SOFIA – MOBILITY, AUTOMOBILIZATION, AND LIVING ENVIRONMENT IN THE 1960s AND 1970s
Mihail SIMOV
Bulgaria
Abstract: The article examines the complex relations between man, motor-car and urban environment in socialist Sofia in the period when the automobile evolved from rare and almost unaffordable item of luxury to essential element of the urban transport. The study focuses at the unfavorable changes in the urban environment caused by the automobilization, the related professional and public discussions, the urban communication plans and concepts, their implementation and the effects of it. The subject is examined in the broader context of the urban development of socialist Sofia and the environmental politics of the ruling Communist party.
Keywords: Sofia, Socialism, Automobilization, Urban Mobility, Urban Development, Urban Environment