Private Space in a Collectivist Setting: Housing in Zagreb 1945–1975

In today’s Croatia, approximately 56 % of existing housing was constructed in the period from 1945 to 1975. Roughly the same applies to Zagreb, its capital city. Given the current size of Zagreb of more than 800, 000 inhabitants, this is indeed an impressive mass of construction, which not only quantitatively answered the pressing housing need at the time, but also decidedly defined large portions of the city and substantially determined the city’s future urban development. It also shaped, to a large extent, the city’s overall face and formed its contemporary architectural and urban character, along with defining the lifestyle and urban habits of its residents. Surely this vital urban legacy, with multiple effects and consequences, testifies to an enormous social ambition and effort, deserving maximum current professional attention and interest.