Dacha dwellers and gardeners: garden plots and second homes in Europe and Russia

Alexander V Rusanov

doi:10.3897/popecon.3.e34783

Abstract

Abstract One of the ways to solve the problems associated with rapid growth of urban population and the development of industry in Western Europe in the 19th century was the creation of collective gardens and vegetable plots, which could be used to grow food for personal consumption. The peak of their popularity was during the First and Second World Wars. In the second half of the 20th century, as food shortages decrease, the number of garden plots in Western Europe sharply decreased. The revival of interest in gardening at the end of the 20 century is connected with the development of nature protection movement and ecological culture. In Eastern Europe, most of the collective gardens and vegetable plots appeared after the Second World War in a planned economy, they were most popular during the periods of economic recession. In some countries – Russia, Poland – gardeners have now become one of the largest land users. The article deals with the history and main factors that influenced the development of collective gardening and vegetable gardening in Europe and analyzes the laws presently regulating the activity of gardeners. The change of functions of garden plots in European countries in the 19–21 centuries is shown. The article presents comparative statistics on the number of second homes in Northern and Southern Europe. On the example of these two regions, the peculiarities of distribution of second homes are revealed and the main areas of their location are shown.

Highlights

In contemporary economic and geographical studies, a dacha is considered as a specific Russian cultural and spatial phenomenon surrounding almost all major cities and influen-Copyright Rusanov AV
In Russian science dachas are analyzed in the context of seasonal pulsation of the population (AG Makhrova), spatial mobility of the population (TG Nefedova, AI Treyvish), patterns of land use (AE Osetrov, VA Uglov), and so on, there are almost no published works considering dachas in the pan-European context
The first collective garden plots in England appeared at the end of the 18th century

Summary

Introduction

In contemporary economic and geographical studies, a dacha is considered as a specific Russian cultural and spatial phenomenon surrounding almost all major cities and influen-. Russia and Poland are good examples in Eastern Europe as they embody characteristics of garden farming in the socialist countries after the Second World War. The first collective garden plots in England appeared at the end of the 18th century. Garden plots gradually turned from gardens to second homes and remain one of the most popular types of suburban real estate in Russia, Lithuania, Belarus and Estonia In the former socialist countries of Eastern Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia) the situation is different: after the fall of the communist regime, the land remained State property, and the gardens were only partially privatized; their number reduced considerably. The second homes are a spatial, and a cultural phenomenon, which allows to reproduce the traditional way of life and contribute to the development of rural and peripheral areas

27 Turkey

Findings

Conclusion