Abstract
This paper reviews activities of community organizations in the post-Soviet city of Vilnius. The particular attention is paid to the reasons for mobilization of the local communities; the leadership and motivation; the reasons for non-participation; and the communication with the local authorities. The findings of this paper show that mobilizations are not taking place on the massive scale. However, they are being institutionalized and have achieved noteworthy results. Communities mobilize against illegal or unwanted constructions close to their vicinity or to defend green zones in the city. The successful movement is centered around a charismatic leader who devotes his/her time and non-material and material resources to attain results. The explanations for non-participation can be found in difficult economical conditions of the majority of the population; low level of civil society; increasing individualization and income inequalities. The findings of this paper also demonstrate that the political and institutional structure is fairly unfavorable for local activists. The community organizations are not supported by the local governmental structures in a substantial way. On the contrary, they are faced, in most of the cases, with the authority’s alienation and confrontation. Keywords: community organizations, Vilnius, urban movements, post-Soviet city, urban policy, Lithuania.
Highlights
The major problem since the fall of the communist regime has been the liberalization of housing and urban policies allowing market forces to take almost full responsibility for it (Balchin 1996)
Problems associated with housing management issues, sustainability and environmental issues are at the forefront in Vilnius (Leonavičius and Žilys 2009; Petkevičius 2005)
Within a period of 20 years, the urban structure of cities of Central and Eastern Europe has become more similar to the ones that exist in western cities and has moved away from the communist city model
Summary
The major problem since the fall of the communist regime has been the liberalization of housing and urban policies allowing market forces to take almost full responsibility for it (Balchin 1996). There was no possibility during Soviet time to use citizenship rights to influence the public sphere (the decisions were taken exclusively by the Communist Party and government) as it was in the democratic countries, but instead people formed kinship and friendship networks in a private sphere to form mutual self-help communities These legacies are visible up to now (Žiliukaitė et al, 2006). The effects of Europeanization in Lithuania, as one of the new EU countries, are especially obvious as it comes to the opening of political opportunity structures for such marginalized groups as sexual minorities, disabled, women, ethnic minorities Some of those domestic civil society organizations are dependent on the EU funding and support. There are very few studies on urban and housing movements and activism in Lithuania, which mainly focus on movements around the question of restitution of housing property (see Bražiūnaitė 2005)
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