Is ‘ghettoisation’ happening in Bucharest?
Disobedient Buildings - A podcast by Oxford University
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Gabriela Nicolescu speaks with Ștefan Ghenciulescu about social housing, privatisation and the impact of the market economy on residents in Bucharest. In this episode, postdoctoral researcher Gabriela Nicolescu talks to Ștefan Ghenciulescu from the University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest and editor of "Zeppelin Magazine". Ghenciulescu is interested in the historical layers of Bucharest, from its 16th century conception when city walls were forbidden to the socialist period when wide boulevards and concrete blocks of flats were constructed to create an ideal vista. He explains how socialist flats were built for ‘everybody’ – the policeman, the doctor, the worker – but how in recent years privatisation together with an obsession with car ownership has led to stealth ‘ghettoisation’. What has been the impact of the privatisation of public properties and services on the health and prospects of local communities?
