On the one hand, I guess it’s a more efficient packing of people into urban areas than having large green spaces. On the other hand, it’s fucking depressing, and I think kids miss something in childhood without psuedo wild spaces to go explore alone.
Actually maintained soviet apartment blocs aren’t nearly as depressing as the ones taken in winter, that haven’t been maintained properly since the dissolution of socialism:
These apartments provided housing for people that lived largely in shacks, where smoke from heating caused early deaths:
Soviet city planning made things walkable, with schools, playgrounds, and greenery within walking distance from nearly every apartment.
exactly! i grew up in one of those commie blocks and it was genuinely nice. sure, i didnt have my personal room, it is like a 2 room house but still its pretty good because of its location. theres greenery around me, theres playgrounds, idk and it was built in the 70s or 80s and is still holding strong even after decades of regular earthquakes, some of which where like 7.0-8.0 rating. ive moved from there to a newly built apartment but i still prefer that one even tho this new house is twice as big.
I believe I originally found it while looking for similar images. A good bit of info on housing I know came from Hakim’s video on soviet housing. I’d love to have a primary source document to reference, such as a newspaper or book, but for images I usually grab them from internet searches.
It’s hard to find anything about it on the english internet, there’s a bit more on the russian it seems, but it’s harder to navigate it when you don’t speak the language.
I grew up in a Soviet apartment bloc, and I did way more exploring outside than kids living in suburbia could ever hope to. For one, it was completely safe to let kids go out and play on their own. There were always green spaces and playgrounds between a few apartment buildings, and you’d go and play there.
Can confirm. We used to play till 10PM (cause we had to wake up early for school) around the apartment bloc and around the neighbourhood. In the pre-cellpone era parents would call their kids from their balconies to come home. At the height of organized crime that arose post-1989, people felt that safe about their kids playing unsupervised.
Yeah, it’s kind of unthinkable today honestly. I don’t know anybody who’d just let their kids out on their own, and you’d probably get charged with neglect if you did.
If you’re talking about the OP image, it’s actually inefficient as fuck. The houses depicted there house the same number of people as one or maybe two apartment blocks. And those apartment blocks can then have a bunch of greenery between them.
I think you just need well-placed parks in the urban areas. I think it’s worth asking ourselves why we don’t really hear people bemoan the upbringing and experiences of kids from really urban cities like NYC or Tokyo. But when it comes to Soviet apartment blocs, this becomes a real concern. I think it’s a double-standard that’s been propagandized onto us.
Notice the multiple “I thinks” – it’s not like I’m out here doing surveys on the topic. This is just how it seems to me.
On the one hand, I guess it’s a more efficient packing of people into urban areas than having large green spaces. On the other hand, it’s fucking depressing, and I think kids miss something in childhood without psuedo wild spaces to go explore alone.
Actually maintained soviet apartment blocs aren’t nearly as depressing as the ones taken in winter, that haven’t been maintained properly since the dissolution of socialism:
These apartments provided housing for people that lived largely in shacks, where smoke from heating caused early deaths:
Soviet city planning made things walkable, with schools, playgrounds, and greenery within walking distance from nearly every apartment.
exactly! i grew up in one of those commie blocks and it was genuinely nice. sure, i didnt have my personal room, it is like a 2 room house but still its pretty good because of its location. theres greenery around me, theres playgrounds, idk and it was built in the 70s or 80s and is still holding strong even after decades of regular earthquakes, some of which where like 7.0-8.0 rating. ive moved from there to a newly built apartment but i still prefer that one even tho this new house is twice as big.
Sounds really nice!
I’ve seen you post the last one before, what’s the source for it?
I believe I originally found it while looking for similar images. A good bit of info on housing I know came from Hakim’s video on soviet housing. I’d love to have a primary source document to reference, such as a newspaper or book, but for images I usually grab them from internet searches.
It seems it might be “The People’s dining room in the Nizhny Novgorod region” by Mikhail Dmitriev
Interesting! I’ll have to check that out later, thanks comrade!
It’s hard to find anything about it on the english internet, there’s a bit more on the russian it seems, but it’s harder to navigate it when you don’t speak the language.
Yea that’s entirely fair. One day for me, maybe, haha.
I grew up in a Soviet apartment bloc, and I did way more exploring outside than kids living in suburbia could ever hope to. For one, it was completely safe to let kids go out and play on their own. There were always green spaces and playgrounds between a few apartment buildings, and you’d go and play there.
Can confirm. We used to play till 10PM (cause we had to wake up early for school) around the apartment bloc and around the neighbourhood. In the pre-cellpone era parents would call their kids from their balconies to come home. At the height of organized crime that arose post-1989, people felt that safe about their kids playing unsupervised.
Yeah, it’s kind of unthinkable today honestly. I don’t know anybody who’d just let their kids out on their own, and you’d probably get charged with neglect if you did.
A friend got in trouble for letting her kids play IN HER BACKYARD without her watching them. A neighbour called the authorities.
Kids are basically treated like pets nowadays.
If you’re talking about the OP image, it’s actually inefficient as fuck. The houses depicted there house the same number of people as one or maybe two apartment blocks. And those apartment blocks can then have a bunch of greenery between them.
And the space can be more walkable, with grocery stores, schools, clinics, and more nearby.
I think you just need well-placed parks in the urban areas. I think it’s worth asking ourselves why we don’t really hear people bemoan the upbringing and experiences of kids from really urban cities like NYC or Tokyo. But when it comes to Soviet apartment blocs, this becomes a real concern. I think it’s a double-standard that’s been propagandized onto us.
Notice the multiple “I thinks” – it’s not like I’m out here doing surveys on the topic. This is just how it seems to me.