
prefer urban life lin ke d to their profession al caree r an d value the vicinity of
urban cultural opportunities. This kind of housing is affordable for only a sm all
segm en t of af¯ uent people, such as en trepreneu rs, man agers, professionals an d
well-paid em ployees in foreign ® rm s. H owever, it can be purchase d by a
broade r income group of population than suburb an sing le family homes.
C ondom inium s are usually built in ne igh bourh oods w hich alre ad y have an
ave rage or highe r than ave rage social status. H owever, their construction is
disperse d, an d not clustere d in sm all are as, as in the case of ge ntri® cation of old
properties. The local property developers in this segme nt of the residen tial
m arket as well as their customers (main ly wealthy C zech s), are less sensitive to
the existin g ecological pattern in Prague than foreigne rs in the case of property
renovation an d gen tri® cation. On the micro-scale, new res ide ntial complexes
form en claves of a well-off population in the existin g ecological structure of the
city. O n the macro-scale they stre ng then existing socio-spatial disparities.
C on clus ion
The social geog raphy of post-communist Prag ue is characte rised by increas ing
socio-spatial disparities . The m ajor factors beh ind processes of socio-spatial
differen tiation are the rapid incre ase in income inequ alities an d the tran sformation in the housing system , particularly the grow in g impact of property marke t
operations on housing . The incre ase in socio-spatial disparities is produced by
three mechan isms. First, social mobility of household s ® xed in their residen tial
locations sh arpe ns disparities w ithin the existing socio-spatial pattern . Second,
in tern al m igration w ithin the existing housing stock stre ng thens the existing
pattern . In the case of gen tri® cation, the relative position of ne ighbourhoods in
the social geograp hy of Prague have change d. H owever, it does not produce an
in vers ion in the spatial distribution of wealth y an d poor population . Third ,
imm igration of af¯ uent people to new ly-constructed residen tial are as of suburban homes or urban condominiums creates segre gated districts of a wealth y
population in the existing ecological structure of the city. W hile new residen ts of
condom iniums stre ng then existing socio-spatial disparities, suburban isation contributes to a chan ging social-status relation between a trad itionally stronger
urban core an d weake r outer urban districts an d surroun ding settlements.
So cio-spatial D ifferentiation in Post-com m unist Prague
699
Social upgrad ing has been especially stron g in the case of ne ighb ourhoods
that exhibited high social status prior to the comm unist period (Moscheles, 1937)
an d decline d durin g communism (the decline w as often accelerate d by the
subdivision of large apartme nts of wealth y bourge ois familie s an d their redistribution to w orking-class household s an d by under-m ain tenan ce of these properties that followed (Sy kora, 1993) . Since 1989, the social status of these
ne igh bourhoods has been increase d by the social mobility of its indigen ous
population , through gen tri® cation of renovate d properties an d in® lls of condom inium s. From a geog raphical point of view , this includes the central city, some
in ne r-city are as an d the north-west sector of Prague , w hose trad itional position
w ithin the social ge ograph y of Prague has been stren gthene d.
Social upgrad ing has been very selective and concentrate d, affecting only
some inner-city areas. H owever, most of the inner-city population live s in
ne igh bourhoods characte rised by stag nation or decline . The com munist housing
estates, in w hich about tw o-® fths of Prague’ s population is concentrated , have
not been subject to major social chan ge s. H owever, their relative position w ithin
the urban social ge ograph y has decline d. Furthe rm ore, there are sign s of their
differen tiation . W hile at some housing estate s ne w apartment houses for a
relative ly af¯ uent population are being constructed, res ide ntial districts w ith
higher concentrations of m anual w orke rs and w ith w orse accessibility by public
tran sport show sign s of decline.
The outer city and suburban areas have undergon e important tran sformations.
Provided that suburbanisation of af¯ uent people continues, the social status of
population in the suburban belt w ill upgrade relative to other urban zone s in
Prague. In this case, the socio-spatial pattern can be resh aped on the macro-scale.
The m ost af¯ uent people w ill live in the centre , in some inne r-city neigh bourhoods, especially in the north-west, and in suburban areas, w hile the lowersocial status population w ill occupy large zones of the inne r city an d housing
estates from com munist times. H owever, the built en vironm en t an d the social
geog raphy of Prag ue is very hete rogene ous on the micro-scale, and this migh t
weaken the im pact of macro-trend s in the urban socio-spatial restru cturing.
Socio-spatial differentiation can be slowed or reverse d by public interve ntion
in to housin g provision and allocation. At presen t, the grow ing socio-spatial
differen ces are understood by politicians, urban plan ners an d the genera l
population as a natural outcome of m arke t mechanism s. Segre gation is not
perceived as a problem an d is not a them e of public discussion . It is not dealt
w ith in eithe r the maste r or strate gic plans of the city of Prag ue nor in m unicipal
or govern men t housing policy. There are no program mes w hich are explicitly
designed to in¯ uence socio-spatial differentiation an d to combat emerg ing
segre gation an d separation. O n the contrary, m any trans formation policies in
housing were governed by implicit as sum ptions that social differences are low
an d the m arket w ill ® nd the accurate balan ce, including the distribution of
population in urban space. Priv atisation of housing an d rent dere gulation create
conditions for the grow th of socio-spatial disparities. Through mortgage subsidies , the central govern ment supports housing consumption of the af¯ uent
population an d stim ulates their separation in luxury reside ntial districts. Local
govern ments often behave as priv ate land lord s, w ith their m ain inte rest being to
in crease revenues from their property ow ne rship and thus actively support
reside ntial segre gation .
W ith the rapid ly increasin g income disparities an d uncritical faith in the role
700
Lu deÏ k Sy kora
of the marke t in urb an development an d housing allocation, the relatively
homogeneous socio-spatial structure of the socialist city has been transf ormed to
a tran sition al city w ith increas ing social division s in urban space. H owever,
accordin g to the de® nition outlined by the editors of this special iss ue in their
in troductory paper, Prag ue cannot be conside red as divide d city now because
the socio-spatial disparitie s are not conside red to be a problem. The grow ing
scepticism of the population ab out the unre gulated market as the m ost accurate
allo cation mechan ism can stimulate the concern about residen tial seg regation in
Prague. W he n this hap pens, it w ill be the righ t time for short-term , populist
voices of politician s to take up the issue, discuss spatial concentration of poverty
an d wealth an d propose program mes aimed at red ucing the neg ative outcomes
of segreg ation in urban space.
A ckn ow le dge m e nts
This paper is a result of a rese arch project sponsore d by Grant A ge ncy of the
C zech Republic N o. 403/ 99/1006, `Regional developmen t in the context of
European integration ’.
C orre spon de nce
LudeÏ k Sy kora, Departm en t of Social Geograph y and Regional Development,
C harle s University , Albertov 6, 128 43 Prague 2, C zech Republic. Tel: 1 420-2219522 53. Fax : 1 420-2-296025 . E-mail: syk ora@ natur.cuni.cz
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