Vertical separation in high-rise apartment buildings: evidence from Bucharest and Budapest under state socialism

Abstract

We explore the patterns of vertical segregation in apartment buildings in two large socialist cities reflecting divergent development paths under state socialism: Bucharest (Romania) in 1977 and 1992 and Budapest (Hungary) in 1990. The focus of our paper is on whether patterns of within-building vertical segregation changed as the socialist system was maturing, and how vertical segregation patterns differed in national contexts throughout the socialist era. The results confirm that, regardless of the type of socialist regime and/or the stage of its development, both pre-socialist- and socialist-era apartment buildings were socially and demographically differentiated by floor of residence. The patterns of within-building sociodemographic separation appear to be persistent. However, we find different patterns of vertical segregation for different types of buildings. We also find that the patterns can differ between socialist cities.