T he I nformal H ousing of P rivatnici and the Q uestion of C lass T wo S tories F rom T he P ost -Y ugoslav R oadside

Abstract

A bstract : Regional roads in post-Yugoslav space is characterised by colourful presence of informal housing. These structures are criticized in the media. The article challenges these criticisms by researching the relation between the informal construction and the class by looking at two cases of informal housing developments, Croatian Adriatic highway and Koridor in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The article focuses on private entrepreneurs ( privatnici ). In specific, it questions how are the aesthetics of the informal house negotiated and the role of urban planning is delineated through the relationship of the state, instrumentalised by already established socialist elites and privatnici , the newcomers. Consequently, it further explores how the post-socialist weakening of the state changed this aesthetic and urban developments by exposing the houses to constant economic involvement with travellers and new realities of the roadside dominated by disarrayed private interests.