Guided Walking Tours Exploring the Landscapes of Communist Urban Modernity in Prague and Krakow: Sets of Small-Scale Events With the Capacity to Influence Society

Abstract

This article contributes to the small but growing body of academic work taking events literature beyond the confines of the events industry: appraising the impact of events on a fundamental sociocultural level, in the long term and in sectors outside of events. This case study, using participant observation, examines the impact of small, guided walking tours operating at the local level as they contribute to setting the theoretical agenda for dark tourism, a phenomenon that resonates heavily at the societal level. The walking tours in Prague and Krakow explore urban landscapes that emerged from historical modernity under Communism. Dark events or visitor attractions, which deal with modernity—often giving attendees a vision of the enormity of change and ambition inherent in modernity—commonly extend to the darkest and most profound reaches of the dark tourism sector. This article identifies three "themes of interpretation" in the tours: the stunning speed of modern change to have occurred in the urban landscapes visited; the greater abundance of "open air" between neighboring structures that can be sensed by the human being in the modern city, which can, at times be impressive to behold but can result in a dark or insecure experience for the pedestrian user; and the vast power of the state in the Communist regimes historically at work in Prague and Krakow to plan and bring about wholesale change of a landscape. This study also deepens understanding of interpretative techniques used in guided walking tours and appropriate research methods to study them.