Poland in a Colonial World Order: Adjustments and Aspirations, 1918–1939 by Piotr Puchalski (review)

Abstract

planners paying particular attention to how the lack of profit competition led to more productive collaborations. Even as ideas began to solidify about what a new Soviet urbanism could be, the question of putting it into practice — and of actually shifting hegemony — was a much bigger question. The remoteness of Magnitogorsk added complications to the construction process, so even veteran architects and planners (including Ernst May from Germany) were unable to overcome the difficulties. Crawford’s final section explores how the concepts delved in Magnitogorsk were put into practice in the New Kharkiv sotsgorod. Even as the production focus in this city turned towards an increasingly centralized and standardized norm, adding in tweaks and other ‘architectural adjustments’ (priviazka, p. 221) was common, and built heterogeneity into the process. This combination of standardization mixed with priviazka would become the baseline of Soviet urban practice. Together, the three examples that this monograph delves into create a clear narrative of early Soviet urbanism, with each example acting as the proving ground for the following. As a structure (called ‘nodal history’, p. 4), this works extremely well, as it encourages the reader to dive into the particularities of each individual city (and the multiplicity of plans and projects within each city), while always emphasizing how each example adds to the bigger history. It also suggests avenues for future research, as additional case studies will add to this conversation, and explore new ways to ‘plan and build with equity as a principal concern’ (p. 299). As we continue to wrest with the confluences of issues in urban development (from environmental concerns to the ubiquity of online communities) and in political upheaval, I sincerely hope this book is a launching pad for a much bigger conversation.