The architectural heritage of socialist modernism and conservation in former Eastern Bloc countries. Contentious Spaces explores the heritage of state-socialist architecture and urbanism, examining the socio-political, economic, and cultural processes that shaped these developments. The articles collected in this volume investigate both the conservation and preservation of this heritage, as well as the historicisation of modernist architectural vocabulary in the contemporary era. Moreover, the texts consider the heritage of state-socialist architecture and urban planning in relation to the global built environment and current geopolitical and socio-cultural processes. By engaging with marginalised actors and spaces within post-socialist discourse, Contentious Spaces expands existing scholarship and acknowledges the architectural heritage of women architects and minorities, as well as the links between political centres of power and modernist architecture in geopolitical peripheries and their contemporary heritage. Geographically, the chapters engage with East-Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and other post-socialist spaces worldwide. Maja Babić is an architectural historian. She is Assistant Professor of History and Theory of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Groningen. Tino Mager is Associate Professor of History and Theory of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Groningen and President of ICOMOS Germany. Drawing on broad theoretical frameworks of urban and architectural heritage following the end of state socialism in Europe, Contentious Spaces captures the multifaceted discourses and rhetorics of urban identity in former socialist states. This book offers insights into the narratives of the complex formation of heritage in vibrant post-socialist cities, also tracing the contours of their acceptance. - Jasna Mariotti, Queen’s University Belfast Contentious Spaces explores the heritage of state-socialist architecture and urbanism, examining the socio-political, economic, and cultural processes that shaped these developments. The articles collected in this volume investigate both the conservation and preservation of this heritage, as well as the historicisation of modernist architectural vocabulary in the contemporary era. Moreover, the texts consider the heritage of state-socialist architecture and urban planning in relation to the global built environment and current geopolitical and socio-cultural processes. By engaging with marginalised actors and spaces within post-socialist discourse, Contentious Spaces expands existing scholarship and acknowledges the architectural heritage of women architects and minorities, as well as the links between political centres of power and modernist architecture in geopolitical peripheries and their contemporary heritage. Geographically, the chapters engage with East-Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and other post-socialist spaces worldwide. The World Without: On Shards and Lost Languages Carmen Popescu Chapter 1. The Material Heritage of Socialist Modernism: International Perspectives Maja Babić and Tino Mager **Part I: State-Socialist Urban Heritage and Ideology** Chapter 2. Artefact or Monument? Afterlives of Socialist Relief Sculpture between Conservation and Repoliticisation Emma Louise Leahy Chapter 3. (In)tangible Socialist Heritage of Yugoslav Youth Labour Brigades : Can We Think the (Un)Imaginable? Nikolina Bobic Chapter 4. Romania’s Heritage of Socialist Sports Buildings: The Case of the Bacău Sports Hall Ruxandra Balcanu Chapter 5. Remaking Nature : Environmental and Urban Industrial Development during and after State Socialism, the Case of Industrial Navoi and Aktau (formerly Shevchenko) in the 1960s–2020s Nadezda Gobova **Part II: Appropriating State-Socialist Urban Heritage** Chapter 6. When Does a Space End? Yugoslav Socialist Memorials and the EU ‘Anti-Totalitarian’ Reckoning Tatjana Aleksić Chapter 7. Above Nostalgia, Beyond Stereotypes : Tourism, Feminism and Activism as Paradigms of Contemporary Revalorisation of Modernist Legacies in Post-Yugoslav Space Jovana Janinović Chapter 8. Beyond the Narrative of the “Wild 1990s” : Cultural and Architectural Legacy of Soviet Industry Polina Gundarina and Marina Sapunova Chapter 9. Cafeneaua Guguţă: Heritage and Civic Activism in Chișinău Abigail Karas Chapter 10. Breka: Its Potential as an Affordable and Liveable Neighbourhood Elsa Turkusic Juric About the Contributors