Housing estates, as both physical and social environments, impact the lives of residents in diverse ways. Research indicates that multifunctional urban design has positive implications on the quality and frequency of social interaction among residents, directly impacting the social processes within neighbourhood communities. Drawing on interdisciplinary research which integrates both spatial and social aspects, this article explores the relationship between housing estates built within two social-political systems - socialist and post-socialist, and the potentials for social interaction within these two types of neighbourhoods. Additionally, it examines how residential blocks were developed within these different systems, as well as the degree to which attention was given to public spaces and the social aspect of collective living within these urban paradigms. A case study of these two dominant types of housing estates in Novi Sad, Serbia, demonstrates how different socio-political systems produced different spatial features of city neighbourhoods, which mediate social interaction in neighbourhood communities. The findings illustrate the significant relationship between spatial characteristics of housing estates and the social dynamics of neighbourhood communities, with the residential frames mediating, shaping and structuring activities, encounters and various social interactions between residents.
Violeta Stefanovic (Thu,) studied this question.