Abstract
The recent history of contemporary Croatia represents a step out of the domain of historical geography. This is the period of overwhelming change in every sense. Toward the end of the twentieth century, the political map of the world changed with the collapse of Yugoslavia and the emergence of new states—the Republic of Croatia among them. This was just one part of the whirlwind of change that engulfed the world following the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. These changes drastically affected the position of Croatia in relation to the former constituent republics of Yugoslavia. The changes took place within Croatia itself, mostly due to the Croatian War of Independence, which had the consequence of creating many spatial, demographic, and economic burdens, as well as changes in relation to other European regions. A period of three decades, however, is too short to define substantial cultural landscape change that could be understood as a kind of a landmark of post-socialist Croatia. Therefore, this chapter aims to tie together the basic processes of the post-socialist and post-war period that have initiated geographically relevant trends. Within the general political–geographical context of change, the chapter explores the geographical dimensions of the War and economic transition, the new administrative–territorial organisation within the framework of the new Croatian state, and the consequent implications for its urban and nodal networks. The trajectories of wider integration processes in Croatia and the implications thereof for the quality of life of its residents are also examined.
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Notes
- 1.
The newly formed territorial units were referred to using the historical term for the territorial units in Croatia that had been used from the Middle Ages until the First World War: županija (county). This was chosen for the sake of historical continuity, and it is important to stress that contemporary županijas do not cover the same area, nor do they have the same political position, as their namesakes. The administrative seats are also often not in the same cities.
- 2.
The contemporary administrative area of the City of Zagreb encompasses a spacious area, stretching from the peak of Medvednica Mountain in the north to the settlements of Dragonožec and Kupinečki Kraljevec (in the Turopolje Region) in the south, and from Podsused in the west to Dugo Selo in the east.
- 3.
The process of peri-urbanisation is understood to include the development of settlements in the immediate area of larger cities in order to assume some of the larger city's population and a portion of its central functions. Certain authors use the term suburbanisation as a synonym for peri-urbanisation, however, this is not ubiquitous. The fundamental difference in the use of these two terms is how, with the process of suburbanisation, the transformation of the urban periphery is regarded primarily through the relationship of the main city and its satellites, while with peri-urbanisation the focus is on spatial change in the surroundings of the city.
- 4.
The area from the contemporary neighbourhood Maksimir in the east to the neighbourhood Černomerec in the west, and from the neighbourhood Mihaljevac in the north to the Sava River in the south.
- 5.
Purchasing power parity (PPP) is an economic theory that compares different countries’ currencies through a “basket of goods” approach. It is a theoretical exchange rate that compares the relative cost of buying the same amount of goods and services by country. It is clearly determined by the relative cost of living and inflation rates in different countries.
- 6.
The Quality of Life Index includes a large number of indicators related to the economy, education, health care, housing, the environment, and socio-political conditions.
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Fuerst-Bjeliš, B., Glamuzina, N. (2021). Stepping Out of the Past—Developmental Tendencies of Croatia Since the 1990s. In: The Historical Geography of Croatia. Historical Geography and Geosciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68433-4_10
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