Urban development after the Bosnian War: The division of Sarajevo's territory and the construction of East Sarajevo

Abstract

At the end of the Bosnian War in December 1995, an internal boundary was drawn within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It came to be known as the Inter-Entity Boundary Line (IEBL). Its implementation caused a profound alteration in regional and urban systems, dividing the new State into two entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) – Croat and Bosniak majority – and the Republika Srpska (RS) – Serb majority. In this paper, the consequences of this boundary on urban and regional development are analysed, focusing on the effects observed in Sarajevo. The emergence of the IEBL has transformed the city since its region has been divided into two halves analogously to the entities newly created. This division has not affected the main urban area, but has altered the eastern suburban zone due to the creation of East Sarajevo, a new city in the Republika Srpska. The new urban nucleus of East Sarajevo is being built adjacent to these eastern suburbs, causing spatial and social alterations on the border. This complex situation is analysed at different scales – from the scale of planning to that of ethnography – in order to evidence that although the IEBL neither divides the historic city nor is a physical frontier, contrasting processes of homogenisation do exist on each side which maintains a significant social and morphological differentiation.