Slaev, A.D., Nikiforov, I. (2013) Urban Sprawl in Bulgaria – Specific Issues in South-eastern Europe

More than two decades after the start of the transition new trends of urban development in the former socialist countries in Southeastern Europe are now obvious. Current studies support the view in Bulgaria as one of the former socialist countries new processes of urban sprawl have emerged and their rates in some areas are already accelerated. However, they display very strong local features. Though urban sprawl in Bulgaria is generally of Western type, it deviates from the western model in important aspects due to local specifics. Some of the specifics should be related to the geographic location and are close to those associated with South European urban models. Another group of features are due to circumstances and traditions developed during the period of socialism. A third group should be related to factors of recent economic development and the concrete type of transition. This paper is studying the newly emerged processes of urban sprawl in Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, by analyzing the common features and specific characteristics compared to " classical " urban sprawl experienced in North America and Western Europe.