Hated but Indispensable: Physical Transformations and Changing Perceptions of Panel Housing Estates in Postsocialist Bulgaria

This essay addresses the physical transformation and changing public perceptions of the panel housing estates built in Bulgaria during socialist industrialisation. Particular emphasis is given to specificities of the Bulgarian experience, such as resident adaptations, self-made gardens and codes of behaviour around public spaces. The attitudes of various social and professional groups have been divided into four categories: rejection, scepticism, realism and reinvention. These serve as a framework for the analysis of two chief aspects: the physical decline and/or renewal of prefabricated housing estates; and the growing variety of public perceptions concerning these estates.